Comcast Response to COVID-19

LAST UPDATED: JULY 15, 2020

Keeping you connected to what matters.

COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Across Comcast, NBCUniversal, and Sky, we are working hard to do everything we can to support our customers, employees, and communities during this unprecedented time.

The services we provide matter more than ever as millions of people across the globe rely on their vital internet and phone connectivity to work from home, access critical news and educational resources, and connect with loved ones.

• Working to Ensure 24x7 Network Health: Our engineers and technicians micro-monitor our network reliability and performance constantly, running 700k+ diagnostic speed tests most days. From early March to late May, we saw a 32% increase in upstream traffic and 11% increase in downstream traffic, still within the overall capacity of our network. Our network continues to deliver to support the capacity our customers need while they are working, learning, and connecting from home.

• Internet Essentials Free to New Customers: Through the end of the year, eligible new customers can sign up to receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is the nation’s largest, most comprehensive internet adoption program for low-income households. We work in partnership with tens of thousands of school districts, libraries, municipalities, and nonprofit community partners to help bridge the digital divide and support digital literacy. We recently expanded Internet Essentials eligibility to include all low-income families, including seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities.
• Speed Boost for All Internet Essentials Customers: We’ve permanently increased speeds for all of our new and existing Internet Essentials customers across the country.
• Support For University Students: Xfinity is offering eligible university students who live in our service areas and need internet service a Visa prepaid card worth about two months of internet service. No upfront fees, no installation costs.
• Free Xfinity WiFi For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots located in businesses and outdoor locations across the country are available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity internet subscribers – through the end of the year.
• Paused Data Plans: While the vast majority of Xfinity customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, Comcast paused its data plans giving all customers unlimited data for no additional charge for four months through the end of the school year and proactively credited the accounts of customers who had already paid for unlimited data. On July 1^st, Comcast introduced new data plans with more data - a 1.2 TB threshold. About 95% of customers do not use 1.2 TB in a month, even with COVID-19-level usage.
• Suspended Disconnects or Late Fees for Xfinity Internet, Mobile, or Voice Customers: We created an assistance program that enabled our customers to continue using our services during the pandemic shutdown while keeping their bills low and ensuring they didn’t accrue large outstanding balances. We want to keep them connected, so we’re offering customers in this program a variety of flexible and extended payment options. Sky also worked with customers on flexible bill payments. Comcast Business customers can find more information here.
• Support For Sky Mobile and Talk Customers: All Sky Mobile customers received a 10GB data boost free of charge. Sky also announced that calls to UK landlines at any time of day would temporarily be free for existing Sky Talk customers.
• Virtual Tools for Businesses: Comcast Business is supporting customers as they begin to run their businesses from home, providing free trials of apps and services including virtual project management, business text messaging, and collaboration tools that will help them stay productive and secure.
• Cybersecurity Protection: With the influx in COVID-19-related cybersecurity schemes, our team of security experts continue to work 24/7 to monitor our network using a mix of highly sophisticated technologies, threat intelligence, and proprietary AI-powered software, which helps us to detect and block hundreds of thousands of cyber events every second.

We know that access to news and information has never been more important. Our NBC and Sky news teams are working around the clock – setting up remote studios in basements, living rooms, and everywhere in between – to keep the world informed. Xfinity has curated news and education resources to provide quick access to tools and information on TV. Together, we’re doing our best to broaden access to the news and enable students to learn remotely.

• Free Access to NBCUniversal News Networks: NBCUniversal made MSNBC and CNBC available, in partnership with its distribution partners, to all their video customers, regardless of the packages to which they subscribe. Additionally, NBC News Now, a 24/7 online streaming service from NBC News, featured programming drawing upon all the news resources of NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC, free to viewers.
• NBCUniversal 'The More You Know' COVID-19 Campaign: In partnership with the White House, CDC, and Health and Human Services, NBCUniversal created a series of videos and graphics, available in both English and Spanish, to help educate people around the country about how they can reduce their risk and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

• Telemundo PSAs: Telemundo and an array of its network talent, artists, and news personalities came together to urge audiences to stay home to stop the Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread. The videos ran on-air and across all of the network’s digital platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. They aimed to promote and help raise awareness around the #StayHome worldwide initiative within the U.S. Hispanic audience.
• Xfinity and Sky Educational Resources: Xfinity, in partnership with Common Sense Media, created an education destination for Xfinity video customers to give children and parents quick and easy access to educational programming by grade level. Sky also launched a new 'Learn at Home' collection on Sky Kids to support families with educational content during school closures.
• Coronavirus Information Destination: To help keep our customers informed, we have created a collection of the most current news and information on COVID-19. Xfinity customers can say, “Coronavirus” into their voice remote for the latest news and information from the CDC.

The need for in-home entertainment has never been greater. We are innovating to bring content home to customers in new ways as well as expanding free access to traditional subscription-only content.

