Scrambled picture for Playboy, Spice; Playboy will continue battling expanded scrambling requirements. (Playboy Cable Network, Spice Entertainment Companies Inc.)

Broadcasting & Cable, March, 1997 by McConnell, Chris

Playboy will continue battling expanded scrambling requirements Playboy plans to continue its battle against new cable scrambling rules after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the rules to take effect. Justices last week upheld a lower court's decision not to block enforcement of the rules during a legal challenge by Playboy and Spice Entertainment.

The rules, mandated by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, require cable operators to scramble the audio and video of "sexually explicit" programing channels so that non-subscribers cannot receive them. Operators unable to scramble both the audio and the video are barred from delivering the channels between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. under the rule. Playboy and Spice had charged that the rule targeted...

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