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108-495: Comcast Corporation , formerly known as Comcast Holdings , is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia . It is the fourth-largest broadcasting and cable television company worldwide by revenue (behind China Mobile , Verizon , and AT&T ). It is the third-largest pay-TV company, the second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and

216-436: A South Central Pennsylvania -based cable television and broadband services provider and unit of the former Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff company, for $ 775 million cash. Comcast previously owned approximately 30% of Susquehanna Communications through its affiliate company, Lenfest . In December 2005, Comcast announced the creation of Comcast Interactive Media , a new division focused on online media. In July 2006, Comcast purchased

324-826: A YouTube competitor. The move was seen by Variety as an attempt to appeal to the cord-cutting market. On April 28, 2016, Comcast officially announced its NBCUniversal division will acquire DreamWorks Animation for $ 3.8 billion. The acquisition completed on August 22, 2016; DreamWorks Animation was integrated into NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment as part of Universal Pictures . Universal took over distribution of DreamWorks Animation films beginning in 2019 with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World after DreamWorks Animation's deal with 20th Century Fox ended. In September 2016, Comcast confirmed that it would launch an MVNO cellular network with Verizon Wireless . The service, described as being

432-464: A corporate spin-off from its parent, Jerrold Electronics , for U.S. $ 500,000. At the time, American Cable was a small cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi , with five channels and 12,000 customers. In 1965, American Cable Systems purchased Storecast Corporation of America, a product placement supermarket specialist marketing firm. In 1968, American Cable Systems purchased its first franchise of Muzak ,

540-630: A theme parks operator. It is the fourth-largest telecommunications company by worldwide revenue. Comcast owns and operates the Xfinity residential cable communications business segment and division; Comcast Business, a commercial services provider; and Xfinity Mobile, an MVNO of Verizon. Through NBCUniversal , Comcast is also the owner and operator of over-the-air national broadcast network channels such as NBC , Telemundo , TeleXitos , and Cozi TV ; multiple cable-only channels such as MSNBC , CNBC , USA Network , Syfy , Oxygen , Bravo , and E! ;

648-453: A "Wi-Fi and MVNO-integrated product" was expected to launch in mid-2017. The partnership and the addition of wireless would allow Comcast to offer a quadruple play of services. Including Comcast's Home Security offering, customers now have the option of a Quintuple Play. The service was officially announced on April 6, 2017, as Xfinity Mobile. On November 16, 2017, it was reported that Comcast attempted to purchase 21st Century Fox , following

756-477: A "firm offer". On April 12, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers ruled that Disney had to acquire all of Sky within 28 days of fully acquiring Fox if the latter's acquisition of Sky was not completed by the time the merger was done, or if Comcast's counter-offer was not accepted. On April 25, 2018, Comcast made its formal counter-bid for Sky plc, offering £12.50 per-share; Sky subsequently withdrew its recommendation of

864-650: A 50/50 partnership that controlled the systems in the Houston , Southwest Texas, San Antonio , and Kansas City markets under the Time Warner Cable brand. After the dissolution, Comcast obtained the Houston system, and Time Warner retained the others. On January 1, 2007, Comcast officially took control of the Houston system but continued to operate under the Time Warner Cable brand until June 19, 2007. Media outlets began reporting on October 1, 2009 that Comcast

972-505: A US$ 60 billion acquisition offer by Comcast in favor of its deal with Disney, due to anti-competition concerns. NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke stated that purchasing Sky would roughly double its presence in English-speaking markets, and allow for synergies between the respective networks and studios of NBCUniversal and Sky. Fox stated that it "remains committed to its recommended cash offer for Sky", and that Comcast had not yet made

1080-766: A basis in a national ethos , being ultimate without a specific nationhood, and that this lack of an ethos appears in their ways of operating as they enter into contracts with countries that have low human rights or environmental standards . In the world economy facilitated by multinational corporations, capital will increasingly be able to play workers, communities, and nations off against one another as they demand tax, regulation and wage concessions while threatening to move. In other words, increased mobility of multinational corporations benefits capital while workers and communities lose. Some negative outcomes generated by multinational corporations include increased inequality , unemployment , and wage stagnation . Raymond Vernon presents

1188-475: A brand of background music played in retail stores. Storecast was a client of Muzak. The company was re-incorporated in Pennsylvania on March 5, 1969, under the new name Comcast Corporation . Comcast's initial public offering occurred on June 29, 1972, with a market capitalization of U.S. $ 3,010,000. In 1977, HBO was first launched on a Comcast system with 20,000 customers in western Pennsylvania with

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1296-508: A corporation invests in a country in which it is not domiciled, it is called foreign direct investment (FDI). Countries may place restrictions on direct investment; for example, China has historically required partnerships with local firms or special approval for certain types of investments by foreigners, although some of these restrictions were eased in 2019. Similarly, the United States Committee on Foreign Investment in

1404-498: A dashboard called SmartZone that allowed users to perform mobile functions online. There was also Cloudmark spam and phishing protection and Trend Micro antivirus . The address book is Comcast Plaxo software. In May 2008, Comcast purchased Plaxo for a reported $ 150 million to $ 170 million. Comcast won the Consumerist Worst Company In America ("Golden Poo") award in 2010. A gold trophy in

