One More Week Left in Comcast's No-Fault 'Get Legal' Program in the Bay Area

One More Week Left in Comcast's No-Fault 'Get Legal' Program in the Bay Area

Anyone Receiving Cable Illegally is Encouraged to 'Get Legal' -- With No Questions Asked -- During the No-Fault Period

SAN RAMON, Calif., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)(NASDAQ:CMCSK), the country's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, reminds Bay Area residents that there is one week remaining in their no-fault, "Get Legal" program, which launched on August 1. Anyone receiving cable services without paying for them in these local communities will have the opportunity to "Get Legal" with no questions asked by calling the hotline at 1-888-824-8933 by the August 31 deadline.

According to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), local communities across the country collectively lost more than $235 million last year in franchise fees due to cable theft. The end result is that local communities may need to go without increased services in such areas as police, fire, transportation and sanitation.

"Comcast has a responsibility to the communities we serve and to our paying customers to curb cable theft," said Andrew Johnson, Vice President of Communications for Comcast. "We encourage anyone with an illegal connection and those who know they are receiving cable and not paying for it to avoid the penalties and become a legal, paying customer."

"Cable theft is not only a violation of the law, it has a measurable economic impact on California, costing local governments and municipalities millions of dollars in lost revenue each year," said Greg Munks, Undersheriff for San Mateo County. "Cable theft also impacts paying Comcast customers, as illegal hookups can cause signal leakage for an entire neighborhood, diminishing picture quality."

How the Cable No Fault Program Works

"Getting Legal" is easy. Residents currently receiving unauthorized cable services may choose to either become paying customers or have the unauthorized service disconnected without facing criminal or civil charges. In addition, residents receiving cable television through unauthorized cable boxes will have the opportunity to turn their illegal boxes in to Comcast in exchange for an authorized set-top box. At the end of "Get Legal," people who continue receiving cable services without paying for them will face criminal and civil charges.

Any persons currently facing cable theft charges from local authorities are not eligible for the no-fault program. However, those persons currently under investigation by Comcast for suspected cable theft are eligible for the no-fault program.

Defining Cable Theft
Cable theft generally occurs as one of these five scenarios:

-- When an individual intentionally steals cable services
-- When Comcast customers who pay for basic service intentionally steal
expanded basic and/or other premium services
-- When theft rings steal power supplies and other field equipment.
-- When equipment dealers sell descramblers, decoders and black boxes to
consumers to steal digital services.
-- When a consumer moves into a new home or apartment where the cable is
already working, and they fail to call Comcast and ask the company to
change the name on the account and begin billing for service.

About Comcast Cable

Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com/ ) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 21.5 million cable customers and 7 million high-speed Internet customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks and in the delivery of programming content. The Company's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network, G4, AZN Television, TV One and four Comcast SportsNets. The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast serves more than 1.6 million customers and employs 4,000 people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Source: Comcast Corporation

CONTACT: Erica Smith of Comcast Corporation, +1-925-606-2242, or
erica_smith1@cable.comcast.com

Web site: http://www.comcast.com/

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