The FCC fined Houston cable operator TV Max $2.25...

The FCC fined Houston cable operator TV Max $2.25 million for retransmitting the signals of six Houston area full-power TV stations without their permission, said a forfeiture order released in Tuesday’s Daily Digest (http://bit.ly/1oxD5Gz). TV Max previously had retransmission consent agreements with the stations involved, but continued to retransmit their signals after the agreements expired, said the order and a previous notice of apparent liability (CD June 26/13 p7). The cable operator continued to retransmit the signals despite being contacted by the stations, and being ordered to cease by the Media Bureau in December 2012, the order said. TV Max continued to retransmit the stations through June 2013 “using the spin-off of its Houston cable operations and fiber network to two related companies under its common ownership and control in an apparent effort to evade responsibility,” the order said. TV Max argued that it was allowed to retransmit the stations using the master antenna television (MATV) exception, though it admitted to retransmitting from a cable headend while it waited to install master antennas in the apartment buildings it serves, the forfeiture order said. In a 2012 Notice of Apparent Liability, the bureau said TV Max’s retransmission did not fall under the MATV exception. TV Max broke retrans rules for a year and with signals from six stations, an “egregious” violation that would have resulted in a fine of almost $16.5 million under a “straightforward application of the base forfeiture amount,” the order said. The amount was reduced because of TV Max’s small size, though the bureau rejected TV Max arguments that the fine should be further reduced (CD Aug 2 p16), the order said. This may not be the last fine for TV Max, as its online channel lineup showed it still retransmitting broadcast signals as of June 18, the order said. “TV Max’s continued carriage of the broadcast Stations’ signals without the Stations’ retransmission consent ... constitutes further violations that will potentially subject TV Max to additional enforcement sanctions.” The company is required to submit a written statement within 30 days “signed under penalty of perjury” declaring it has stopped illegally retransmitting without consent, the order said. TV Max had no immediate comment Tuesday.