The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been ordered to open an investigation into Comcast’s diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) initiatives, with the probe focusing on whether Comcast violated federal employment laws.
On Tuesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts stating the agency’s Enforcement Bureau had been directed to investigate the telecommunication firm’s DEI initiatives and practices.
Comcast offers cable television, wireless phone and broadband Internet services under the Xfinity and Now brands, and owns NBC Universal, which includes the NBC broadcast network, around a dozen cable TV networks, NBC Sports, Universal Pictures and streaming service Peacock.
A few of Comcast’s business are regulated by the FCC, including NBC- and Telemundo-owned local TV stations, which possess an FCC-issued license to broadcast on public air waves. Comcast’s wireless phone and cable TV services are also regulated as public utilities.
“I expect that this investigation into Comcast and its NBCUniversal operations will aid the commission’s broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates,” Carr wrote in his letter.
Carr noted that Comcast’s website continues to promote DEI initiatives throughout its company, from new employee hiring to worker training — and even the programming carried on Comcast’s cable TV and streaming services.
On a corporate website reviewed by The Desk, Comcast said it aims to “infuse diversity and inclusion (D&I) into all aspects of our culture and our business,” adding that “D&I is not a program — it is a central element of our credo and our DNA.”
Comcast said it spent $18 billion with “diverse Tier 1 suppliers” since 2010, offers more than 100 “diverse networks on Xfinity platforms” and has over 18,000 hours of “diverse on-demand and online programming” offered since 2018.
With respect to its corporate operations, Comcast said its DEI initiatives permeate across its employment and culture. In an equity report reviewed by The Desk, Comcast said its total workforce was 37 percent female as of 2023. Nearly one out of every two employees at Comcast was a person of color, and 16 percent of employees identify as Black or African-American, the report said.
Among its executive leaders, Comcast said 38 percent are women, 23 percent are people of Color and nearly 2 percent identify as mixed race. At NBC Universal, 55 percent of its on-air news talent are women and 52 percent are people of color, while 52 percent of people who work in behind the scenes roles within Comcast’s newsrooms are women and 39 percent are people of color.
Comcast’s diversity report showed year-over gains across all above-mentioned categories in the period between 2021 and 2023.
Carr noted the uptick in DEI-related hires and promotions in his letter on Tuesday, saying Comcast’s initiatives included executive roles that were “specifically dedicated to promoting DEI across the TV and programming side of the business.”
“But promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law,” he concluded.
A Comcast spokesperson affirmed the company received Carr’s letter and intends to cooperate in the investigation.
“We have received an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission and will be cooperating with the FCC to answer their questions,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Desk on Tuesday. “For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers.”
The letter, first reported by Newsmax, comes at a time when the FCC, under Carr’s leadership, has taken a critical look at the role of broadcasters and public utilities since President Donald Trump was sworn into a second, non-consecutive term in office last month. Carr, who was appointed as a commissioner during Trump’s first term, was immediately promoted to serve as the chairman of the agency.
Earlier this month, Carr re-opened investigations against a local Comcast-owned TV station in New York, WNBC (Channel 4), for alleged election-related interference, as well as two similar investigations against a Disney-owned ABC station in Philadelphia and a Paramount-owned CBS station in New York along similar political lines.
In news interviews, Carr posited those investigations and others as necessary to enforce the FCC’s broadcast and public utility regulations, and suggested that some broadcasters may lose their license to transmit on public air waves if they are found to violate the FCC’s rules.
Trump has been an ardent opponent of DEI initiatives, signing numerous executive orders over the past few weeks that have led federal agencies to wind down DEI programs and lay off thousands of workers.
Some private sector groups have also walked back DEI initiatives, fearing retaliation from the Trump administration if they do not do so. Earlier this week, PBS said it was closing down a unit dedicated to DEI initiatives, with two employees leaving the organization. Paula Kerger, the CEO of PBS, specifically cited Trump’s executive orders on DEI as the reason for the decision.
