In the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, the U.S. cable industry was in the forefront as the American people and U.S. businesses mobilized to assist the island nation.

Within 48 hours of the quake, NCTA had worked with assistance from The Advertising Council to arrange distribution to NCTA member companies of a public service announcement (PSA) recorded by First Lady Michelle Obama, directing Americans to where they could make financial contributions to assist in earthquake relief (View the PSA here).  The Association later made available to its member companies – via digital files, videotape dubs, and another satellite uplink forthcoming – additional Ad Council PSAs recorded by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

MTV Networks/Viacom meanwhile set the bar for corporate responsibility by organizing a two-hour, commercial-free fundraising telethon that aired on Friday, January 22, hosted by George Clooney, Wyclef Jean, and Anderson Cooper.  Other broadcast and cable networks that jumped in to carry the telethon included NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS, The CW, HBO, CNN, CMT, BET, VH1, MTV, MTV Networks International, CNN International, and National Geographic. That activity initially raised almost $60 million, and more contributions were arriving in the days that followed.

Additionally, cable programmers, operators, and vendors moved swiftly to lend their support to the aid effort by providing avenues for their viewers and subscribers to participate in earthquake relief.  Industry efforts have included – but may not have been limited to – the following initiatives:

• Bresnan Communications started an online relief site with partner AmeriCares, and seeded it with a $10,000 corporate contribution.

• The Cisco Foundation announced a $250,000 donation to American Red Cross and pledged to match up to $1 million in employee contributions.

• Comcast is providing more than $1 million in cash and in-kind support, including contributions to American Red Cross and Telecom Without Borders.

• Discovery Communications promised to match employee contributions up to a total of $250,000, benefitting organizations including GlobalGiving, American Red Cross, and International Federation of the Red Cross.

• Disney/ESPN announced an aid contribution of $100,000 and encouraged further employee contributions. 

• Time Warner Inc. pledged to match employee donations to a maximum of $500,000, working in partnership with the nonprofit Network for Good, and with beneficiaries including American Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, CARE, and UNICEF.

• CNN’s Larry King hosted an on-air telethon on January 18 that garnered $9 million in donations.

• Univision joined American Red Cross in establishing a toll-free number for viewers to call, to pledge financial support or offer to join the relief effort.  Univision also was working to produce Spanish-language PSAs for industry-wide use.