1512-583: A deal to purchase NBC Universal and that a formal announcement could be made sometime the following week. Following a tentative agreement on December 1, the parties announced that Comcast would buy a controlling 51% stake in NBC Universal, including Universal Pictures , for $ 6.5 billion in cash and $ 7.3 billion in programming on December 3. GE would take over the remaining 49% stake in NBC Universal, using $ 5.8 billion to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBC Universal. On January 18, 2011,

1620-481: A deal valued at $ 45.2 billion. On February 13, it was reported that Time Warner Cable agreed to the acquisition. This was to add several metropolitan areas to the Comcast portfolio, such as New York City, Los Angeles , Dallas–Fort Worth , Cleveland , Columbus , Cincinnati , Charlotte , San Diego , and San Antonio. Time Warner Cable and Comcast aimed to merge into one company by the end of 2014 and both have praised

1728-655: A decrease of 6.2% compared to the prior year. Annual revenue increased by 4.3% over the same period. Their net debt was $ 91.2 billion, exceeding total shareholders equity of $ 80.9 billion as of December 31, 2022. With $ 18.8 million spent in 2013, Comcast has the seventh largest lobbying budget of any individual company or organization in the United States. Comcast employs multiple former U.S. Congressmen as lobbyists. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association , which has multiple Comcast executives on its board, also represents Comcast and other cable companies as

1836-499: A five-night free preview getting a 15% sign up rate. In 1986, Comcast bought 26% of Group W Cable , a broadcast company, doubling its number of subscribers to 1 million. Also that year, Comcast made a founding investment of $ 380 million in QVC . In 1988, Comcast was able to buy a 50% share of SCI Holdings in a joint deal with Tele-Communications Inc. Comcast also acquired American Cellular Network Corporation in 1988 for $ 230 million, marking

1944-429: A free market system where there is little government interference. As a result, international wealth is maximized with free exchange of goods and services. To many economic liberals, multinational corporations are the vanguard of the liberal order. They are the embodiment par excellence of the liberal ideal of an interdependent world economy. They have taken the integration of national economies beyond trade and money to

2052-490: A million troops to help, and by February 1991, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. Due to the oil boycott from Kuwait and Iran, oil prices rose and quickly recovered. Saudi Arabia once again led OPEC, and thanks to assistance in defending Kuwait, new relations emerged between the USA and OPEC. Operation "Desert Storm" brought mutual dependence among the main oil producers. OPEC continued to influence global oil prices but recognized

2160-602: A new independent company, which is later known as the Fox Corporation since the 2019 launch. However, on December 11, 2017, Comcast officially dropped the bid, saying that "We never got the level of engagement needed to make a definitive offer." On December 14, Disney officially confirmed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox for $ 52.4 billion in stock, pending review from the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. On February 5, 2018,

2268-699: A new report by CNBC claims that despite the Disney/Fox deal, Comcast was considering topping Disney's $ 52.4 billion offer once the AT&;T – Time Warner merger goes through, after the Department of Justice Antitrust Division sued to block the merger on November 20, 2017. On February 27, 2018, Comcast offered to purchase 61% stake in Sky plc at a value of £12.50 per-share, approximately £22.1 billion. 21st Century Fox, which owns 39% stake in Sky, had previously declined

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2376-613: A professor. After first teaching at Cardozo School of Law in New York City, Crawford became a visiting professor at the University of Michigan Law School in the fall of 2007. After visiting at Yale Law School in the spring of 2008, she was admitted to the faculty at the University of Michigan Law School. On July 1, 2010, Crawford rejoined the faculty at Cardozo, and also commenced as a Visiting Research Collaborator at

2484-399: A technician is coming. On 21 May 2024, Comcast announced Xfinity StreamSaver™, a streaming bundle combining Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+ for Xfinity Internet and TV customers. This bundle offered a subscription to Netflix Standard with ads, Peacock Premium, and Apple TV+, promised over 30% savings or nearly $ 100 annually. In April 2005, Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced plans to buy

2592-680: A total of 20 U.S. States. According to watchdog group Documented, in 2020 Comcast contributed $ 200,000 to the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a fund-raising arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association that was shown to have provided funding to the Save America March that devolved into an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 . Comcast offers low cost internet and cable service to schools, subsidized by general broadband consumers through

2700-504: Is also an attribute upon which Comcast receives strong marks. In 2008, Black Enterprise magazine rated Comcast among the top 15 companies for workforce diversity. Comcast reported a net profit in each year during the period 2006 to 2022. As of 2020, the company was ranked 28th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. For the fiscal year 2022, Comcast reported earnings of US$ 15.4 billion,

2808-472: Is also the parent company of Sky Group . Comcast is criticized and put under intense public scrutiny for a variety of reasons. Its customer satisfaction ratings were among the lowest in the cable industry during the years 2008–2010. It has violated net neutrality practices in the past and despite its commitment to a narrow definition of net neutrality, critics advocate a definition that precludes any distinction between Comcast's private network services and

