Thursday, June 25, 2020

What's the Latest with Comcast New England?

*This post was created in collaboration with Comcast New England and Xfinity. All opinions are my own and as always, thank you for supporting Prim and Propah and my partners.

Last week, as I could hear my husband struggling to get our kids to bed, I poured myself a glass of wine and hopped on a virtual call with the team from Comcast New England. In the past, I have attended in person events with this team, but obviously due to COVID-19, we had to do the thang over the internets… which I suppose is fitting because Xfinity provides stellar, strong internet services? OK ok, I am getting off track quickly here. We sat down for a call with the team and some other local bloggers to learn about what they’re doing in the face of COVID and Racial Inequality, and let me just say that I was impressed to learn about Comcast’s efforts moving forward.

There were some of my favorite familiar faces on the call, so I pulled out all the stops and brushed my hair because I knew I’d be seeing them! It sort of feels like being with some good friends, even though we are definitely at a blogger event. We started off getting intros out of the way but quickly turned to talking about Comcast’s work, given the current landscape of our world.


I’ll start by sharing Comcast’s Press Release, announcing a $100 million multi year plan to advance social justice and equality. They’re literally putting their money where their mouth is. There will be $75 million in cash and $25 million in media that will be distributed over the next three years, in addition to the existing commitments their company currently makes to thousands of organizations supporting underrepresented communities through the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and social impact programs. I haven’t researched all of these programs but making this statement and this commitment is a great first step in showing that they are taking this issue seriously. I am asking this of all of the companies that I work closely with to ensure that we are all operating with integrity and the greater good in mind.

We heard from Jackie Gadsden, VP of Diversity & Inclusion and Customer Experience for Comcast’s Greater Boston Region. She was super knowledgeable but also a straight talker. She knows that this more than a moment, it’s a movement. Other Comcast team members were talking about the difference that Jackie has made within the company to not only educate their peers but to actually help them learn too. They were singing her praises in a true and sincere way. You love to see it.



In addition to learning about what Comcast is doing in the current climate, we also got some cool product updates, most specifically the Peacock TV Xfinity partnership. Peacock (available since April 15th as a preview for Xfinity X1 and Flex customers) will launch nationally across multiple platforms on July 15th. However, advantage Xfinity customers as X1 and Flex customers will continue to get Peacock Premium ($4.99/m value) included at no additional cost! The programming is killer and I personally can’t wait for the Saved by the Bell and Punky Brewster reboots, I know, I’m dating myself haha but as I have gotten older, who cares, I enjoy what I enjoy… which is currently watching The Office for the 5th or 6th time through, I can’t remember. Learn more about all the offerings and content on Peacock here and let me know in the comments what you’re watching right now!

Comcast is continually impressing me with their commitment to providing the best service possible, not by reacting to the needs of the market but looking to the future in anticipation of what their market might need. Between the Internet Essentials program I covered last, to the new commitments made to advance equality, Comcast is not shying away from tough convos and doing the work. Just last week, Comcast announced that they once again extended the 60 day free Internet Essentials offer to any new, eligible customer who qualifies! I’ll be watching Comcast’s moves and helping them amplify voices now and in the future. That’s what teammates do!