Via the Media Mobilizing Project:
Have something to say to Comcast? From concerns about your cable prices to demands that they pay their fair share, now’s our chance to be heard.
Every fifteen years, the City of Philadelphia and Comcast negotiate special contracts called “franchise agreements” in order to provide cable services in Philadelphia, America’s fourth biggest cable market (1). In exchange for their right to provide cable access and earn massive profits from our communities, the franchise agreement requires Comcast to “give back” a portion of their profits to support the public.
Comcast’s previous franchise agreement expires in 2015. The City has begun to collect public input on what Philadelphians want from Comcast in order to inform their negotiations and craft a new franchise agreement. If we want a deal that truly benefits the people of Philadelphia, we need to tell the City what our communities need to thrive.MMP has created a guide to help you understand this process – so we can provide the City with input that will make an impact.
Click here to read the guide, and tell Philadelphia what our communities demand from Comcast.
Comcast has outsized power in a Philadelphia still suffering under economic crisis. The company earned over $64 billion in revenues in 2013 (2), while they lobbied to stop hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians from getting access to paid sick days (3). Comcast joined Governor Corbett and the Chamber of Commerce on a push to shutter and privatize Philly’s public schools (4). The ratio for CEO pay to average employee pay at Comcast is 370:1 (5). And they pay little in a city and state that needs much – a nationwide corporate-income tax rate of only 3.4% in a state where our average rate is 9.99% (6).
As a part of their last franchise, our City secured vital resources for public access TV and some resources for the City’s general fund. With this negotiation, we have the chance to ask: what is the responsibility of a massively profitable corporation in a city losing schools, jobs, and homes?
Tell the City now what we deserve from Comcast if we are to renew their franchise.
This is the first step in a long negotiation process between our City and this hugely important corporate player. Let’s make sure the City knows we’re united for the communications services we all need, and for the resources our communities deserve.
Onward,
Hannah, Bryan, Julia, Jeff, Todd, and all of us at Media Mobilizing Project.
PS – The City hopes to collect as many of our opinions as possible in this survey by February 7th. So check out the guide and take ten minutes to make your voice heard now.
(1) Comcast Spotlight: Philadelphia. http://www.comcastspotlight.
(2) Comcast 2013 Financial Report, http://www.cmcsa.com/
(3) “Advocates: Comcast Is Trying To Block Philly’s Paid Sick Leave Law”, Metro Philadelphia, March 12th, 2013. http://metro.us/philadelphia/
(4) “That’s funny, I don’t remember electing a Comcast executive as our education czar,”Philadelphia Daily News, July 1st, 2013. http://www.philly.com/philly/
(5) “13 CEOs Who Get Paid Shockingly More Than Their Employees,” Business Insider, March 29th, 2013. http://www.
(6) “Political power and consumer pain in Comcast’s Philadelphia,” City Paper, March 27th, 2013. http://citypaper.net/
Thanks, Kush Arora.
