CBS Suspends Plans to Scramble Telecasts : Television: Network blames lack of affiliate ‘de-scrambling’ equipment for decision.

CBS announced Friday that plans to scramble its fall telecasts of NFL games have been suspended indefinitely.

In a message to network affiliates, CBS blamed its inability to scramble on “insufficient” equipment.

In all previous announcements, CBS and the NFL had said that games would be “fully scrambled” by the start of the regular season Sept. 9.

In a statement issued Friday, NBC reported that it continues to “examine its scrambling alternatives” but has no immediate plans to implement the policy.

The NFL issued a statement, saying that scrambling was “in the best interests of the overwhelming majority of NFL fans” but failing to say when, or if, the policy would take effect.

An official for Anheuser-Busch, Inc., one of the league’s biggest advertisers, said Friday he found the flurry of announcements confusing but that scrambling was definitely out for the season’s first week.

“According to what we’ve seen and been told, scrambling is off for the first week of the season, which is a change in previous policy,” Tom Lange said. “Beyond that, I guess we’ll have to find out from CBS.”

But CBS issued no statements to the media, instead sending messages to all major affiliates, three of which gave copies to The Times. The message reads as follows:

“At this time, there is insufficient ‘de-scrambling’ equipment in place to allow the CBS television network to implement fully its plans to scramble all of its NFL broadcasts. Accordingly, CBS will not be scrambling all such broadcasts at the start of the NFL season Sept. 9.”

Jules Moreland, programming chief for KFMB-TV, the CBS affiliate in San Diego, said the reference to “insufficient de-scrambling equipment” refers to the inability of local stations to receive scrambled feeds and pass them on to the viewers at home.

But Moreland said it was his understanding that such technology was fully in place and ready for the start of the season.

“I guess they’re leaving the door slightly ajar,” he said. “The announcement doesn’t say there won’t be scrambling. My reading is, there won’t be any for now--or until they say there will be. We’ll have to sit tight.”

Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego), who plans to introduce de-scrambling legislation after Congress reconvenes on Tuesday, issued a statement saying he found the promise of one week without scrambling unacceptable.

“We’ll go ahead with our bill,” said Tom Burgess, a spokesman for Bates, who listed the bill’s co-sponsor as Rep. James Bilbray (D-Nevada).

In San Diego, Norman Lebovitz, the head of the newly formed Assn. for Sports Fans’ Rights, said that his organization would continue its national boycott of Anheuser-Busch products.

“How can they say it’s in the best interests of the majority of fans?” Lebovitz said. “When’s the last time they spoke to a fan that told them scrambling was a wonderful idea? When’s the last time they sat in the stands rather than those fancy boxes upstairs? When’s the last time they even listened to what fans had to say? They don’t realize the fan is not as stupid as they think he is.”

Lebovitz said that on Friday, Anheuser-Busch officials came to his San Diego restaurant and asked that he call off the boycott.

“One Anheuser-Busch official told me they’re losing $1 million a day,” Lebovitz said.

Anheuser-Busch officials would neither confirm nor deny the boycott’s monetary impact, but Lange said, “We would like to think that fans and sports-bar owners realize that Anheuser-Busch is opposed to scrambling, and we have gone to the networks to express that concern.”

Asked if the company would consider pulling NFL advertising in the face of a prolonged and costly boycott, Lange said, “It’s premature to discuss that. I would say our hope is that the issue can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and in the very near future.”