Gun-free zone: Comcast cable blacklists gun-related ads

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By Cheryl K. Chumley

The Washington Times

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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Comcast Spotlight, the advertising and sales division for Comcast Cable, has halted all ads having to do with guns on its nationwide network.

“Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward,” the company said in a statement.

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“This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations.”

This month, Comcast acquired NBC Universal in a $16.7 billion deal reported by Media Decoder.

NBC Universal had a longstanding policy against accepting advertisements related to guns, according to a report from an ABC affiliate in Michigan.

Gun owners and gun shops have been caught off guard by the new policy.

“I thought it was ridiculous, we are a legitimate business, we have been here for 80 years,” said Tom Wright, the owner for Williams Gun Sight shop in Davison, Mich., after he was denied advertising on the cable company, ABC reported.

“There’s no reason why we can’t promote what we believe in and something that’s guaranteed under the Second Amendment.”

Other gun shop owners and Second Amendment supporters are outraged. One, in the ABC report, called Comcast’s blacklisting of gun advertisements a “direct infringement on our constitutional rights.”

About the Author

Cheryl K. Chumley

Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.