2916-464: Is described as a family business . Brian L. Roberts , its chairman and CEO, is the son of founder Ralph J. Roberts (1920–2015). Roberts owns or controls about 1% of all Comcast shares but all of the Class B supervoting shares, giving him an "undilutable 33% voting power over the company". Legal expert Susan P. Crawford has said this gives him "effective control over [Comcast's] every step". In 2010, he

3024-410: Is often handled through international arbitration . The actions of multinational corporations are strongly supported by economic liberalism and free market system in a globalized international society. According to the economic realist view, individuals act in rational ways to maximize their self-interest and therefore, when individuals act rationally, markets are created and they function best in

3132-865: Is usually a large corporation incorporated in one country that produces or sells goods or services in various countries. Two common characteristics shared by MNCs are their large size and centrally controlled worldwide activities. MNCs may gain from their global presence in a variety of ways. First of all, MNCs can benefit from the economy of scale by spreading R&D expenditures and advertising costs over their global sales, pooling global purchasing power over suppliers, and utilizing their technological and managerial experience globally with minimal additional costs. Furthermore, MNCs can use their global presence to take advantage of underpriced labor services available in certain developing countries and gain access to special R&D capabilities residing in advanced foreign countries. The problem of moral and legal constraints upon

3240-980: The British East India Company founded in 1600 and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded in 1602. In addition to carrying on trade between Great Britain and its colonies, the British East India Company became a quasi-government in its own right, with local government officials and its own army in India. Other examples include the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1649 and the Hudson's Bay Company founded in 1670. These early corporations engaged in international trade and exploration and set up trading posts. The Dutch government took over

3348-670: The 19th century, such as the Rio Tinto company founded in 1873, which started with the purchase of sulfur and copper mines from the Spanish government. Rio Tinto, now based in London and Melbourne , Australia, has made many acquisitions and expanded globally to mine aluminum , iron ore , copper , uranium , and diamonds . European mines in South Africa began opening in the late 19th century, producing gold and other minerals for

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3456-708: The 20% which requires official registration . Comcast's PAC , the Comcast Corporation and NBCUniversal Political Action Committee, is among the largest PACs in the U.S., raising about $ 3.7 million from 2011 to 2012 for the campaigns of various candidates for office in the United States Federal Government . Comcast is also a major backer of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association Political Action Committee, which raised $ 2.6 million from 2011 to 2012. Comcast spent

3564-671: The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton . In 2012, Crawford visited Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government as the Stanton Professor of the First Amendment and also was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School . Since 2015 she has been on the faculty of Harvard Law School. In 2015, Politico named Crawford (along with scholars Marvin Ammori and Tim Wu ) as one of its top 50 thinkers of

3672-551: The English language. Senior officials, although mostly still Swedish, all learned English and all major internal documents were in English, the lingua franca of multinational corporations. After the war, the number of businesses having at least one foreign country operation rose drastically from a few thousand to 78,411 in 2007. Meanwhile, 74% of parent companies are located in economically advanced countries. Developing and former communist countries such as China, India, and Brazil are

3780-541: The FCC approved the deal by a vote of 4 to 1. The transaction was completed on January 28, 2011. In December 2012, Comcast adopted a new corporate logo, which incorporates NBC's peacock logo to signify its ownership of the broadcaster. On February 12, 2013, Comcast announced that it would acquire the remaining 49% of General Electric's interest in NBCUniversal, in a deal valued at approximately $ 16.7 billion. The acquisition

3888-463: The Fox bid. Multinational corporation Most of the current largest and most influential companies are publicly traded multinational corporations, including Forbes Global 2000 companies. The history of multinational corporations began with the history of colonialism . The first multi-national corporations were founded to set up colonial "factories" or port cities. The two main examples were

3996-575: The International Energy Agency (IEA), enabling states to coordinate policy, gather data, and monitor global oil reserves. In the 1970s, OPEC gradually nationalized the Seven Sisters. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the only largest world oil producer, could leverage this. However, Saudi Arabia opted for the correct approach and maintained consistent oil prices throughout the 1970s. In 1979, the "second oil shock" came from

4104-899: The National Digital Television Center in Centennial, Colorado as a wholly owned subsidiary, now known as the Comcast Media Center . In 2003, Comcast became one of the original investors in The Golf Channel . After Excite@Home went bankrupt in October 2001, Comcast took over providing internet directly to consumers in January 2002. On February 11, 2004, Comcast announced a $ 54 billion bid for Disney, including taking on $ 12 billion of Disney's debt. The deal would have made Comcast

4212-511: The Netherlands has become a popular choice, as its company laws have fewer requirements for meetings, compensation, and audit committees, and Great Britain had advantages due to laws on withholding dividends and a double-taxation treaty with the United States. Corporations can legally engage in tax avoidance through their choice of jurisdiction but must be careful to avoid illegal tax evasion . Corporations that are broadly active across

4320-640: The New Gilded Age . In April 2014, Crawford proposed that a possible solution to net neutrality concerns may be municipal broadband . Crawford was critical of the FCC's 2017 decision to end net neutrality , stating that the ruling was "handing the power to choose winners and losers online to about five companies." Crawford and Kevin Werbach served on the Federal Communications Commission Review team in

