
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 19, 1995                   TAG: 9504190050
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press|
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short

DISNEY, PHONE COMPANIES TEAM UP

Walt Disney Co. and its three Baby Bell partners will spend $500 million over five years on a video programming venture, the companies announced Tuesday.

The joint venture, announced last August, will be launched this year using existing or modified telephone lines to deliver TV programs.

Disney, Ameritech Corp., BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. plan first to offer broadcasts and pay-per-view programs in selected areas including Troy, Mich., and Naperville, Ill., with a goal of reaching about 300,000 homes.

The venture will be based in Los Angeles but the companies disclosed few other details, such as how much each is investing.

Disney's role will be to lend creative and marketing expertise, including the design of an on-screen ``navigator'' that would help make the services easy to use.

The three telephone companies, which serve 50 million customers in 19 states in the South and Midwest, will offer billing and service expertise as well as the lines to customers.

Three other regional Bell carriers - Bell Atlantic Corp., Nynex Corp. and Pacific Telesis Group - have formed a venture with Creative Artists Agency to line up programming for video services they are planning.

by CNB