FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) – A television ad urging teenagers to abstain from sex has been deemed inappropriate for young children by some networks on Comcast Corp. cable television and won’t be seen on several channels geared to younger viewers.

The spot, sponsored by the Catholic Social Services program, ACTION, which stands for Abstinence Challenging Teens in Our Neighborhood, was supposed to run on cable stations in seven communities in southeastern Massachusetts. An official with Comcast said the decisions were up to the individual networks and not the cable company.

“The ad was deemed appropriate for some networks,” said Dana Runnells, a senior marketing manager for Comcast Spotlight, the company’s advertising division. She did not know the reasons why.

During the 30-second spot, phrases about sex pop up on a black screen and are read aloud by teenagers.

“There’s no racy language or images,” said Liz Isherwood, whose public relations agency put the spot together. “I don’t understand the decision and neither does Catholic Services.”

Isherwood said the advertisement encourages self respect. It ends with the phrase: “Before you decide to have sex, do some serious thinking and take ACTION. Care enough to wait.”

Isherwood said the ad has been running on the radio and she hasn’t received any complaints about its content.

Runnells said all ads are judged against internal company standards, including profanity and taste, and then are reviewed by the individual networks, which decide if the spots will appear on their channels.

“We review every ad on a case-by-case basis for compliance with internal standards and network guidelines. We make sure that (the ads) are appropriate for the audience,” she said.

Comcast officials were concerned that the ad might be seen by children in the 6- to 9-year-old range.

Messages left by The Associated Press at ACTION in Fall River on Saturday weren’t immediately returned.

AP-ES-06-11-05 2000EDT