Today, Comcast released new details about its plan to invest in local news on NBC stations, but no local programming increases were announced for Telemundo stations. On the heels of this announcement, Free Press released a new report that reveals deep disparities between the amount of local news offered on Comcast's English- and Spanish- language stations.

The key take away is that Spanish-language Telemundo stations lag far behind NBC affiliates when it comes to local coverage, and Comcast has a long way to go to really serve Latino communities. For example, NBC stations average about four hours and 42 minutes per day of local news. Telemundo stations on average air only 48 minutes per day of local news. In fact, Telemundo stations in Boston and Denver aired no local news or information programming between January and April 2011.

Read the full report and read about the report in Spanish.

Throughout most of the year-long merger proceeding Comcast ignored the issue of local news on Telemundo. Only in the final weeks of the review, and after months of advocacy from groups like Free Press, did Comcast promise to increase investment in local Spanish-language news. To justify its takeover of NBC Universal, Comcast committed to increasing local programming across its newly acquired NBC and Telemundo stations for a period of five years. 

The Federal Communications Commission now requires Comcast to file quarterly localism reports for each of the 25 stations to ensure that the company follows through on its promise. “No News Is Bad News: An Analysis of Comcast-NBC Universal Compliance with FCC Localism Conditions” examines the first filings submitted since the cable giant took over NBC in January. 

“The report shows how media consolidation and empty commitments hurt local communities,” said Free Press Policy Counsel Corie Wright. “NBC Universal bought Telemundo back in 2002, pledging to increase local news for Spanish-speaking audiences.  But it did just the opposite and cut local jobs and journalism. The current local news numbers for Telemundo stations reflect those broken NBC Universal promises.

Free Press is calling on Comcast to commit to significantly improving local news production and distribution across all Telemundo stations that it controls. When the Comcast merger was approved thousands of activists signed up with Free Press to be media watchdogs, helping ensure that Comcast lived up to their promises. This report is the first shot across the bow of this mega-media giant, and we’ll keep the pressure on. 

Key findings of the Free Press report:

• Comcast has committed to increasing local news production in only six of the 15 communities served by its Telemundo owned-and-operated stations (O&Os).
• While local news and public affairs programming represents less than 20 percent of weekly programming time for NBC O&Os, it represents less than 3 percent of weekly programming time for most Telemundo O&Os.
• NBC stations average about four hours and 42 minutes per day of local news. Telemundo stations on average air only 48 minutes per day of local news.
• In Los Angeles, the NBC station provides nearly four hours per day of local news. The local Telemundo station serving Los Angeles provided less than one hour.
• In New York, the NBC station provided close to six hours per day of local programming. The local Telemundo station only provided an average of 30 minutes per day.
• Telemundo stations in Boston and Denver aired no local news or information programming between January and April 2011. 
• More than 1,000 hours that Comcast claimed as local news programming were actually commercials aired during broadcasts.