Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),[note 1] headquartered in Philadelphia, is the largest American multinational telecommunications conglomerate.[8] It is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue (behind AT&T), the largest pay-TV company, the largest cable TV company and largest home Internet service provider in the United States, and the nation’s third-largest home telephone service provider. It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia.[9] As the parent company of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011,[10][11][12][13] Comcast is a producer of feature films for theatrical exhibition, and over-the-air and cable television programming.
Comcast owns and operates the Xfinity residential cable communications subsidiary, Comcast Business, a commercial services provider; Xfinity Mobile, an MVNO of Verizon; over-the-air national broadcast network channels (NBC, Telemundo, TeleXitos, and Cozi TV); multiple cable-only channels (including MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Syfy, NBCSN, Oxygen, Bravo, G4 and E!); the film studio Universal Pictures; the VOD streaming service Peacock; animation studios (DreamWorks Animation, Illumination, Universal Animation Studios) and Universal Parks & Resorts. It also has significant holdings in digital distribution, such as thePlatform, which it acquired in 2006; and ad-tech company FreeWheel, which it acquired in 2014. Since October 2018, it has also been the parent company of Sky Group.[14]
Comcast has been criticized for a variety of reasons. Its customer satisfaction ratings were among the lowest in the cable industry during the years 2008–2010.[15][16] It has violated net neutrality practices in the past, and, despite its commitment to a narrow definition of net neutrality,[17] critics advocate a definition that precludes any distinction between Comcast’s private network services and the rest of the Internet.[18] Critics also point out a lack of competition in the vast majority of Comcast’s service areas; in particular, the limited competition among cable providers.[19] Given its negotiating power as a large ISP, some suspect that it could leverage paid peering agreements to unfairly influence end-user connection speeds. Its ownership of both content production (in NBCUniversal) and distribution (as an ISP) has raised antitrust concerns. These issues and others led to Comcast being dubbed “The Worst Company in America” by The Consumerist in 2010 and 2014.[20][21]
Overview
Leadership
Comcast is described as a family business.[22] Brian L. Roberts, its chairman, president and CEO, is the son of founder Ralph J. Roberts. Roberts owns or controls about 1% of all Comcast shares but all of the Class B supervoting shares, giving him an “undilutable 33% voting power over the company”.[23] Legal expert Susan P. Crawford has said this gives him “effective control over [Comcast’s] every step”.[24] In 2010, he was one of the highest paid executives in the United States, with total compensation of about $31 million.[24]
Board of directors
As of May 17, 2020:[25]
Brian L. Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast
Kenneth J. Bacon, former Fannie Mae executive
Madeline S. Bell, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Edward D. Breen (lead independent director), executive chairman and CEO of DuPont
Gerald Hassell, former chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon
Jeffrey Honickman, CEO of Pepsi-Cola Bottling
Maritza Montiel, former deputy chairman and CEO of Deloitte
Asuka Nakahara, former CFO of Trammell Crow
David C. Novak, former chairman and CEO of YUM! Brands
Corporate offices
Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has offices in Atlanta, Detroit, Denver, Manchester, New Hampshire and New York City.[26] On January 3, 2005, it announced it would become the anchor tenant in the new Comcast Center in downtown Philadelphia—at 975 ft (297 m), the second-tallest skyscraper in Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2018, it finished construction of the 1,121 ft (342 m) Comcast Technology Center, Pennsylvania’s tallest skyscraper, adjacent to its original headquarters.[27] As of 2019, the company had 184,000 employees.[28]
Employee relations
Comcast is often criticized by the media and its own staff for its less-than-upstanding policies of employee relations.
A 2014 investigative series published by The Verge involved interviews with 150 Comcast employees, and examined why the company was so widely criticized by its customers, the media, and its own workers. It concluded that Comcast’s staff endured unreasonable corporate policies: “Customer service has been replaced by an obsession with sales; technicians are understaffed … tech support is poorly trained, and the company is hobbled by internal fragmentation.”[29] A widely read article by an anonymous Comcast call center employee appeared in November 2014 on Cracked. Titled “Five Nightmares You Live While Working For America’s Worst Company”, it claimed that Comcast was obsessed with sales, didn’t train its employees properly, and concluded that “the system makes good customer service impossible.”[30]
Comcast has also earned a reputation as anti-union. A company training manual says, “Comcast does not feel union representation is in the best interest of its employees, customers, or shareholders”.[31] A dispute in 2004 with CWA, a labor union representing many employees at Comcast’s Beaverton, Oregon offices, led to allegations of management intimidating workers, requiring them to attend anti-union meetings and unwarranted disciplinary action for union members.[32] In 2011, Comcast received criticism from Writers Guild of America for its policies regarding unions.[33]
Despite these criticisms, Comcast has appeared on multiple “top places to work” lists. In 2009, it was included on CableFAX magazine’s “Top 10 Places to Work in Cable”, which cited its “scale, savvy and vision”.[34] Similarly, the Philadelphia Business Journal awarded Comcast the silver medal among extra-large companies in Philadelphia, with the gold medal going to partner organization, Comcast-Spectacor.[35][36] The Boston Globe found Comcast to be that city’s top place to work in 2009.[37] Employee diversity is also an attribute upon which Comcast receives strong marks. In 2008, Black Enterprise magazine rated Comcast among the top 15 companies for workforce diversity.[38] Comcast was also named a “Top 2014 Workplace” by The Washington Post in their annual feature.[39] The Human Rights Campaign has given Comcast a 100 on the Corporate Equality Index[40] and one of the best places for LGBT people to work.[41]