romikgosai/squad_modified_2 huggingface dataset:
With $18.8 million spent in 2013, Comcast has the seventh largest lobbying budget of any individual company or organization in the United States. Comcast employs multiple former US Congressmen as lobbyists. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which has multiple Comcast executives on its board, also represents Comcast and other cable companies as the fifth largest lobbying organization in the United States, spending $19.8 million in 2013. Comcast was among the top backers of Barack Obama's presidential runs, with Comcast vice president David Cohen raising over $2.2 million from 2007 to 2012. Cohen has been described by many sources as influential in the US government, though he is no longer a registered lobbyist, as the time he spends lobbying falls short of the 20% which requires official registration. Comcast's PAC, the Comcast Corporation and NBCUniversal Political Action Committee, is the among the largest PACs in the US, raising about $3.7 million from 2011-2012 for the campaigns of various candidates for office in the United States Federal Government. Comcast is also a major backer of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association Political Action Committee, which raised $2.6 million from 2011-2012. Comcast spent the most money of any organization in support of the Stop Online Piracy and PROTECT IP bills, spending roughly $5 million to lobby for their passage.

Q1: What was Comcast's lobbying budget in 2013?
A1: $18.8 million
Q2: Where did this lobbying budget place the company among all entities in the country?
A2: seventh largest
Q3: What is the name of the industry association that represents all cable companies in Washington?
A3: The National Cable & Telecommunications Association
Q4: What is the name of Comcast's affiliated political action committee?
A4: Comcast Corporation and NBCUniversal Political Action Committee
Q5: How much did this PAC raise for candidates in US elections from 2011 through 2012?
A5: $3.7 million
In 1963, Ralph J. Roberts in conjunction with his two business partners, Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky, purchased American Cable Systems as a corporate spin-off from its parent, Jerrold Electronics, for US $500,000. At the time, American Cable was a small cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi, with five channels and 12,000 customers. Storecast Corporation of America, a product placement supermarket specialist marketing firm, was purchased by American Cable in 1965. With Storecast being a Muzak client, American Cable purchased its first Muzak franchise of many in Orlando, Florida.

Q1: When did Ralph Roberts get into the cable TV business?
A1: 1963
Q2: Who were Roberts' business partners in this purchase?
A2: Daniel Aaron and Julian A. Brodsky
Q3: What company did this partnership purchase?
A3: American Cable Systems
Q4: What city did American Cable Systems do business in?
A4: Tupelo, Mississippi
Q5: How many customers did ACS have when Roberts and his partners purchased it?
A5: 12,000
In 1994, Comcast became the third largest cable operator in the United States with around 3.5 million subscribers following its purchase of Maclean-Hunter's American division for $1.27 billion. The company's UK branch, Comcast UK Cable Partners, goes public while constructing a cable telecommunications network. With five other media companies, the corporation becomes an original investor in The Golf Channel. Following a bid in 1994 for $2.1 billion, Comcast increased its ownership of QVC from 15.5% of stock to a majority, in a move to prevent QVC from merging with CBS. Comcast later sold its QVC shares in 2004 to Liberty Media for $7.9 billion.

Q1: How many paying customers did Comcast have in 1994?
A1: 3.5 million
Q2: Comcast's customer base in 1994 was good enough for what national ranking among its competition?
A2: third largest
Q3: What sports network was Comcast a founding investor of?
A3: The Golf Channel
Q4: In what year did Comcast take over a majority interest in QVC?
A4: 1994
Q5: What company did Comcast sell its interest in QVC to in 2004?
A5: Liberty Media
Comcast sold Comcast Cellular to SBC Communications in 1999 for $400 million, releasing them from $1.27 billion in debt. Comcast acquired Greater Philadelphia Cablevision in 1999. In March 1999, Comcast offered to buy MediaOne for $60 billion. However, MediaOne decided to accept AT&T Corporation's offer of $62 billion instead. Comcast University started in 1999 as well as Comcast Interactive Capital Group to make technology and Internet related investments taking its first investment in VeriSign.

