Comcast Extends Amnesty Program Through November 21, 2005

Comcast Extends Amnesty Program Through November 21, 2005

Area Residents Calling in or Logging onto www.cabletheft.com to Avoid Penalties for Stealing Cable

BALTIMORE, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast and local prosecutors across Maryland, Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Virginia area today announced they will extend the cable amnesty program through Monday, November 21, 2005.

Through Nov. 21, anyone receiving unauthorized cable service in the jurisdictions listed below will be able to contact Comcast and become authorized, paying customers with no questions asked by calling 1-866-205-3069 (Washington, D.C. area) or 1-866-298-8919 (Maryland) or by logging onto http://www.cabletheft.com/.

Originally scheduled to end today, Comcast and local officials are granting a one-week extension to the amnesty campaign to give more people time to take advantage of this penalty-free opportunity. After Nov. 21, the company will resume its house-to-house audit to find those receiving unauthorized cable services.

Comcast and local prosecutors in the following areas are conducting the cable amnesty program:

* Alexandria, Va. * Harford County
* Anne Arundel County * Howard County
* Arlington, Va. * Montgomery County
* Baltimore City * Ocean City, Md.
* Baltimore County * Prince George's County
* Cambridge, Md. * Prince William County, Va.
* Cecil County * Reston, Va.
* Calvert County * Salisbury, Md.
* Charles County * Washington, D.C.

As part of the amnesty program, residents currently receiving unauthorized cable services may choose to become paying customers or have the unauthorized service disconnected without facing legal action. In addition, residents receiving cable television through unauthorized cable boxes will have the opportunity to turn in their boxes to Comcast in exchange for new, legal boxes.

Many residents may not realize they are receiving cable service illegally. Comcast's amnesty also educates communities about "active" and "passive" cable theft. "Active" cable theft occurs when people knowingly and willfully make illegal connections to the cable system or tamper with equipment so they receive cable service without paying for it. "Passive" theft occurs when an individual moves into a new residence where cable is already installed and fails to notify Comcast that the billing should be transferred to the new occupant.

Any persons currently facing cable theft charges from local authorities are not eligible for the amnesty program. Those persons currently under investigation by Comcast for suspected cable theft are eligible for the amnesty program.

Cable theft across Maryland, Washington, D.C. and metro Virginia costs local governments and municipalities an estimated $7.13 million in lost revenue each year. Additionally, illegal cable hook-ups create signal leakage that can disrupt the cable signal in their communities so that law-abiding, paying customers experience decreased picture quality on their televisions.

According to the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), the cable industry lost nearly $4.76 billion during 2004 in unrealized revenue because of theft. That number represents more than eight percent of the $57.6 billion industry gross revenue.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 21.4 million cable customers, 7.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 1.2 million voice 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, OLN, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One and four regional 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.

Source: Comcast

CONTACT: Stephanie Offen for Comcast, +1-410-568-8821 or
soffen@nevinspr.com

Web Site: http://www.comcast.com/
http://www.cabletheft.com/

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