COMPANY TOWN

Digital Cable: Burbank-based TVN Entertainment Corp. said Monday that it has developed a system that will enable cable operators to deliver dozens of channels and “near” video on demand to customers at less than half the cost of direct broadcast satellite service. The major cable firms such as Tele-Communications Inc. and Time Warner have already begun to upgrade their networks to provide digital programming. But TVN, which currently operates a pay-per-view satellite television network, hopes to expand its market by selling the new service to smaller cable firms that lack the wherewithal to upgrade their own networks.