Q1: What was Comcast's telecommunication business prior to 1999?
A1: Comcast Cellular
Q2: What company did Comcast sell their telecommunications company to?
A2: SBC Communications
Q3: How much was ComCast Cellular sold for in 1999?
A3: $400 million
Q4: What internet commerce company did Comcast invest in?
A4: VeriSign
Q5: MediaOne merged with what telecommunications company?
A5: AT&T Corporation
In 2001, Comcast announced it would acquire the assets of the largest cable television operator at the time, AT&T Broadband, for US$44.5 billion. The proposed name for the merged company was "AT&T Comcast", but the companies ultimately decided to keep only the Comcast name. In 2002, Comcast acquired all assets of AT&T Broadband, thus making Comcast the largest cable television company in the United States with over 22 million subscribers. This also spurred the start of Comcast Advertising Sales (using AT&T's groundwork) which would later be renamed Comcast Spotlight. As part of this acquisition, Comcast also acquired the National Digital Television Center in Centennial, Colorado as a wholly owned subsidiary, which is today known as the Comcast Media Center.

Q1: When did Comcast acquire the cable assets of AT&T Broadband?
A1: 2001
Q2: What did Comcast pay for this subsidiary?
A2: $44.5 billion
Q3: What was the original name of AT&T Broadband and Comcast going to be?
A3: AT&T Comcast
Q4: When Comcast purchased AT&T Broadband, how many customers did they service?
A4: 22 million
Q5: Comcast's advertising and commercial production branch was called what?
A5: Comcast Spotlight
On February 11, 2004, Comcast announced a $54 billion bid for The Walt Disney Company, as well as taking on $12 billion of Disney's debt. The deal would have made Comcast the largest media conglomerate in the world. However, after rejection by Disney and uncertain response from investors, the bid was abandoned in April. The main reason for the buyout attempt was so that Comcast could acquire Disney's 80 percent stake in ESPN, which a Comcast executive called "the most important and valuable asset" that Disney owned.

Q1: What media conglomerate did Comcast try to buy in 2004?
A1: The Walt Disney Company
Q2: How much money did Comcast offer for this company?
A2: $54 billion
Q3: What month in 2004 did Comcast drop it's bid for this company?
A3: April
Q4: Comcast dropped their bid to focus on acquiring what sports network?
A4: ESPN
Q5: Besides offering money, what else did Comcast include in their proposal to buy Disney?
A5: taking on $12 billion of Disney's debt
On April 8, 2005, a partnership led by Comcast and Sony Pictures Entertainment finalized a deal to acquire MGM and its affiliate studio, United Artists, and create an additional outlet to carry MGM/UA's material for cable and Internet distribution. On October 31, 2005, Comcast officially announced that it had acquired Susquehanna Communications a South Central Pennsylvania, -based cable television and broadband services provider and unit of the former Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff company, for $775 million cash. In this deal Comcast acquired approximately 230,000 basic cable customers, 71,000 digital cable customers, and 86,000 high-speed Internet customers. Comcast previously owned approximately 30 percent of Susquehanna Communications through affiliate company Lenfest. In December 2005, Comcast announced the creation of Comcast Interactive Media, a new division focused on online media.

Q1: Comcast joined with what media company to acquire a movie studio in 2005?
A1: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Q2: What movie studios did Comcast and their partner buy?
A2: MGM and its affiliate studio, United Artists
Q3: What Pennsylvania cable provider did Comcast buy controlling interest in during 2005?
A3: Susquehanna Communications
Q4: When did Comcast formally announce its purchase of this cable provider?
A4: October 31, 2005
Q5: How much did Comcast pay for this cable tv provider?
A5: $775 million cash
Comcast announced in May 2007 and launched in September 2008 a dashboard called SmartZone. Hewlett-Packard led "design, creation and management". Collaboration and unified messaging technology came from open-source vendor Zimbra. "SmartZone users will be able to send and receive e-mail, listen to their voicemail messages online and forward that information via e-mail to others, send instant messages and video instant messages and merge their contacts into one address book". There is also Cloudmark spam and phishing protection and Trend Micro antivirus. The address book is Comcast Plaxo software.

Q1: What was the name of the interface front-end introduced by Comcast in 2007?
A1: a dashboard called SmartZone
Q2: What company designed this interface?
A2: Hewlett-Packard
Q3: Smartzone used what company's antivirus protection?
A3: Trend Micro
Q4: The contacts and address book for Smartzone was called what?
A4: Comcast Plaxo software
Q5: When was Smartzone rolled out to customers?
A5: September 2008
In April 2005, Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced plans to buy the assets of bankrupted Adelphia Cable. The two companies paid a total of $17.6 billion in the deal that was finalized in the second quarter of 2006—after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed a seven-month investigation without raising an objection. Time Warner Cable became the second largest cable provider in the U.S., ranking behind Comcast. As part of the deal, Time Warner and Comcast traded existing subscribers in order to consolidate them into larger geographic clusters.

Q1: What bankrupt company did Comcast partner with another broadband provider to acquire in 2005?
A1: Adelphia Cable
Q2: Who was Comcast's partner in the deal for Adelphia?
A2: Time Warner Cable
Q3: What was the price to take over Adelphia?
A3: $17.6 billion
Q4: What government organization investigated details of this acquisition?
A4: the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Q5: When was this deal finalized?
A5: second quarter of 2006
Media outlets began reporting in late September 2009 that Comcast was in talks to buy NBCUniversal. Comcast denied the rumors at first, while NBC would not comment on them. However, CNBC itself reported on October 1 that General Electric was considering spinning NBCUniversal off into a separate company that would merge the NBC television network and its cable properties such as USA Network, Syfy and MSNBC with Comcast's content assets. GE would maintain 49% control of the new company, while Comcast owned 51%. Vivendi, which owns 20%, would have to sell its stake to GE. It was reported that under the current deal with GE that it would happen in November or December. It was also reported that Time Warner would be interested in placing a bid, until CEO Jeffrey L. Bewkes directly denied interest, leaving Comcast the sole bidder. On November 1, 2009, The New York Times reported Comcast had moved closer to a deal to purchase NBCUniversal and that a formal announcement could be made sometime the following week.

Q1: What media conglomerate did Comcast begin preliminary talks to buy in 2009?
A1: NBCUniversal
Q2: What was NBC's parent company in 2009?
A2: General Electric
Q3: What ownership stake did Ccomcast get in this deal?
A3: 51%
Q4: What company was forced to sell its interest in NBCUniversal as part of the purchase deal?
A4: Vivendi
Q5: What other cable company was reputed to have an interest in NBCUniversal?
A5: Time Warner
Following a tentative agreement on by December 1, on December 3, 2009, the parties announced that Comcast would buy a controlling 51% stake in NBCUniversal for $6.5 billion in cash and $7.3 billion in programming. GE would take over the remaining 49% stake in NBCUniversal, using $5.8 billion to buy out Vivendi's 20% minority stake in NBCUniversal. On January 18, 2011, the FCC approved the deal by a vote of 4 to 1. The sale was completed on January 28, 2011. In late December 2012, Comcast added the NBC peacock symbol to their new logo. On February 12, 2013, Comcast announced an intention to acquire the remaining 49% of General Electric's interest in NBCUniversal, which Comcast completed on March 19, 2013.

Q1: On what date was Comcast's purchase of controlling interest in NBCUniversal reported?
A1: December 3, 2009
Q2: What did Comcast pay for their stake in NBC?
A2: $6.5 billion in cash and $7.3 billion in programming
Q3: How did the FCC vote approval of the Comcast-NBC deal?
A3: 4 to 1
Q4: On what date was the sale finally completed?
A4: January 28, 2011
Q5: On what date did Comcast buy out the remaining stake of General Electric in NBC?
A5: March 19, 2013
On February 12, 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported that Comcast sought to acquire Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $45.2 billion. On February 13, it was reported that Time Warner Cable agreed to the acquisition. This was to add several metropolitan areas to the Comcast portfolio, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego, and San Antonio. Time Warner Cable and Comcast aimed to merge into one company by the end of 2014 and both have praised the deal, emphasizing the increased capabilities of a combined telecommunications network, and to "create operating efficiencies and economies of scale".

Q1: What publication originally reported a potential deal between Comcast and Time Warner?
A1: the Los Angeles Times
Q2: What was the value of the deal reported to be at the time?
A2: $45.2 billion
Q3: When did Comcast hope to complete its deal for Time Warner?
A3: by the end of 2014
Critics noted in 2013 that Tom Wheeler, the head of the FCC, which has to approve the deal, is the former head of both the largest cable lobbying organization, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and as largest wireless lobby, CTIA – The Wireless Association. According to Politico, Comcast "donated to almost every member of Congress who has a hand in regulating it." The US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the deal on April 9, 2014. The House Judiciary Committee planned its own hearing. On March 6, 2014 the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division confirmed it was investigating the deal. In March 2014, the division's chairman, William Baer, recused himself because he was involved in a prior Comcast NBCUniversal acquisition. Several states' attorneys general have announced support for the federal investigation. On April 24, 2015, Jonathan Sallet, general counsel of the F.C.C., said that he was going to recommend a hearing before an administrative law judge, equivalent to a collapse of the deal.

Q1: Who was the head of the FCC at the time of Comcast's proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable?
A1: Tom Wheeler
Q2: What two organizations had Wheeler headed prior to joining the FCC?
A2: National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and as largest wireless lobby, CTIA – The Wireless Association
Q3: What group sought to investigate the purchase on anti-trust grounds?
A3: United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division
Q4: What Senate group held hearings on the purchase?
A4: US Senate Judiciary Committee
Q5: Who was the general counsel of the FCC in 2015?
A5: Jonathan Sallet
Comcast delivers third-party television programming content to its own customers, and also produces its own first-party content both for subscribers and customers of other competing television services. Fully or partially owned Comcast programming includes Comcast Newsmakers, Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet, SportsNet New York, MLB Network, Comcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports Southeast, NBC Sports Network, The Golf Channel, AZN Television, and FEARnet. On May 19, 2009, Disney and ESPN announced an agreement to allow Comcast Corporation to carry the channels ESPNU and ESPN3. The U.S. Olympic Committee and Comcast intended to team up to create The U.S. Olympic Network, which was slated to launch after the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. These plans were then put on hold by the U.S. Olympic Committee. The U.S. Olympic Committee and Comcast have ended the plans to create The U.S. Olympic Network.

Q1: Disney and Comcast joined forces to allow Comcast to air what sports networks?
A1: ESPNU and ESPN3
Q2: What network was proposed by Comcast and the US Olympic Committee?
A2: The U.S. Olympic Network
Q3: What city hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics?
A3: Vancouver
Q4: What happened to the U.S. Olympic Network?
A4: The U.S. Olympic Committee and Comcast have ended the plans
Comcast also owns many local channels. Comcast also has a variety network known as Comcast Network, available exclusively to Comcast and Cablevision subscribers. The channel shows news, sports, and entertainment and places emphasis in Philadelphia and the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. areas, though the channel is also available in New York, Pittsburgh, and Richmond. In August 2004, Comcast started a channel called Comcast Entertainment Television, for Colorado Comcast subscribers, and focusing on life in Colorado. It also carries some National Hockey League and National Basketball Association games when Altitude Sports & Entertainment is carrying the NHL or NBA. In January 2006, CET became the primary channel for Colorado's Emergency Alert System in the Denver Metro Area. In 2006, Comcast helped found the channel SportsNet New York, acquiring a minority stake. The other partners in the project were New York Mets and Time Warner Cable.

