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This Local Gun Ad Was Banned By Comcast — And We Found It’s a New Widespread Policy

Feb. 19, 2013 11:40am Erica Ritz

NBC Comcast Drops Advertisements From Companies Promoting Guns, Firearms, Fireworks | Michigan Companies Respond

In this Thursday, July 26, 2012 file photo, an AR-15 style rifle is displayed at the Firing-Line indoor range and gun shop in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Comcast, which recently acquired NBC Universal, has quietly decided to remove advertisements promoting firearms from its cable network, and gun retailers aren’t happy about it.

A Michigan company that handles the advertising for Michigan-based Williams Gun Sight and Outfitters contacted TheBlaze regarding the change, stunned that it couldn’t re-air a commercial they played last fall due to the new policy.

John Kupiec, president of the advertising agency Canadian American Corp., told us over the phone Monday that when they recently tried to buy ad time, a Comcast representative informed them that as of February 8 of this year, the network would no longer accept advertising from companies promoting firearms or fireworks on any network, during any time period.

“They’ve been a longtime advertiser [but] they said it doesn’t matter who they are,” Kupiec related, “if they sell firearms they will not be allowed to advertise firearms on their airwaves.”

He noted that the change doesn’t just impact local companies, but business like Cabela’s, Walmart, and others.

“My company has been in the advertising business for well over 30 years, [and] we’ve never remotely run into a situation where a product or service was banned from being on the airwaves that’s legal,” he added.

Here’s the commercial that Comcast declined to air:

TheBlaze attempted to get in touch with several Comcast representatives to ask why the decision was made now, what they hope to accomplish, and whether they plan to change their scheduled programming that features guns, but only one responded.

Chris Ellis, the director of communications at Comcast Spotlight, confirmed the new policy but declined to provide any supplementary information.

“Consistent with long standing NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward,” he said in an email. “This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations.”

Tom Wright, the president of Williams Gun Sight Co., told TheBlaze that he thinks the change is “ridiculous.”

They’re “fine promoting strip clubs and condoms,” Wright said, but appear to have a problem airing advertisements for a legal product.

ABC 12 also interviewed Wright for the evening news. Here’s what he had to say:

ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

Both Wright and Kupiec further noted that at almost any given time, you can flip to regular programming that features guns in a legal capacity (the Outdoor Channel, the Sportsman Channel, NBC Sports), or in a violent scene of a television show or movie.

Is Comcast planning on making changes to their scheduled programming, too, they wondered?

Before speaking with TheBlaze on Monday, Wright urged people on Facebook to speak out with their dollars:

(Photo: Facebook/Williams Gun Sight & Outfitters)

Wright added for TheBlaze: “I don’t know whether NBC or Comcast have an agenda related to all the political activity going on, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”

The president of Williams Gun Sight and Outfitters concluded with a statement on how the change will affect his company.

“It certainly has the ability to negatively impact our business. We’ve been in business for over 85 years; we provide a service to not only the hunting and shooting community, but we’re part of a longstanding tradition here in America. I think it’s a sad state of affairs where a cable network such as Comcast would come out with such a policy.”

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Comments (288)

SidneyDave
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 1:03pm
Are they going to ban TV programing that show gun violence? How about alcohol and automobile ads? They are also responsible for deaths.

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neverending
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:57pm
comcast is so far in bed with the commie – they don’t just have the tingles up the leg problem – they are up the leg.

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The_Woofster
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:57pm
Well then, I would think that the airing of knife commercials is out too. Knives kill, you know, therefore any movie or show with knives in it, even for cooking purposes must be immediately banned….for the children’s sake.

Vehicles kill too…..and bridges, a lot of people jump off bridges. No bridges on NBC!

After all, isn’t that “fair” and consistent with their policy?

NBC = Nothing But Communism

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cdn1979
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:53pm
why the negativity towards comcast? This is free market capitalism at work. Comcast is making money the way they see fit. they don’t have to air something just because you like it. don’t like it, switch the channel. if you think you make a difference than you truly have your head very far up Glenn becks backside. you are a bunch of marginalized nobody’s that beck keeps entertained so he can make his millions.

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Ron Staiger
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:47pm
Gonna vote with my feet and leave Comcast

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Flag-Man
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:45pm
Another reason not to watch NBC
Semper Fi Oath Keeper

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heidihoneighbor
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:44pm
I rarely watch anything on nbc. I cant stomach theor inability to provide quality news.
i do however watch a lot of satellite stations that provide informative firearms information.

Nbc will be their own demise.

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Mandors
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:43pm
Great, so the largest distributor of pornography on the planet has a problem with a legal product. Great display of ethics.

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Redbarron17
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:41pm
Comcast will let Trojan advertise sex toys all hours of the day

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woodyee
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:41pm
BLAZE!!!!