4428-558: The OLI framework. The other theoretical dimension of the role of multinational corporations concerns the relationship between the globalization of economic engagement and the culture of national and local responses. This has a history of self-conscious cultural management going back at least to the 60s. For example: Ernest Dichter, architect, of Exxon's international campaign, writing in the Harvard Business Review in 1963,

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4536-865: The Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore , Orange County, California , Sarasota and Union, New Jersey areas. Comcast's cable acquisitions in 1997 were Jones Intercable, Inc. with 1 million customers, and a stake in Prime Communications with 430,000 subscribers. In February 1998, Comcast sold its U.K. division to NTL for US$ 600 million, along with the division's $ 397 million in debt. In 1999, Comcast sold Comcast Cellular to SBC Communications for $ 400 million, releasing them from $ 1.27 billion in debt. Also in 1999, Comcast acquired Greater Philadelphia Cablevision, and launched Comcast University as well as Comcast Interactive Capital Group. In November 1999, Comcast purchased Lenfest Communications, who were

4644-731: The Seattle-based software company thePlatform. This represented an entry into a new line of business—selling software to allow companies to manage their Internet (and IP-based) media publishing efforts. On April 3, 2007, Comcast announced it would acquire the cable systems owned and operated by Patriot Media, a privately held company owned by cable veteran Steven J. Simmons, Spectrum Equity Investors and Spire Capital, that served approximately 81,000 video subscribers for $ 483 million. Comcast announced in May 2007 and launched in September 2008

4752-464: The Third World colonies. That changed dramatically after 1945 as investors turned to industrialized countries and invested in manufacturing (especially high-tech electronics, chemicals, drugs, and vehicles) as well as trade. Sweden's leading manufacturing concern was SKF , a leading maker of bearings for machinery. In order to expand its international business, it decided in 1966 it needed to use

4860-636: The U.S. applies its corporate taxation "extraterritorially", which has motivated tax inversions to change the home state. By 2019, most OECD nations, with the notable exception of the U.S., had moved to territorial tax in which only revenue inside the border was taxed; however, these nations typically scrutinize foreign income with controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules to avoid base erosion and profit shifting . In practice, even under an extraterritorial system, taxes may be deferred until remittance, with possible repatriation tax holidays , and subject to foreign tax credits . Countries generally cannot tax

4968-534: The U.S. government's E-Rate program. Critics have noted that many of the strongest supporters of Comcast's business deals have received substantial funding from the Comcast Foundation. However, it is important to note that for years, Comcast has been relying on subsidiaries to finance philanthropic pursuits. In 1963, Ralph J. Roberts in conjunction with his two business partners, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky , purchased American Cable Systems as

5076-541: The United States sanctions against Iran ; European companies faced with the possibility of losing access to the U.S. market by trading with Iran. International investment agreements also facilitate direct investment between two countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and most favored nation status. Raymond Vernon reported in 1977 that of the largest multinationals focused on manufacturing, 250 were headquartered in

5184-506: The United States scrutinizes foreign investments. In addition, corporations may be prohibited from various business transactions by international sanctions or domestic laws. For example, Chinese domestic corporations or citizens have limitations on their ability to make foreign investments outside China, in part to reduce capital outflow . Countries can impose extraterritorial sanctions on foreign corporations even for doing business with other foreign corporations, which occurred in 2019 with

5292-614: The United States as the largest consumer and guarantor of the existing oil security order. Since the Iraq War, OPEC has had only a minor influence on oil prices, but it has expanded to 11 members, accounting for about 40 percent of total global oil production, although this is a decline from nearly 50 percent in 1974. Oil has practically become a common commodity, leading to much more volatile prices. Most OPEC members are wealthy, and most remain dependent on oil revenues, which has serious consequences, such as when OPEC members were pressured by

5400-461: The United States from 2010. The USA became the leading oil producer, creating tension with OPEC. In 2014, Saudi Arabia increased production to push new American producers out of the market, leading to lower prices. OPEC then reduced production in 2016 to raise prices, further worsening relations with the United States. By 2012, only 7% of the world's known oil reserves were in countries that allowed private international companies free rein; 65% were in

5508-629: The United States, 115 in Western Europe, 70 in Japan, and 20 in the rest of the world. The multinationals in banking numbered 20 headquartered in the United States, 13 in Europe, nine in Japan and three in Canada. Today multinationals can select from a variety of jurisdictions for various subsidiaries, but the ultimate parent company can select a single legal domicile ; The Economist suggests that

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5616-766: The VOC in 1799, and during the 19th century, other governments increasingly took over private companies, most notably in British India. During the process of decolonization , the European colonial charter companies were disbanded, with the final colonial corporation, the Mozambique Company , dissolving in 1972. Mining of gold, silver, copper, and oil was a major activity early on and remains so today. International mining companies became prominent in Britain in

5724-507: The West to the post-colonial South and invest either in foreign expenditures or ostentatious economic development projects. After 1974, most of the money from OPEC members ceased as payments for goods and services or investments in Western industry. In February 1974, the first Washington Energy Conference was convened. The most significant contribution of this conference was the establishment of

