Martin Defends Comcast Place at Head of VNR Fine Line

MARTIN DEFENDS COMCAST PLACE AT HEAD OF VNR FINE LINE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Conceding that there were dozens, if not hundreds, of complaints against a variety of companies, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday that there was a simple explanation of why cable company Comcast was issued the first five fines for airing unattributed video news releases. "I'm out to kill the cable business." No, really, no one said that in public. Chairman Martin explained that the other companies had all agreed to give the FCC more time (a so-called tolling agreement) to examine the complaints, while Comcast had not agreed to do so. "I believe Comcast had initially told our Enforcement Bureau that they would also agree to a tolling agreement," Martin told reporters after a speech Tuesday morning. "But then they decided they would not. So we were faced with a choice of issuing the NAL [notice of apparent liability] or allowing the time to lapse so we would never be able to take any enforcement action against them. And so, faced with that decision, we decided we would issue an NAL."
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