Comcast Using Minority Astroturf Groups To Argue Cable Set Top Box Competition Hurts Diversity

For years one of the greasier lobbying and PR tactics by the telecom industry has been the use of minority groups to parrot awful policy positions. Historically, such groups are happy to take financing from a company like Comcast, in exchange repeating whatever memos are thrust in their general direction, even if the policy being supported may dramatically hurt their constituents. The tactic of co-opting these groups helps build the illusion of broad support for awful policy, and was well documented during AT&T's attempted takeover of T-Mobile, and Comcast's attempted takeover of Time Warner Cable. The tactic was also a favorite among telecom lobbyists in their fight against net neutrality and Title II reclassification, with Comcast and AT&T paying a wide variety of purportedly pro-minority groups to argue that a level playing field and more consumer protections would somehow be horrible for minorities. Dozens of groups like the Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP) frequented telecom industry events, took telecom industry funding, and were happy to repeat industry claims that net neutrality was a vile and unnecessary evil. Fast forward to last month, when the FCC announced it would be pushing a new program aimed at bringing competition to the stagnant and captive cable set top box market. The cable industry immediately began to cry, generating a tidal wave of hand-wringing complaints about how taking aim at this $20 billion captive revenue market would raise prices, hurt puppies, damage privacy, and otherwise destroy the known universe. But buried among the laundry list of the industry's half-cooked claims was the repeated argument that having a competitive cable set top box market would somehow hurt diversity. How having the choice of more hardware and more content than ever could possibly hurt minorities is never made clear. But the claim quickly and magically began popping up in a laundry list of editorials all over the Internet and in major papers nationwide. All of these editorials neatly parrot the cable industry's position almost verbatim, yet few if any clearly highlight any ties to the industry. Nearly as soon as the FCC program was announced the cable industry formed the "Future of TV Coalition," something it calls a "diverse group of programmers, content creators, civic groups and television providers" who've joined forces to "celebrate and promote the thriving innovation" going on in the cable industry. And mysteriously, most of the groups taking part are the same groups that helped telecoms fight net neutrality. And many of their letters to the FCC mysteriously argue that we should leave the incredibly innovative cable set top box market alone:

"Why adopt a radical new approach and put all this innovation at risk in a market that is innovating, changing and providing so many new options already? Given the significant concerns regarding these proposed rules, and the rapid innovation occurring in the marketplace, it would be unwise to implement sweeping changes to the system currently in place. We urge the FCC to abandon these proposed new rules and protect viewer choice and diverse programming for all communities.

Funny how this adoration of cable industry "innovation" so closely mirrors blog posts by cable's biggest lobby or by cable's least liked company. The beauty of these arrangements of course is that since telecom companies aren't dumb enough to put specific quid