Some women's rights groups have gotten their knickers in a twist over what they call a "soft-core porn infomercial" built around bras, thongs and other barely there lingerie. In other words, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which CBS is broadcasting Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Concerned Women for America and the National Organization for Women are among the organizations linking arms with the Parents Television Council to request the Eye not air this ritual ogle.

Last year's show, broadcast by ABC, teed off straight-laced media watchdogs so much (even though the Alphabet network blurred some of the most revealing outfits) that the Federal Communications Commission undertook an investigation to decide whether or not the runway parade of skimpily attired supermodels touting see-through teddies and bottom-bearing garter belts violated decency standards.

The commission decided it didn't. (We don't know how many times they viewed the tape before reaching that conclusion.)

The women's groups were hoping the quantity and intensity of last year's complaints to ABC would deter any network showing this year's undergarment fashions, which, the groups say, objectify women. No such luck. CBS bought the special titled Christmas Dreams & Fantasies 2002 which includes not just the usual big- name, well-curved beauties, but also musical performances by Destiny's Child and Marc Anthony.

Earlier this year, CBS entertainment president Nancy Tellem, responding to a slew of questions at a television critics press conference, denied the acquisition of the Victoria's Secret show was a deliberate attempt by the traditionally older-skewing network to escape it's "grandma" image.

"It's a lark. It's an hour of programming. It's fun. See how much conversation we're getting about a one-hour special. It's terrific. That's exactly what we are doing it for," added CBS head honcho, Les Moonves, declaiming there was no sexist slant to ratings because the previous ABC special "was watched by everyone--it was one of their best numbers in years."

Since then Moonves has received a petition from the protest groups asking, "What purpose does the special serve except to overly sexualize women and use this to bolster the network's demographics for young men?"

In response, CBS spokesman Chris Ender tells the Associated Press, "Despite what the PTC says, this is not pornography. It's a one-hour fashion show mixed with musical performances and comedy segments. Does it push the envelope? Sure. But everyone knows what the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is. With the advance publicity and the content advisory, every viewer will be armed with information to make their own choice."

CBS claims that network censors won't need to blur any of the soft flesh, hard sell bounce and jiggle, lace and chiffon, frippery and feathers special, because the underwear this year has a bit more too it. But that hasn't stopped network flacks from billing it as "The Sexiest Night of Television."

About the only thing to get snipped out of the show is those pesky animal rights placard-bearers who jumped in front of the cameras to protest against "Fur Scum" model Gisele Bundchen, even though she wasn't swathed from head to toe in sable or mink at that precise moment. (When she's not catwalking for Victoria's Secret, she's a spokesmodel for a fur company.)

The special, rated TV-14, was originally set to air at 10 p.m. when the kiddies would be tucked asleep in their jammies. However, eager to counter-program ABC's so-called family hour offering--the two-hour finale of the love-for-sale The Bachelor--CBS initially moved the fashion show to 8 p.m. before finally settling on 9 p.m. (CBS says that tie-ins with Victoria's Secret store promotions prevent moving the show to any other night.)

Still, there are what CBS terms "a small number" of affiliates who are balking at airing the special in the earlier slot. Two in Idaho, KBCI-TV of Boise and KIDK-TV of Idaho Falls, are owned by Fisher Broadcasting.

"I don't believe it meets the standards of our communities in the time period offered," Jeffrey Anderson, Fisher's general manager, tells the AP. "It's a family-viewing hour.

So instead, those stations will air the show after midnight on the weekend--a time slot when, we presume, most people who really care about ogling naughty nudies already have their home videotapes playing.