5832-578: The assets of bankrupted Adelphia Cable . The two companies paid a total of $ 17.6 billion in the deal that was finalized in the second quarter of 2006—after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed a seven-month investigation without raising an objection. Time Warner Cable became the second-largest cable provider in the U.S., ranking behind Comcast. As part of the deal, Time Warner Cable and Comcast traded existing subscribers in order to consolidate them into larger geographic clusters. In August 2006, Comcast and Time Warner Cable dissolved

5940-469: The behavior of multinational corporations, given that they are effectively "stateless" actors, is one of several urgent global socioeconomic problems that has emerged during the late twentieth century. Potentially, the best concept for analyzing society's governance limitations over modern corporations is the concept of "stateless corporations". Coined at least as early as 1991 in Business Week ,

6048-742: The collapse of the Shah's regime in Iran. Iran became a regional power due to oil money and American weapons. The Shah eventually abdicated and fled the country. This prompted a strike by thousands of Iranian oil workers, significantly reducing oil production in Iran. Saudi Arabia tried to cope with the crisis by increasing production, but oil prices still soared, leading to the "second oil shock." Saudi Arabia significantly reduced oil production, losing most of its revenues. In 1986, Riyadh changed course, and oil production in Saudi Arabia sharply increased, flooding

6156-561: The companies ultimately decided to keep only the Comcast name, with the company and new assets reincorporated in Pennsylvania on December 7, 2001. On November 18, 2002, Comcast officially acquired all assets of AT&T Broadband, thus making Comcast the largest cable television company in the United States with over 22 million subscribers. This spurred the start of Comcast Advertising Sales (using AT&T's groundwork) which would later be renamed Comcast Spotlight and now effectv, A Comcast Company. As part of this acquisition, Comcast also acquired

6264-654: The companies. This occurred in 1960. Prior to the 1973 oil crisis , the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 percent of the world's petroleum reserves . In the 1970s, most countries with large reserves nationalized their reserves that had been owned by major oil companies. Since then, industry dominance has shifted to the OPEC cartel and state-owned oil and gas companies, such as Saudi Aramco , Gazprom (Russia), China National Petroleum Corporation , National Iranian Oil Company , PDVSA (Venezuela), Petrobras (Brazil), and Petronas (Malaysia). A unilateral increase in oil prices

6372-491: The company was prompted to lay off a number of their employees; revenue for their theme park locations fell 81 percent to $ 311 million from $ 1.63 billion in 2019. In 2024, Comcast signed a deal with Starlink to provide satellite-based connectivity to business customers in regions with limited network access. On February 12, 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported that Comcast sought to acquire Time Warner Cable in

6480-607: The company was so widely criticized by its customers, the media, and its own workers. It concluded that Comcast's staff endured unreasonable corporate policies: "Customer service has been replaced by an obsession with sales; technicians are understaffed … tech support is poorly trained, and the company is hobbled by internal fragmentation." A widely read article by an anonymous Comcast call center employee appeared in November 2014 on Cracked . Titled "Five Nightmares You Live While Working For America's Worst Company", it claimed that Comcast

6588-510: The conception was theoretically clarified in 1993: that an empirical strategy for defining a stateless corporation is with analytical tools at the intersection between demographic analysis and transportation research. This intersection is known as logistics management , and it describes the importance of rapidly increasing global mobility of resources. In a long history of analysis of multinational corporations, we are some quarter-century into an era of stateless corporations—corporations that meet

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6696-643: The creation of a "world customer". The idea of a global corporate village entailed the management and reconstitution of parochial attachments to one's nation. It involved not a denial of the naturalness of national attachments, but an internationalization of the way a nation defines itself. "Multinational enterprise" (MNE) is the term used by international economist and similarly defined with the multinational corporation (MNC) as an enterprise that controls and manages production establishments, known as plants located in at least two countries. The multinational enterprise (MNE) will engage in foreign direct investment (FDI) as

6804-481: The deal on April 9, 2014. The House Judiciary Committee planned its own hearing. On March 6, 2014, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division confirmed it was investigating the deal. In March 2014, the division's chairman, William Baer, recused himself because he was involved in the prior Comcast NBCUniversal acquisition. Several states' attorneys general have announced support for

6912-406: The deal, emphasizing the increased capabilities of a combined telecommunications network, and to "create operating efficiencies and economies of scale". In 2014, critics expressed concern that the deal would give Comcast greater negotiating power in a number of areas, including rebroadcast fees with television channels, and peering agreements with ISPs. Critics noted in 2013 that Tom Wheeler ,

7020-584: The debate from a neo-liberal perspective in Storm over the Multinationals (1977). Susan P. Crawford Susan P. Crawford (born February 27, 1963) is the John A. Reilly Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School . She served as President Barack Obama 's Special Assistant for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (2009) and is a columnist for WIRED . She is a former board member of ICANN ,

7128-522: The federal investigation. On April 24, 2015, Jonathan Sallet, general counsel of the F.C.C., explained that he was going to recommend a hearing before an administrative law judge, equivalent to a collapse of the deal. In August 2015, Comcast announced that it would increase Internet speeds for low-income customers from 5 Mbit/s to 10 Mbit/s, provide free wireless routers, and pilot an initiative to increase Internet access for low-income senior citizens. In September of that year Comcast also launched Watchable,

