ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997 TAG: 9703250069
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
The federal law aims at protecting kids from seeing and hearing partially scrambled networks like Playboy and Spice.
The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for enforcement of a federal law aimed at keeping children from seeing sex-oriented cable TV networks that are only partly ``scrambled'' for non-subscribers.
Upholding a lower court's ruling, the justices rejected an effort by Playboy Television and other such networks to bar the law's enforcement while they challenge it in court.
The unanimous decision was not accompanied by an opinion spelling out the justices' reasons.
The networks contend that the law violates their free-speech rights to show sexually explicit programs to adult subscribers during the day.
Cable TV customers can pay extra to subscribe to sex-oriented networks such as Playboy Television or Spice Entertainment. Cable operators block or scramble such channels for customers who don't subscribe.
Such scrambling often is imperfect, and non-subscribers' children still can see or hear portrayals of sex acts on those channels.
The law requires sex-oriented networks to be fully scrambled for all non-subscribers; if not, a network may show ``indecent'' programs only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., even to paying subscribers.
The law was challenged by Playboy Entertainment and by Spice Entertainment.
The companies said full scrambling can be prohibitively expensive. They said major cable companies have announced they will choose the second option and let sex-oriented networks show such programs only at night.
Customers who want a specific channel fully blocked can invoke another part of the 1996 law that requires cable operators to do so on request, the appeal said.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB