Comcast’s Lobbying Machine Faces Test in Washington

When Comcast heard rumors that President Barack Obama was preparing to call for tough new Internet regulations, the cable giant’s influence machine swung into action. Chief Executive Brian Roberts telephoned Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s senior adviser. He pressed her for information and stressed that Comcast opposed such a move, according to people familiar with the call. But Jarrett told him nothing and the last-ditch lobbying fell flat. A few days later, on Nov. 10, President Obama called for the “strongest possible rules” to make sure broadband providers treat all Web traffic equally -- a change that would regulate Internet service like a public utility. The news took Comcast by surprise. Comcast boasts one of the biggest corporate lobbying operations in Washington, spending $17 million in 2014, second only to Google Inc. That presence is being tested now like never before. In addition to the threat of new Internet restrictions, Comcast is facing intense scrutiny from regulators on its merger with Time Warner Cable.