NFL to Reconsider Scrambling Telecasts

In the face of an ongoing national boycott of major commercial sponsors, the NFL announced Tuesday that its decision to scramble its fall telecasts is being reconsidered.

Meanwhile, Joel M. Pressman, attorney for San Diego’s Norman Lebovitz, who has been leading a nationwide coalition of fans and restaurateurs in the fight against scrambling, said he and his client have been invited to New York for meetings today with “parties involved in the controversy,” but he would not elaborate.

Greg Aiello, the NFL’s director of communications, said, “In light of everything that’s happened, we need to review the situation. The plan was to have (scrambling) in effect for the opening of the season (on Sunday), and obviously, it’s not going to happen.

“We’re reviewing the scrambling issue with the networks, and no games will be scrambled until that review is completed. When that will be we don’t know. It would even be speculating to say it will be this year.”

Nevertheless, Aiello said the NFL remains committed to scrambling, not only to preserve the relationship between major networks and local affiliates--whose advertising is not seen via satellite “feeds”--but also to “prevent bars and restaurants from stealing our private signals.”

“I think everyone agrees that that is against the law, and we’re just trying to find the proper way to enforce it,” Aiello said.

A grass-roots effort called the Assn. for Sports Fans’ Rights, organized by Lebovitz, announced Tuesday in San Diego that the boycott of Anheuser-Busch, Inc., has been extended to the Miller Brewing Co. and to Sears Roebuck and Co.

“Unless they say that scrambling is off completely, the boycott of Bud will continue,” said Lebovitz, owner of three San Diego restaurants called Sluggo’s. “And, we will shut down Miller, in addition to asking Sears to pull all NFL products from its shelves.”

Officials for the Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co. declined comment, as did a Los Angeles spokesman for Sears.

Tom Lange, a spokesman for Anheuser-Busch, which spent $4.5 million in commercial sponsorship of last season’s Super Bowl and an undisclosed sum on other games, said it was “too early” to assess the impact of the boycott.

“Once people learned that Anheuser-Busch is opposed to scrambling--and made that concern known to the league and the networks--we got calls from bar owners wanting to know if they should put Bud back in their businesses,” Lange said. “We’ve always maintained, since scrambling came to the forefront nationally, that we could reach an amicable resolution.”

In Washington, Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) said he intended to follow through with “de-scrambling” legislation later in the week, when more congressmen have returned to Capitol Hill.

“I want to make it a condition of the NFL’s antitrust exemption that they not scramble their TV signals,” Bates said. “Or else, they may lose that very, very special privilege. In other words, ‘If you can’t handle the trust we’ve given you, maybe we should take away the trust.’ ”

Bates said he has the backing of “30 to 40” congressmen, including Rep. James Bilbray (D-Nevada) and Rep. W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (D-La.), who serves on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance.

In response to Bates’ comments, NFL spokesman Aiello said, “All we’ll say is that we’ll follow the laws of the land, whatever they may be.”