NBC set a start date for its cable network.

Lawrence K. Grossman, president of NBC News, told cable executives that the proposed 24-hour cable network, tentatively called NBC Cable News, will start no later than June 1 if cable systems commit 13.5 million subscribers by December. Grossman met with representatives of the National Cable Television Assn. in Washington. NBC’s cable venture will compete directly with the 5-year-old Cable News Network, which serves 85% of all cable-equipped homes, or 33.1 million subscribers.