The Federal Communications Commission is investigating Comcast and its subsidiary NBCUniversal over whether its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs violate federal anti-discrimination laws.
In a letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts on Tuesday, FCC chairman Brendan Carr said there is "substantial evidence" that the media conglomerate is promoting DEI initiatives, a potential violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws. Carr pointed to Comcast's promotion of DEI as a "core value of our business" and said that NBCUniversal, which operates NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC, has executives "specifically dedicated" to promoting DEI on its television programs.
"But promoting invidious forms of discrimination cannot be squared with any reasonable interpretation of federal law," Carr warned. "It can only deprive Americans of their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law."
Carr said he expects the investigation "will aid the Commission's broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates." The FCC chairman opened an investigation last week into whether NPR and PBS violated federal regulations that bar taxpayer-funded outlets from running commercials for corporate sponsors.
The Comcast probe comes as the media giant plans to spin off MSNBC and CNBC into a separate, publicly traded company. President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of Comcast and NBC, vowing in 2023 that he would investigate the conglomerate over its "one-side[d] and vicious coverage." Trump blasted MSNBC last month after the Washington Free Beacon reported that Kamala Harris's campaign paid $500,000 to Al Sharpton's nonprofit, the National Action Network, shortly before the activist interviewed Harris on his MSNBC show.
Sharpton, a longtime Trump critic, could become a focus of Carr's DEI probe.
The controversial activist, known for his history of anti-Semitic rhetoric, has used his MSNBC show to promote a boycott he is leading at the National Action Network against corporations that have scrapped their DEI programs. Sharpton announced on his MSNBC show, PoliticsNation, that he would select two corporations for the boycott, which he billed as a "shake-up" of corporate America.
Indeed, Sharpton arguably owes his MSNBC gig to Comcast's DEI initiatives.
Comcast hired Sharpton to host his MSNBC show in August 2011, six months after he agreed to publicly support Comcast's acquisition of a majority stake in NBCUniversal—a lobbying campaign in which Sharpton submitted a letter to the FCC supporting the deal.
To win Sharpton's support, Comcast signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Action Network and two other civil rights groups to bolster its "diversity" initiatives by airing content from four television channels owned by black people.
The agreement is published in the "diversity, equity, and inclusion" section of Comcast's corporate website.
The New York Times at the time questioned whether Sharpton's hiring created a conflict of interest for Comcast, and the Daily Beast asked whether Sharpton was an "affirmative-action beneficiary" of the Comcast-NBC merger.
Comcast also donated $140,000 to the National Action Network, which has in some years paid Sharpton a salary of more than $1 million. He reportedly makes north of $750,000 as an MSNBC host.
In 2015, black media mogul Byron Allen sued Comcast and Sharpton, accusing them of entering "sham diversity agreements." Allen alleged that Sharpton "has a business model and track record of obtaining payments from corporate entities in exchange for his support."
Comcast did not respond to questions about whether Sharpton will be allowed to continue promoting the National Action Network boycott at MSNBC. A company spokeswoman said Comcast will cooperate with the FCC investigation. "For decades, our company has been built on a foundation of integrity and respect for all of our employees and customers," said spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury.