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[Update: The FCC voted this afternoon to pass net neutrality rules, in a 3-to-2 party-line vote.]

Less than a year ago, when a wonky policy debate over the principle of net neutrality and prioritized Internet 鈥渇ast lanes鈥� seemed to interest only telecom company suits and nerdy open Internet advocates, a comedian's 13-minute segment may have helped turn the national conversation鈥檚 tide.

At the time, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a former top lobbyist for the cable and wireless industries, was mulling new rules to allow broadband companies to provide 鈥渇ast lanes鈥� for content providers who were willing to pay for it.

鈥淵es, the guy who used to run the cable industry鈥檚 lobbying arm is now running the agency tasked with regulating it,鈥� said John Oliver, host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" in June. 鈥淭hat is the equivalent of needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo.... 鈥楳ake sure they鈥檙e in bed by 8, there鈥檚 20 bucks on the table for kibbles, so please don鈥檛 eat my baby.鈥欌�� He then urged his viewers to contact the FCC.

Tens of thousands did, crashing the agency鈥檚 website and flooding it with comments the next few days, with millions more to come 鈥� the vast majority calling for net neutrality. And Chairman Wheeler, appointed by President Obama to lead the commission in 2013, was a good sport about it, , 鈥淚 would like to state for the record that I am not a dingo.鈥�

On Thursday, the FCC is now expected to pass what seemed unthinkable less than a year ago: reclassifying high-speed broadband service as a basic public utility 鈥� a common service akin to phone lines, water pipes, or the electrical grid, and therefore deemed a kind of protected and regulated public good 鈥� and precisely banning the kind of 鈥渇ast lanes鈥� the companies who control the nation鈥檚 Internet infrastructure have long fought for.

And while the expected 3-to-2 partisan vote Thursday is poised to give a stunning victory to the advocates of net neutrality, Wheeler鈥檚 about-face in some ways reveals how the Jon Stewarts of the world and comedic takes on the news can be more influential than the Brian Williamses and more 鈥渟erious鈥� coverage of wonky subjects that nevertheless have profound social effect.

鈥淛ohn Oliver absolutely helped turn the tide in the net-neutrality debate,鈥� says Aram Sinnreich, professor at Rutgers University鈥檚 School of Communication and Information in New Brunswick, N.J. 鈥淭he FCC got flooded with an unprecedented number of citizen contributions to the policy discussions afterwards, that probably wouldn鈥檛 have happened to that extent otherwise.鈥�

In introducing the segment, Oliver called net neutrality "even boring by C-SPAN standards" 鈥� a fact that activists, lobbyists, the nation's tech reporters had smacked into as they tried, largely in vain, to capture society's attention. The British comedian not only boosted his own profile with the segment, he changed the national conversation. Comedians from Richard Pryor and George Carlin to Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, and Mr. Stewart have had profound influence on American culture and political discourse, but it's hard to think of another instance where one comedy segment had such an immediate effect on national policy.

Early last year, two federal court decisions had already gutted the agency鈥檚 long-standing 鈥渙pen Internet rules,鈥� which prevented the big companies that own and maintain the Internet鈥檚 cables from picking and choosing which content they made available to consumers, or otherwise privileging certain Internet content with better and faster service 鈥� say, their own.

But the federal courts ruled that the FCC鈥檚 own 2002 definition of broadband as a less-regulated 鈥渋nformation service鈥� rather than a Title II 鈥渢elecommunications service鈥� meant that it lacked the legal authority to implement its net neutrality rules, the principle that requires all Internet providers to treat every bit of data that enters their wires the same. 聽

Indeed, these cases鈥� two powerful and politically-connected plaintiffs, Comcast and Verizon, had clamored to kill this rule for years in order to maximize their profits and deliver greater returns to their investors. After all, why shouldn鈥檛 they be allowed to charge extra fees for certain network-gobbling content providers, like Netflix? The basic net neutrality principle appeared all but dead at the time.

Grassroots advocates and a coalition of tech titans with The Internet Association, which includes Google, Facebook, and Twitter, had been battling the power of the telecommunications companies, too, but after the court ruling and Wheeler鈥檚 suggestions that fast lanes were on the table, the pendulum had shifted away from the 鈥渙pen Internet鈥� idea.

Mr. Oliver鈥檚 , which has been viewed over 8 million times on YouTube, was hailed by Time magazine as explaining how the comedian has a knack for recasting wonky policy debates into a funny, accessible social commentary.

Rolling Stone featured the 鈥渇ake news鈥� comedian on its October cover last fall as well, and the Huffington Post called his show the best of 2014 and "one of the defining conversation starters in both popular culture and news media."

Oliver highlighted many of the criticisms net neutrality advocates had been saying all along, including its ability to perhaps 鈥渢hrottle鈥� content providers like Netflix. Last year, after the federal court struck down the FCC鈥檚 net neutrality rules, Comcast appeared to force Netflix, which during peak times hogged a significant part of Internet traffic, for direct connections to its networks.

But for months before the deal, Netflix had seen its download speeds drop suddenly and precipitously 鈥� which Oliver showed on a graph and jokingly called a 鈥渕ob shakedown,鈥� instantly making the advocates' point.

After the swell of 4 million comments, Wheeler eventually backed off from a plan permitting fast lanes, and Mr. Obama last November gave his support for the Title II designation and preservation of net neutrality.

But the Title II utility designation gives the government broad powers to regulate the rates Internet providers charge and to increase taxes and fees. 鈥淧resident Obama鈥檚 plan marks a monumental shift toward government control of the Internet,鈥� said Republican FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai in a statement earlier this month. 鈥淚t gives the FCC the power to micromanage virtually every aspect of how the Internet works.鈥澛�

Wheeler has vowed a 鈥渓ight touch鈥� on the FCC鈥檚 regulatory power, however, with that will not include rate regulation or tariffs.

Congressional Republicans had tried to preempt the FCC鈥檚 Title II reclassification with legislation of their own. But on Wednesday, leaders conceded that without a bipartisan agreement, there was little to do to prevent the FCC from moving ahead.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to get a signed bill that doesn鈥檛 have Democrats鈥� support,鈥� said Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, on Wednesday.

Experts expect the telecoms that manage the Internet鈥檚 infrastructure to sue the FCC again, and challenge the Title II 鈥渃ommon carrier鈥� utility designation. And on Wednesday, critics of the new policy said it would mire the system in uncertainty, creating havoc for investors and consumers.

But for now, the pendulum has shifted back to the advocates of net neutrality, including Professor Sinnreich, who along with many others, tweeted, 鈥淭hanks @iamjohnoliver!鈥