P.M. BRIEFING : Philips Wins School TV Contract

The Philips Consumer Electronics Co. has been awarded a contract valued at more than $150 million to make and install video hardware needed for Whittle Communications’ advertising-financed daily TV news program that debuts in schools next spring, the companies announced today.

The contract calls for Philips to design, manufacture and install the communications systems needed for delivery of the Channel One news service and other educational programming that Whittle plans to make available to schools across the country beginning next March.

Whittle has ordered about 300,000 television sets, 15,000 videocassette recorders and 8,000 satellite dishes. It plans to give dozens of sets, two VCRs and a satellite dish to each school that agrees to run the Channel One news show with ads every day.

Philips is based in Knoxville, Tenn., where Whittle also is headquartered. A subsidiary of North American Philips Corp., it produces about 2.5 million Magnavox televisions a year.