Last month, I looked at tech companies that are sticking (for now) to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, despite pressure from the Trump administration to eliminate such (because racism/sexism/anti-LGBTQ). I also looked at alternatives to companies ditching DEI.
Turning to media companies and DEI, things aren’t the most positive there, either. The Trump administration’s new FCC is vowing to go after conglomerates out of conservative political reasons, and that includes companies supporting DEI initiatives. Comcast is facing pressure from the FCC over such. Never mind that diversity even with DEI efforts is already often iffy in Hollywood. Or that people of color want to see characters in media who look like themselves, and in lead roles—not just the best friend or sidekick to a white character. (Or some awful stereotype only a Musk or Trump would love.) There’s also the global nature of modern media, which by default includes non-white audiences. Making your cast have all the diversity of a 60s sitcom might thrill MAGA bigots, but not necessarily most of the planet.
Below, I look at which major US media companies are (as of this writing) standing by DEI initiatives, and which ones aren’t. (I’m not bothering with listing Fox, for obvious reasons.)
Media companies still supporting DEI
Apple
As I noted in my previous post, Apple’s still committed to DEI initiatives, and that would include Apple TV+. While Apple TV+’s library is smaller than other services, it does have the advantage of being ad-free (for now).
Netflix
Netflix recently stated that it’s still committed to DEI. Among other incentives, Netflix is the dominant streaming service, and de facto one for many people. It’s also very reliant on non-US sourced material and appealing to a global audience, as the popularity of “Squid Game” (made in South Korea) shows. Thus, there’s not much incentive to make their programming have all the diversity of a Trump rally. (I hope.)
Comcast
While Comcast is facing pressure from the FCC (of all places) to undo DEI, it still has such as of this writing, so I’ll leave it here for now.
Comcast is the owner of Peacock.
Sony
I haven’t found anything about Sony (owner of Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures) regarding DEI, so for now, I’ll leave them here. Sony’s been a holdout in the streaming wars race, preferring to license their stuff to other streaming services/outlets instead.
Media companies dropping support of DEI
Amazon
I’ve previously mentioned Amazon in the tech-related post.
Amazon-owned streaming services: Prime Video.
Disney
Disney has dialed back support of DEI, though it’s been rolling back diversity efforts over the past year or so. Disney owns quite a bit, from Marvel to Pixar to ESPN.
Disney-owned streaming services: Disney+; Hulu; ESPN+.
Paramount
Paramount announced it’s dialing back on DEI, probably in part to curry favor with the Trump administration for its Skydance merger. Given Paramount is the company that owns BET and the “Star Trek” franchise, this DEI rollback particularly stands out.
Paramount-owned streaming services: Paramount+; BET+; Pluto TV.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to change its DEI initiatives to just “inclusion.” While that sounds like it still keeps part of DEI, I suppose it’s still a rollback. Despite its current state, Warner Bros. owns a large number of franchises, from DC Comics to Cartoon Network to “Game of Thrones.”
Warner Bros.-owned streaming services: Max; Discovery+.
PBS
It feels weird to list PBS, the non-commercial public broadcaster that’s meant to serve the public good, and whose children’s programming heavily promotes diversity. But alas, it’s announced it’s rolling back its DEI efforts, presumably to avoid seeing its federal funding slashed. Never mind that Republicans despise government funding of PBS; short of becoming a Fox News clone, nothing PBS can say or do will change their minds. (Not helping: the current state of “Sesame Street,” which is no longer a first-run PBS series.)
PBS offers PBS Passport as a streaming service, plus live-streaming of PBS and PBS Kids.
Alternatives to DEI dropping media companies
The main options I can think of as alternatives to Disney, Paramount, etc.:
- Apple TV+.
- Netflix.
- Peacock.
- Your local public library. The library offers DVDs and Blu-rays for checkout, along with books, comics, and other materials. Libraries also serve the general public, not stockholders. There are also two digital services that offer streaming via public libraries:
- Kanopy
- Hoopla
- Buy physical media. You can just skip the above services and buy DVDs and Blu-rays of your favorites, if available. If you’re trying to give the conglomerates as little money as possible, you can buy discs second-hand via outlets like eBay.
- Support independent outlets/creator-owned material. This is probably one of the best alternatives. Independent outlets and creators need your support, and can offer a diverse range of material that Disney or Warner Bros. would never provide. Also, a webcomic creator certainly needs your money more than a multi-billion dollar conglomerate relying on comic characters older than most people alive today.
Photo by Dewi Jones on Unsplash
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