• Theatrical Movies On Demand: Universal Pictures will make its movies available in the home on the same day as their global theatrical releases. Titles including The Hunt, The Invisible Man, Emma, DreamWorks’ Trolls World Tour, The High Note, and The King of Staten Island are now available to rent on a wide variety of the most popular on demand services worldwide, including Xfinity and Sky.
• Peacock Launches Nationally: On July 15, Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new ad-supported subscription streaming service, launched nationally, offering consumers across the country a world-class collection of the best live and on demand programming from NBCUniversal and beyond. Millions of Xfinity X1 and Flex customers enjoyed an early preview of Peacock Premium at no additional cost, including access to 15,000+ hours of the blockbuster and classic movies and series.
• Free On Demand Content for Xfinity Customers: Comcast made the on demand catalogs from a series of premium networks and subscription video on demand services available free for its Xfinity X1 and Flex customers to enjoy, including over 63,000 hours of free movies and television shows over the course of four months.
• Inclusive Entertainment Experiences: There are a number of ways for customers with disabilities to navigate and access information and entertainment independently while at home. Say “Accessibility” into the X1 or Flex voice remote to view collections of described and captioned content and manage accessibility settings. The X1 and Flex Talking Guide will announce on-screen text and options as you browse the channels. And the Xfinity X1 Eye Control remote technology can help customers with physical disabilities use their eyes to change the channel, set a recording, search for a show, and more.
• Sky Go Extra for Free: Sky Go Extra was made available to all customers for free, so busy homes had access to Sky TV on three screens at the same time.
  
• Telemundo’s Concierto En Casa: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Telemundo presented “Concierto en Casa” (#ConciertoEnCasa), the first-of-its-kind, all virtual music special on Spanish-language media on Telemundo Network, UNIVERSO, and across all its platforms.
• Xfinity Camp Tonsafun: Xfinity is opening Camp Tonsafun, a free virtual camp hosted by counselors from the NBCUniversal family and beyond featuring activities that are tailor-made for Xfinity customers and families to enjoy at home. Available on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex, Camp Tonsafun features video lessons and activities spanning arts, sports, cooking, experiments, and adventures geared toward children ages 5-12.

We are so proud of our teams who are working tirelessly to keep the world connected, informed, and entertained during this challenging time. From our Comcast and Sky engineers, technicians, and call center representatives working to maintain vital connectivity, to our colleagues at NBC and Sky news organizations keeping our viewers informed on the latest developments, their dedication has been inspiring. While they continue to support our customers, we will continue to do everything we can to support them - so they and their families can stay safe and healthy.

• Work from Home: Every employee who is able to work from home is doing so, including thousands of call center workers. For certain business lines, we implemented flexible attendance policies for a period of time as we transitioned to new processes, including work from home. Unpaid personal leave is available for all employees impacted by COVID-19.

• Safety: We are following CDC guidelines and are working to ensure all customer-facing employees take extra precautionary measures for their safety and our customers, such as additional sanitization practices, daily temperature checks, social distancing, and providing masks and cloth facial coverings to wear during customer interactions. We also limited technician interactions within our customers’ homes to only when it’s necessary to ensure they are connected to critical services.
• Paid Leave: Comcast is offering an additional 40 hours of PTO through the end of the year for employees, who, because of COVID-19, are dealing with childcare issues or caring for a high-risk immediate family or household member. In addition, we are providing 80 hours of specially established Paid Administrative Leave for any employee who is directly impacted by COVID-19.

As COVID-19 continues to impact nearly every aspect of our daily lives, we are working to support the people and communities who are most affected and the many wonderful organizations that are on the frontlines.

• COVID-19 Relief Funds: Effective April 1 and for the duration of this situation, Comcast’s senior leaders – Brian Roberts, Mike Cavanagh, Dave Watson, Jeff Shell, and Jeremy Darroch – have chosen to donate 100% of their salaries to charities that support COVID-19 relief efforts. In addition, Sky donated £500,000 to the new COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund, which provides much needed grants to the many thousands of creative industry workers and freelancers who have been directly affected by the suspension of productions. The company has also supported the Red Cross, United Way, and countless other charitable organizations in various ways around the world.
• Frontline Supplies: Across the organization, we have donated and distributed masks, face shields, gowns, and other supplies to healthcare and frontline workers who need them most. From TV and film sets to our parks and resorts, we are sourcing and repurposing materials to support our first responders and those most at risk of exposure.
• One World: Together at Home Special: On Saturday, April 18th, NBC, ABC, and CBS teamed up to air the One World: Together at Home special, in partnership with Global Citizen and the World Health Organization. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert, the special raised nearly $128 million for the World Health Organization and COVID-19 relief.
• Online Learning: As schools remain closed and students are learning online, we are helping to lighten the burden of maintaining connectivity at home. Eligible new customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, while eligible university students who live in our service areas can receive a Visa prepaid card worth about two months of internet service.
• Free Airtime: Comcast NBCUniversal is providing free airtime across our networks for COVID-19-related public service announcements and Sky has granted free sponsorship of key channels and programs to spread the ‘Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’ campaign.
• Movies for Hospitals: Comcast NBCUniversal partnered with four children’s hospitals and the nonprofit Lollipop to bring special screenings of Trolls World Tour to patients in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami during the film’s opening week. Through this partnership, we were able to show the movie in nearly 1,000 patient rooms. Additionally, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group provided access to the movie to 10,000 children and families across the country through a partnership with Feeding America.