7236-425: The fifth largest lobbying organization in the United States, spending $ 19.8 million in 2013. Comcast was among the top backers of Barack Obama 's presidential runs, with Comcast vice president David Cohen raising over $ 2.2 million from 2007 to 2012. Cohen has been described by many sources as influential in the U.S. government, though he is no longer a registered lobbyist, as the time he spends lobbying falls short of

7344-458: The film studio Universal Pictures ; the VOD streaming service Peacock ; animation studios DreamWorks Animation , Illumination , and Universal Animation Studios ; and Universal Destinations & Experiences . It also has significant holdings in digital distribution, such as thePlatform , which it acquired in 2006; and ad-tech company FreeWheel, which it acquired in 2014. Since October 2018, Comcast

7452-481: The firm makes direct investments in host country plants for equity ownership and managerial control to avoid some transaction costs . Sanjaya Lall in 1974 proposed a spectrum of scholarly analysis of multinational corporations, from the political right to the left. He put the business school how-to-do-it writers at the extreme right, followed by the liberal laissez-faire economists, and the neoliberals (they remain right of center but do allow for occasional mistakes of

7560-577: The first time it became a mobile phone operator . In February 1990, Ralph Roberts' son, Brian L. Roberts, succeeded his father as president of Comcast. Two years later, the company's mobile division, Comcast Cellular, purchased a controlling interest in Metromedia 's Philadelphia-area cellular telephone interests, Metrophone. By 1994, Comcast owned 50% stock in the cable communications company Garden State Cable , who by that year were serving approximately 195,000 subscribers. That same year, Comcast became

7668-460: The founder of OneWebDay , and a legal scholar. Her research focuses on telecommunications and information law. Crawford was born in 1963 and grew up in Santa Monica , where she attended Santa Monica High School , and played violin in the "Samohi" orchestra. Crawford received her B.A. ( summa cum laude , Phi Beta Kappa ) and J.D. from Yale University . While at Yale , Crawford was

7776-416: The hands of state-owned companies that operated in one country and sold oil to multinationals such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Down through the 1930s, about 80% of the international investments by multinational corporations were concentrated in the primary sector, especially mining (especially oil) and agriculture (rubber, tobacco, sugar, palm oil , coffee, cocoa, and tropical fruits). Most went to

7884-411: The head of the FCC, which has to approve the deal, is the former head of both the largest cable lobbying organization, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and as largest wireless lobby, CTIA – The Wireless Association . According to Politico , Comcast "donated to almost every member of Congress who has a hand in regulating it". The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on

7992-521: The international oil market. Iran was unable to sell any of its oil. In August 1953, the then-prime minister was overthrown by a pro-American dictatorship led by the Shah, and in October 1954, the Iranian industry was denationalized. Worldwide oil consumption increased rapidly between 1949 and 1970, a period known as the 'golden age of oil'. This increase in consumption was caused not only by the growth of production by multinational oil companies but also by

8100-415: The internationalization of production. For the first time in history, production, marketing, and investment are being organized on a global scale rather than in terms of isolated national economies. International business is also a specialist field of academic research. Economic theories of the multinational corporation include internalization theory and the eclectic paradigm . The latter is also known as

8208-637: The largest media conglomerate in the world. However, after rejection by Disney and uncertain response from investors, the bid was abandoned in April. In 2004, Comcast sold its QVC shares to Liberty Media for $ 7.9 billion. On April 8, 2005, a partnership led by Comcast and Sony Pictures Entertainment finalized a deal to acquire MGM and its affiliate studio, United Artists , and created an additional outlet to carry MGM/UA's material for cable and Internet distribution. On October 31, 2005, Comcast officially announced that it had acquired Susquehanna Communications ,

8316-597: The largest home Internet service provider in the United States. In 2023, the company was ranked 51st in the Forbes Global 2000 . Comcast is additionally the nation's third-largest home telephone service provider . It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia . As the owner of NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is also a high-volume producer of films for theatrical exhibition and television programming, and

8424-460: The largest recipients. However, 70% of foreign direct investment went into developed countries in the form of stocks and cash flows. The rise in the number of multinational companies could be due to a stable political environment that encourages cooperation, advances in technology that enable management of faraway regions, and favorable organizational development that encourages business expansion into other countries. A multinational corporation (MNC)

8532-471: The launch of the @Home Network . Also in 1996, Comcast formed Comcast Spectacor , which became owner of the Philadelphia Flyers. In 1997, Microsoft invested $ 1 billion in Comcast, and the company launched its digital TV service. That same year, in partnership with The Walt Disney Company , Comcast got a 50.1% controlling interest in E! Entertainment. By December 31, 1997, it was available in

8640-474: The laws and regulations of both their domicile and the additional jurisdictions where they are engaged in business. In some cases, the jurisdiction can help to avoid burdensome laws, but regulatory statutes often target the "enterprise" with statutory language around "control". As of 1992 , the United States and most OECD countries have the donot legal authority to tax a domiciled parent corporation on its worldwide revenue, including subsidiaries. As of 2019 ,

