Comcast recently banned commercials featuring some kinds of guns, but does it really have a problem with archery, too?
Just ask Bob's Little Sport Shop in Glassboro, N.J., which was told by Comcast that a commercial it had aired for years on numerous channels was no longer allowed on television because it depicts guns and bows and arrows being fired.
"They didn't want either one shown on TV and asked if we could redo our ads to not show any guns or to show the archery being shot," said Wendy Copenhaver, Bob's Little Sport Shop's office manager, in a phone interview with The Huffington Post on Monday.
Comcast had even recommended the production company that filmed the commercial a few years ago, Copenhaver also told HuffPost. The ad was then shown on 10 to 12 networks throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including ESPN, Animal Planet and Lifetime, she said.
But, Copenhaver went on to say, a Comcast representative told her in February about the change in policy, which occurred after Comcast bought the remaining stake of NBCUniversal earlier that month.
Comcast's new policy bans commercials for many types of non-hunting guns, like handguns and semi-automatic firearms, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Bob's Little Sports Shop commercial featured people shooting handguns.
“Consistent with long standing [sic] NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward," Comcast Spotlight spokesman Chris Ellis told HuffPost in an email. "This policy aligns us with the guidelines in place at many media organizations.”
When asked if bows and arrows might be categorized as hunting equipment, Ellis said that Comcast generally accepts advertising for archery.
(Hat tip, PJ Media)