June is LGBTQ+ Pride month, marking the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that kicked off the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. A combination of celebration and protest, Pride is a time for reflection and joy, as well as a time for dialogues about the serious issues that still face the queer community.
The cable TV industry has a history of telling LGBTQ+ stories, being home to some of the first major TV shows focused on gay and queer people, the first TV network geared toward that community, as well as countless groundbreaking moments for the representation of people once ostracized by the mainstream.
This June, here are just a few examples of how NCTA members are recognizing the important month this year.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Human By Orientation” is Max’s platform for the LGBTQ+ community. They amplify and celebrate queer voices and stories through year-round programming and cultural events (exclusive music performances, comedy specials, etc.) — encouraging people to express their queerest, proudest selves.
Earlier this month Max hosted an outdoor screening in NYC of HBO Documentary Films’ “The Stroll at Gansevoort Plaza” which highlights substantial changes the neighborhood has seen over the years and spotlighting the role the district played in the history of equal rights.
WBD is also hosting the “Them x Pitchfork’s Night Out Pride Celebration” (sponsored by Max’s Human By Orientation platform), a special Pride concert in Queens, New York. The event celebrates the impact of queer musicians and the safe havens that queer clubs provide.
Paramount is promoting its LGBTQ+ programming via the “A Mountain of Pride” landing page on its Paramount+ platform. Examples of some of the offerings include “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Queer as Folk,” “Noah’s Arc,” and “The L Word.”
Since 2005, Paramount has received a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for its support of LGBTQ+ employees. Paramount also offers its support via the Proud employee resource group (ERG), creating a space for LGBTQ+ people and their allies inside the company.
ESPN has several events lined up, starting the month with a Progress Pride flag-raising at their Bristol, CT headquarters and a Pride picnic hosted by its ERG, ESPN Equal.
Other events include:
- The network will air a feature on L.A. Sparks head coach Curt Miller, the first openly gay male coach of a professional team.
- Special programming featuring 10 custom storytelling vignettes about members of the LGBTQ+ community across sports, generations, and cultures.
- A Pride Night at Dodger Stadium that includes an exclusive Dodgers LGBTQ+ jersey.
- A screening of an episode of “The Bicycle Diaries,” following the first German footballer to come out as gay.
Charter Spectrum is celebrating the LGBTQ+ community by offering customers an On Demand collection of free TV shows and movies for rent from June 1 to June 30. Among the shows featured are: “Good Trouble,” a scripted series about sisters navigating young adulthood in Los Angeles; and reality shows “I Am Jazz,” about a transgender teenager growing up in South Florida, and “Family Karma,” about Indian-American families in Miami.
Charter also creates space for its LGBTQ+ employees and allies through their business resource group (BRG) Spectrum LGBTQ.
Comcast NBCUniversal has been a long-time ally to the LGBTQ+ community through its public support, platforms, programming, employees, and more. From professional development summits to wellness sessions, Pride parades, and beyond, members of its ERG called “OUT” are living the legacy established in 1986, when NBCUniversal founded one of the nation’s first LGBTQ+ focused ERGs.
Through Project UP, the company also works with organizations that help advance digital equity in LGBTQ+ communities including StartOut, which aims to build a world where every LGBTQ+ entrepreneur has equal access to lead, succeed, and shape the workforce of the future, and LGBT Tech, which provides cutting edge technology and resources to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Comcast’s Newsmakers TV news series will release new interviews spotlighting LGBTQ+ community champions including Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign, E.C. Pizarro III of TransTech Social Enterprises, and Stacy Lentz of the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative.
Cox is using Pride to help educate the public about LGBTQ+ history and the struggles of the equality movement by detailing milestones and the challenges LGBTQ+ people face. The cable operator has also elevated and celebrated trans employees in the past, making public statements about its support for the trans community.
Cox supports its LGBTQ+ employees through its ERG Cox Pride, creating a space for community within the workplace.
Cox has a 100 rating from HRC, being listed as one of the best places to work for LGBTQ+ equality for several years.