Cable TV: Viacom Inc., the nation’s 13th-largest...

Cable TV: Viacom Inc., the nation’s 13th-largest cable TV operator, recently turned down a proposal to put its cable systems in a venture with Southwestern Bell and Crown Media Inc., the 16th-largest operator. Viacom is being wooed by two other telephone companies and thinks it can get a higher bid for its cable operations, according to sources familiar with the proposal, which would have created the nation’s sixth-largest operator. Crown Chairman James M. Hoak confirmed only that “we have made a couple of proposals in partnership with Southwestern Bell,” although Crown, which is controlled by Hallmark Cards Inc., is not working exclusively with Southwestern. As Hoak put it: “There’s an elaborate mating dance going on. We’ve had discussions with five of seven (regional phone companies) and most of the big cable companies.” . . . In other news, Polygram has entered into an event-producing partnership with World Cup USA 1994.