TiVo has responded to pressure from the LGBT community and allies and taken steps to distance itself from ultra-conservative group Focus on the Family (FOF), according to the Family Equality Council (FEC). (See my earlier post on the subject.) In an e-mail to supporters, FEC executive director Jennifer Chrisler reports:
Until this past week, the company has had an “affiliate” relationship with Focus on the Family, which means that Focus on the Family had access to TiVo’s corporate logo so they could promote TiVo products, possibly in exchange for compensation from TiVo. In the minds of TiVo executives, allowing groups like Focus on the Family to use TiVo’s corporate logo implied only that these organizations supported TiVo and its products, not the other way around. Hearing our supporters’ voices, TiVo executives realized that associations are a two-way street.
In direct response to our families’ actions, TiVo has stated that “we do not endorse the ideological views of any organization,” and from now on will no longer allow blanket access to their corporate identity. In other words, TiVo understands that aligning itself with a hate group is bad for business, bad for people and is simply wrong. TiVo has also directed Focus on the Family to remove its branding from the “Super Dads” contest and has taken down its own Focus on the Family affiliate web page.
I’m happy to report that TiVo has maintained an open dialogue with us as we’ve worked to educate them on the value of all families and the need to represent all of its customers equally. And while this dialogue has been positive, productive and responsive, the question of whether TiVo will continue to have a business relationship with Focus on the Family or similar groups in the future is unclear. We have given TiVo ample opportunity to clarify their position on this issue and to date they have declined.
FEC has also published the entries about GBT dads that FOF rejected from its “Super Dad” contest.
Chrisler adds that she told TiVo our community does not want to punish companies, but to help them “understand that Focus on the Family and similar groups are not simply ‘controversial,’ but directly target and attack our lives.” Well put.