Q1: What is the name of Comcast's channel available to subscribers in east coast markets?
A1: Comcast Network
Q2: What is the name of Comcast's subscriber channel in Colorado?
A2: Comcast Entertainment Television
Q3: In what year did Comcast Entertainment take over operation of Colorado's Emergency Alert System?
A3: 2006
Q4: What New York area sports channel did Comcast help found in 2006
A4: SportsNet New York
Q5: What baseball team was Comcast's partner in their New York sports network?
A5: New York Mets
In 1996, Comcast bought a controlling stake in Spectacor from the company's founder, Ed Snider. Comcast-Spectacor holdings now include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers National Basketball Association basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Over a number of years, Comcast became majority owner of Comcast SportsNet, as well as Golf Channel and NBCSN (formerly the Outdoor Life Network, then Versus). In 2002, Comcast paid the University of Maryland $25 million for naming rights to the new basketball arena built on the College Park campus, the XFINITY Center. Before it was renamed for Comcast's cable subsidiary, XFINITY Center was called Comcast Center from its opening in 2002 through July 2014.

Q1: Who was the founder of Philadelphia sports corporation Spectator?
A1: Ed Snider
Q2: Comcast's purchase of Spectator gave them what sports teams in Philadelphia?
A2: the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers National Basketball Association basketball team
Q3: What was the original name of NBCSN?
A3: Outdoor Life Network
Q4: Comcast bought naming rights for what college's basketball arena?
A4: the University of Maryland
Q5: What was the second name NBCSN was known as?
A5: Versus
In 2004 and 2007, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey found that Comcast had the worst customer satisfaction rating of any company or government agency in the country, including the Internal Revenue Service. The ACSI indicates that almost half of all cable customers (regardless of company) have registered complaints, and that cable is the only industry to score below 60 in the ACSI. Comcast's Customer Service Rating by the ACSI surveys indicate that the company's customer service has not improved since the surveys began in 2001. Analysis of the surveys states that "Comcast is one of the lowest scoring companies in ACSI. As its customer satisfaction eroded by 7% over the past year, revenue increased by 12%." The ACSI analysis also addresses this contradiction, stating that "Such pricing power usually comes with some level of monopoly protection and most cable companies have little competition at the local level. This also means that a cable company can do well financially even though its customers are not particularly satisfied."

Q1: What organization rated Comcast's customer service the worst in the country in 2004 and 2007?
A1: American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
Q2: Comcast's customer service was rated worse than what government organization?
A2: the Internal Revenue Service
Q3: When did the ACSI begin doing customer satisfaction surveys?
A3: 2001
Q4: When Comcast's customer service rating fell 7%, what happened to its revenues?
A4: increased by 12%
Q5: What prime factor did the ACSI use to explain this anomaly?
A5: most cable companies have little competition at the local level
Comcast was given an "F" for its corporate governance practices in 2010, by Corporate Library, an independent shareholder-research organization. According to Corporate Library, Comcast's board of directors ability to oversee and control management was severely compromised (at least in 2010) by the fact that several of the directors either worked for the company or had business ties to it (making them susceptible to management pressure), and a third of the directors were over 70 years of age. According to the Wall Street Journal nearly two-thirds of the flights of Comcast's $40 million corporate jet purchased for business travel related to the NBCU acquisition, were to CEO Brian Roberts' private homes or to resorts.

Q1: What organization gave Comcast an "F" rating in 2010?
A1: Corporate Library
Q2: In issuing the grade, the Corporate Library found that a third of Comcast's board was how old?
A2: over 70 years of age
Q3: How much did Comcast pay for flights of its company jet in 2010?
A3: $40 million
Q4: What conflict did Corporate Library note with Comcast's Board?
A4: several of the directors either worked for the company or had business ties to it