House Commerce GOP Leads Seek NBCU Info on China and Olympics
House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, are pressing NBCUniversal to explain what influence the Chinese Communist Party has in shaping the media company’s coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics…
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in Beijing. The U.S. has “a rich history of ensuring the public has access to a multitude of diverse, and often conflicting, ideas and ideologies,” the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel. “Given China’s history of censorship and government control, and the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stands to benefit financially from NBCUniversal’s coverage of the games, we are concerned about the extent of influence the CCP may have over” that programming. The Republicans want NBCUniversal to detail whether the Chinese government has “taken any steps” to influence the media company’s coverage of China issues in the leadup to the Olympic Games, including whether it’s “precluded” by the government or International Olympic Committee from broadcasting anything “critical of the government.” They want to know whether China will have “the ability to block your broadcast feed” to the U.S. “as they deem fit.” NBCUniversal didn’t comment.