8748-494: The market with cheap oil. This caused a worldwide drop in oil prices, hence the "third oil shock" or "counter-shock." However, this shock represented something much bigger—the end of OPEC's dominance and its control over oil prices. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to attack Kuwait. The invasion sparked a crisis in the Middle East, prompting Saudi Arabia to request assistance from the United States. The United States sent

8856-543: The marketplace such as externalities). Moving to the left side of the line are nationalists, who prioritize national interests over corporate profits, then the "dependencia" school in Latin America that focuses on the evils of imperialism, and on the far left the Marxists. The range is so broad that scholarly consensus is hard to discern. Anti-corporate advocates criticize multinational corporations for being without

8964-864: The most money of any organization in support of the Stop Online Piracy and PROTECT IP bills, spending roughly $ 5 million to lobby for their passage. Comcast also backs lobbying and PACs on a regional level, backing organizations such as the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association and the Broadband Communications Association of Washington PAC. Comcast and other cable companies have lobbied state governments to pass legislation restricting or banning individual cities from offering public broadband service. Municipal broadband restrictions of varying scope have been passed in

9072-450: The new company, while Comcast owned 51%. Vivendi , which owns 20%, would have to sell its stake to GE. It was reported that under the current deal with GE that it would happen in November or December. It was also reported that Time Warner would be interested in placing a bid, until CEO Jeffrey L. Bewkes directly denied interest, leaving Comcast the sole bidder. On November 1, 2009, The New York Times reported Comcast had moved closer to

9180-571: The news 10 days earlier that Disney negotiated with Fox to acquire the same assets. Like Disney, the deal included the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, cable entertainment and broadcast satellite networks including FX Networks , National Geographic Partners , Fox Sports Networks , and international channels such as Star India . It would not include the Fox Broadcasting Company , Fox Television Stations , Fox Sports , and Fox News units, all which will be spun-off into

9288-489: The ninth largest cable television operator at the time and were the largest operator in the Philadelphia area. This consolidated Comcast's control over all of the Philadelphia region, and earned them approximately 1.3 million additional cable subscribers. The purchase of Lenfest also bought Comcast the remaining 50% stock of the cable operator Garden State Communications — a company whom Comcast had already owned half of in partnership with Lenfest for years. Comcast quickly replaced

9396-560: The price collapse in 1998–1999. The United States still maintains close relations with Saudi Arabia. In 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq with the aim of removing the dictatorship and gaining access to Iraqi oil reserves, giving the United States greater strategic importance from 2000 to 2008. During this period, there was a constant shortage of oil, but its consumption continued to rise, maintaining high prices and leading to concerns about "peak oil". From 2005 to 2012, there were advances in oil and gas extraction, leading to increased production in

9504-564: The principal violist in the Yale Symphony Orchestra and continues her daily practice and occasionally performs publicly. After earning her J.D. degree, Crawford served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York , and was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering ( Washington, D.C. ) until the end of 2002, when she left that firm to become

9612-611: The realities of the needs of source materials on a worldwide basis and to produce and customize products for individual countries. One of the first multinational business organizations, the East India Company , was established in 1601. After the East India Company came the Dutch East India Company , founded on March 20, 1603, which would become the largest company in the world for nearly 200 years. The main characteristics of multinational companies are: When

9720-762: The rest of the Internet. Critics also point out a lack of competition in the vast majority of Comcast's service areas; in particular, the limited competition among cable providers. Given its negotiating power as a large ISP, some suspect that it could leverage paid peering agreements to unfairly influence end-user connection speeds. Its ownership of both content production (in NBCUniversal) and distribution (as an ISP) has raised antitrust concerns. These issues and others led to Comcast being dubbed "The Worst Company in America" by The Consumerist in 2010 and 2014. Comcast

9828-520: The second-tallest skyscraper in Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2018, it finished construction of the 1,121 ft (342 m) Comcast Technology Center , Pennsylvania's tallest skyscraper, adjacent to its original headquarters. As of 2019, the company had 184,000 employees. Comcast is often criticized by the media and its own staff for its less-than-upstanding policies of employee relations. A 2014 investigative series published by The Verge involved interviews with 150 Comcast employees, and examined why

9936-412: The shape of a pile of human feces was delivered to Comcast Corporate Headquarters to commemorate the unmatched level of enmity flowing from their customer base to their business. Comcast responded immediately by publicly acknowledging the dubious award and citing ongoing efforts to improve its customer service. One effort to change this is a new app called Tech ETA that allows customers to see exactly when

10044-501: The strong influence of the United States on the global oil market. In 1959, companies lowered the price of oil due to a surplus in the market. This reduction dealt a significant blow to the finances of producers. Saudi oil minister Abdullah Tariki and Venezuela’s Juan Perez Alfonso entered into a secret agreement (the Mahdi Pact), promising that if the price of oil was lowered a second time, they would take collective action against

10152-421: The ten-year general manager at Garden State with their own executive, and eventually Garden State ceased operating under its own name and was fully merged to become a part of the Comcast Corporation. In 2001, Comcast announced it would acquire the assets of the largest cable television operator at the time, AT&T Broadband , for $ 44.5 billion. The proposed name for the merged company was "AT&T Comcast", but

