By Shirley Brady As the top cable operator in the country, it wasn’t surprising to see Comcast continually pop up during the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Comcast’s CN8 network provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention to its systems, for which it earned a 1.4 Nielsen rating. Plus, its team of lobbyists made the rounds and helped pick up the tab for a range of events. A few of the get-togethers that Comcast helped stage for the Dems while in Beantown:
Sun., July 25: Sponsored a youth forum in the afternoon featuring "turntable acrobats" The X-ecutioners and a Politically Correct-style panel with Viacom talent (Comedy Central star Dave Chappelle and Gideon Yago of MTV News) plus actors Danny Glover and the Democratic National Committee’s ubiquitous hometown Dem, Ben Affleck. That night, Comcast co-sponsored a $600,000 event for guests at the Roxy Blue Dog; other sponsors included Microsoft, tobacco company Altria and oil conglomerate ConocoPhillips.
Mon. July 26: Co-sponsored the "Future Frontrunners" seminar at Harvard University with Lifetime, The Boston Globe and youth-skewing radio station JAM’N 94.5. The event’s organizers were Lifetime EVP of public affairs Meredith Wagner and director of programming Geralyn Lucas, a.k.a. the author of Why I Wore Lipstick (see July 5 issue).
Tues. July 27: Kicked off the day by underwriting a breakfast for the Maryland Democratic delegation featuring Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; co-sponsors for the event included the Teamsters, the Communication Workers of America and the United Auto Workers. Comcast also sponsored a day of batting practice with other corporate lobbyists at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, for which The Philadelphia Inquirer estimated Comcast’s contribution at $25,000.
Charter hasn’t been immune to the slowdown in broadband activity in 1Q24, reporting the loss of 72,000 residential and SMB internet customers. It’s looking at what the discontinuation of ACP will mean for its sub base.
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