Other Baby Bells Also Looking to Expand Into Cable Television

Bell Atlantic is not the only Baby Bell hooking up with a cable TV company. BellSouth Corp., the Atlanta-based regional telephone company, is also negotiating to acquire a stake in Prime Cable, industry sources said Tuesday.

Dallas-based Prime Cable serves about 500,000 subscribers, including 210,000 subscribers in Las Vegas. BellSouth is said to be acquiring a 25% to 50% stake in the cable TV operator that owns systems in Alaska, Chicago, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas. In addition, Prime Cable owns part of a cable TV system serving Atlanta.

Earlier this year, Southwestern Bell bought the Hauser Communications cable TV systems outside of Washington for $650 million. Under current federal regulations, some of Prime Cable’s systems in BellSouth’s operating area may have to be sold. Neith BellSouth nor Prime Cable could be reached for comment.