Harnessing the Media to Expand Acceptance and Understanding
Comcast supports the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and shares its mission of increasing acceptance through exposure. Last year, GLAAD recognized Comcast’s Xfinity TV for showcasing LGBT inclusive content in its Pride Offering, which includes many award-winning movies, biographical films, documentaries, series and specials. In addition to making diverse content widely available on air and on demand, we were also honored for our positive representation of LGBT characters and issues at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards with the following awards:
- Outstanding Daily Drama for Days of Our Lives (NBC)
- Outstanding Film in Wide Release for Beginners (Focus Features)
- Outstanding Film in Limited Release for Pariah (Focus Features)
- Outstanding Daytime Talk Show Episode for Caso Cerrado’s "Lesbianas celebran 10 años" (Telemundo)
NBCUniversal personalities Tina Fey and Rachel Maddow were also honored for their commitment to the LGBT community through media, and Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, producers of Smash, received GLAAD’s Vito Russo award for their dedication to LGBT storytelling. Owned-and-operated NBC station NBC5 in Dallas, TX was also nominated for its special, NBC 5 Spotlight: GLBT in Texas. This revolutionary program told the story of the first Dallas Police Department officer to transition gender during her career and of a Fort Worth lesbian couple who adopted an at-risk youth into their family, and it also included a video essay on the Dallas Diablos Rugby Football Club, which includes both gay and straight players.
In addition to our support of LGBT programming, Comcast has also partnered with GLAAD to educate viewers through public service announcements. In 2011, we provided GLAAD with more than $5 million in free airtime, and in just three months, its spot aired more than 365,000 times and reached almost 23 million subscribers. In October, Comcast helped GLAAD celebrate LGBT History Month with another $3 million in airtime.