Cablevision to Distribute 2 Turner Programs

Turner Educational Services’ “CNN Newsroom” and a new Turner series, “Adventure Learning,” will be included in the interactive programming that will be offered by Ventura County Cablevision, the cable firm and its partners have announced.

The deal was announced by New York-based ACTV Inc., an interactive TV software producer and key mover in the “L. A. Project.” The project is planned to provide interactive sports and educational programming as well as advertising to viewers in Ventura County and other areas.

The Turner unit will supply the project’s educational programming, and Prime Ticket Network will provide sports coverage. The partners will survey consumers and schools to determine pricing, programming and marketing strategies for the regional network, which they hope to launch in 1995.

“It is extremely important for our industry to recognize the importance of education in the development of interactive programming,” said Gary R. Rowe, Turner’s senior vice president. “ACTV provides us with a meaningful way to find out how teachers can use television more effectively.”

Bruce J. Crowley, ACTV’s president of distance learning, said: “The cable industry has done an excellent job providing educational programming to students in over 64,000 schools. Our goal is to improve the educational experience for students through personalized television.”

He said his company’s interactive learning programs can be carried on existing cable and satellite systems.

When the ACTV technology was introduced in May, students in Washington responded to questions posed by a teacher in Denver. The system enables students to communicate with their teacher by means of headsets, key pads and a TV set. It’s estimated that a classroom system for 20 students will sell for $5,000.

Turner Educational Services, a unit of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., says it distributes “CNN Newsroom” to more than 29,000 U. S. schools. The Adventure Learning series will explore nature, science and history through live telecasts and other programming.