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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  KEVIN  J.  MARTIN 
 APPROVING  IN  PART,  CONCURRING  IN  PART 
 Re:  Complaints  Against  Various  Television  Licensees  Concerning  Their  February  1,  2004,  Broadcast  of  the  Super  Bowl  XXXVIII  Halftime  Show,  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  for 
 Forfeiture 
 I  write  separately  to  express  two  concerns. 
 First,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  viewers  across  the  country  filed  complaints  asking  us  to  find  various  aspects  of  the  Super  Bowl  halftime  show  indecent.  Some  even  complained  that  the  whole 


 show  was  indecent.  This  Notice,  however,  analyzes  only  one  segment  of  the  show.  We  have  a  duty  to  the  public  to  fully  analyze  all  of  the  complaints  that  we  receive.  1 


 Second,  as  I  have  said  before,  we  need  to  affirm  local  broadcasters’  ability  –  and  responsibility  –  to  reject  inappropriate  programming.  2  This  obligation  is  critical  to  local  broadcasters’  ability  to 
 keep  coarser  network  programming  off  the  air  in  their  communities.  The  network  affiliates  asked  us  to  clarify  that  this  right  over  three  years  ago.  We  still  have  not  acted,  and  thus  I  concur  in  the 
 decision  not  to  fine  the  affiliates  in  this  instance. 


 1  Note  6  of  the  Notice  acknowledges  that  “[  s]  ome  of  the  complainants  also  object  to  other 
 material  in  the  Super  Bowl  broadcast,”  but  then  concludes  in  two  sentences  that  examples  of  such  material  were  not  indecent. 


 2  See  Written  Statement  of  Commissioner  Kevin  J.  Martin,  Before  the  Committee  on  Commerce, 
 Science  and  Transportation  at  4  (February  2004),  http://  hraunfoss.  fcc.  gov/  edocs_  public/  attachmatch/  DOC-  243865A2.  doc.  See  also  Petition  for 


 Inquiry  into  Network  Practices,  filed  by  Network  Affiliated  Stations  Alliance  (March  2001);  Motion  for  Declaratory  Ruling,  filed  by  Network  Affiliated  Stations  Alliance  (June  2001). 
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