Don’t ask them why they’re doing this – we all know the answer. INSTEAD, ask them if they’ll be equally judicious when it comes to PROGRAMMING!!!

Come On, GUYS!! You’re REPORTERS – Get With The Program!!!

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barber2
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:39pm
have just spent about 5 minutes on the line with a comcast person..who is barely understandable due to a very heavy accent…while she looks for some number to forward my call of displeasure about this gun censorship. There are only phone numbers for billing and technical problems. The computer access to leave a ” message” is more difficult than getting into the pentagon. The Obama people have us trapped by their policies , their media control, and by the complications of ” identity theft prevention ” technology . That last one will be as victimizing as the gun restrictions ! Welcome to Obama World..where Big Brother is King…and you don’t count and are anybody’s victim …

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- woodyee
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:42pm
  My hat is off to you, my friend, for your ACTIONS on TOP of your words! I wish that others here were like you!
  
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- barber2
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:44pm
  after about ten minutes of waiting for the magic phone number, I hung up. So inspired by Mr. Teleprompter’s soaring rhetoric, I guess it is time to ” change” from COMCAST.
  
  Report this comment
jackact
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:39pm
If you support the 2nd amendment, own a gun or are considering owning a gun then do the right thing and DO NOT buy GE products anymore. Nothing better sends a message than a free market slap-in-the-face. Besides GE is the biggest crony capitalist supporter of Obama.
Appliances, lightbulbs, NBC…whatever it takes.
Cut them off now!

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The_Woofster
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:33pm
No worry! They’ll have extra time spots to air Planned Parenthood’s Abortion schedules.

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media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:31pm
The media has declared an attack on the civil rights of Americans, by glorifying any attempt at infringing on the right to bear arms, meanwhile ignoring the House of Representatives passing of legislation revoking the Affordable Health Care act, nothing less than a boycott of their products will result in them paying attention?

We’ve got plenty of DVD’s and movie recordings to watch, cutting your cable bills for a few months is not going to hurt you? In fact due to rising health care premiums, how many of you have revised your budgets? What’s the first thing Americans will cut – media entertainment?

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ColoradoMaverick
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:27pm
Maybe if they are going to talk the talk, they should walk the walk and quit profiting off of violent movies and TV shows? If the Entertainment industry banned all guns, sex, drugs and violence from our TV shows, movies and music, the world would be a much better place.

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searching for the Truth
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:26pm
They have a very small hat size !

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- searching for the Truth
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:39pm
  In reference to Comcast.
  
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tomyj17
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:24pm
Go after the owner COMCAST. I’m ready to change from COMCAST to anybody else.

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RaydocX
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:20pm
but the ‘slow biological weapon’ soda is okay (for now) and beer ads are a staple… along with ads touting non-medical solutions ‘not designed to treat any condition’ and which offer patently false claims… so much for NBC trying to protect their audience.

does this mean they won’t be covering firearms any more? no more gregory waving a high cap magazine?

i’d say no more NBC, but that happened a LONG time ago.
Funny thing is even the channels i do watch don’t ‘advertise firearms’… except for the outdoor and sportsman channels, so this is just some feel good, make us look better in the eyes of our Left leaning handful of viewers, rather than any impactful business decision…. sort of like saying they won’t advertise tobacco products anymore, when they aren’t allowed to do so..

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M24
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:20pm
Comcast sucks anyway

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RestoreCapitalism
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:15pm
Comcast is most famous for treating their customers like dirt anyway. So why not cut the cable? If you can, use another internet provider, get GBTV, netflix and other internet TV shows. I have more TV than I have time to watch without cable. Cable TV is not necessary! Shut them down.

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- imconservative
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 7:31pm
  Couldn’t agree more RESTORECAPITALISM. I dumped horribly run Comcast 15 yrs ago for DirecTV, ended up dumping them as well 2 yrs ago. I haven’t missed a beat. I now have standard TV (mostly for sports) and use my PS3 for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Crackle, to name a few. All 2nd Amendment supporters should let the wheels of Capitalism turn and cancel Comcast immediately. If we’re lucky, they’ll go bankrupt.
  
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Larry1951
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:14pm
Comcast won’t let me watch FOX on my iphone. I guess that is competition?

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walnutportconservative
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:14pm
Comcast was never part of this conservative home in PA. Shut them down and bail out from them!

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MrKnowItAll
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:12pm
Send them all on a Day Trip here to Detroit. It will change their mind.

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Verceofreason
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:11pm
Hon, you can’t advertise cigarettes or hard liquor either. What’s yer point?

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- barber2
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:42pm
  VERCE: The right to own cigarettes and liquor were not guaranteed in the Constitution, hon.
  
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BladeFyre
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:11pm
They won’t ban movies/shows with guns. They will just pixelate any guns in the scene, just like many networks do with “nude” shots…

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