10260-411: The third-largest cable operator in the United States, with around 3.5 million subscribers following its purchase of Maclean-Hunter 's American division for $ 1.27 billion. Comcast grew to 4.3 million subscribers the following year with the purchase of the cable operation of E. W. Scripps Company for $ 1.575 billion in stock. Comcast offered internet connection for the first time in 1996, with its part in

10368-496: The world market, jobs for locals, and business and profits for companies. Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902) was one of the few businessmen in the era who became Prime Minister (of South Africa 1890–1896). His mining enterprises included the British South Africa Company and De Beers . The latter company practically controlled the global diamond market from its base in southern Africa. In 1945, the United States

10476-573: The world without a concentration in one area have been called stateless or "transnational" (although "transnational corporation" is also used synonymously with "multinational corporation" ), but as of 1992, a corporation must be legally domiciled in a particular country and engage in other countries through foreign direct investment and the creation of foreign subsidiaries. Geographic diversification can be measured across various domains, including ownership and control, workforce, sales, and regulation and taxation. Multinational corporations may be subject to

10584-503: The worldwide revenue of a foreign subsidiary, and taxation is complicated by transfer pricing arrangements with parent corporations. For small corporations, registering a foreign subsidiary can be expensive and complex, involving fees, signatures, and forms; a professional employer organization (PEO) is sometimes advertised as a cheaper and simpler alternative, but not all jurisdictions have laws accepting these types of arrangements. Disputes between corporations in different nations

10692-501: The year, citing her contributions to the net neutrality movement. Crawford served as a member of the board of directors for ICANN from 2005 to 2008. In 2005 she founded OneWebDay - a global celebration of the Internet . She is known as a champion of net neutrality , and has written on many other current policy issues. In 2012, Yale University Press published her book, Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in

10800-624: Was completed on March 19, 2013. Comcast reported that third-quarter net profits in 2020 fell 37 percent to $ 2.02 billion from $ 3.22 billion the previous year, in part due to the limited capacity measures for the COVID-19 pandemic at theme parks like Universal Studios and movie theaters, with revenues falling 4.8 percent. With their theme park in California being closed since March 2020 and limited capacity at locations in Florida and Japan ,

10908-438: Was enabled by multinational corporations known as the 'Seven Sisters'. The "Seven Sisters" was a common term for the seven multinational companies that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry in 1951 by Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the subsequent boycott of Iranian oil by all companies had dramatic consequences for Iran and

11016-448: Was fully aware that the means to overcoming cultural resistance depended on an "understanding" of the countries in which a corporation operated. He observed that companies with "foresight to capitalize on international opportunities" must recognize that " cultural anthropology will be an important tool for competitive marketing". However, the projected outcome of this was not the assimilation of international firms into national cultures, but

11124-495: Was in talks to buy NBC Universal . Comcast denied the rumors at first, while NBC would not comment on them. However, CNBC itself reported on October 1 that General Electric was considering spinning NBC Universal off into a separate company that would merge the NBC television network and its cable properties such as USA Network, Syfy and MSNBC, as well as Universal Pictures , with Comcast's content assets. GE would maintain 49% control of

11232-544: Was included on CableFAX magazine's "Top 10 Places to Work in Cable", which cited its "scale, savvy and vision". Similarly, the Philadelphia Business Journal awarded Comcast the silver medal among extra-large companies in Philadelphia, with the gold medal going to partner organization, Comcast-Spectacor. The Boston Globe found Comcast to be that city's top place to work in 2009. Employee diversity

11340-546: Was labeled as "the largest nonviolent transfer of wealth in human history." The OPEC sought immediate discussions regarding participation in national oil industries. Companies were not inclined to object as the price hike benefited both them and OPEC members. In 1980, the Seven Sisters were entirely displaced and replaced by national oil companies (NOCs). The rise in oil prices burdened developing countries with balance of payments deficits, leading to an energy crisis. OPEC members had to abandon their plan of redistributing wealth from

11448-806: Was obsessed with sales, did not train its employees properly, and concluded that "the system makes good customer service impossible." Comcast has also earned a reputation as anti-union. A company training manual says, "Comcast does not feel union representation is in the best interest of its employees, customers, or shareholders". A dispute in 2004 with CWA , a labor union representing many employees at Comcast's Beaverton, Oregon offices, led to allegations of management intimidating workers, requiring them to attend anti-union meetings and unwarranted disciplinary action for union members. In 2011, Comcast received criticism from Writers Guild of America for its policies regarding unions. Despite these criticisms, Comcast has appeared on multiple "top places to work" lists. In 2009, it

11556-503: Was one of the highest paid executives in the United States, with total compensation of about $ 31 million. As of February 18, 2024: Comcast is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has offices in Atlanta , Detroit , Denver , Manchester, New Hampshire and New York City . On January 3, 2005, it announced it would become the anchor tenant in the new Comcast Center in downtown Philadelphia—at 975 ft (297 m),

11664-513: Was the world's largest oil producer. However, their reserves were declining due to high demand. Therefore, the United States turned to foreign oil sources, which had a significant impact on the recovery of the West after World War II. Most of the world's oil was found in Latin America and the Middle East, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. This increase in non-American production

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