(FORTUNE Magazine) – IT SEEMS A BIT SILLY TO THINK OF EXecutives from glam movie studios, TV stations, and music labels signing up to work for Bellheads. Who, after all, would trade starlets and gala openings for transmission lines?

Plenty of people, as it turns out. Three recent high-profile hires underscore the new push by phone companies and other entertainment neophytes to start offering content--for now, mostly conventional TV programming over juiced-up phone lines. First, in September, Verizon Communications announced a billion-dollar plan to offer television over fiber to its 18 million customers and hired Terry Denson, a former MTV and ABC executive, as VP of video programming and content marketing and strategy. Rival Bell SBC in November brought in Dan York, who'll use his experience at HBO and Time Warner (FORTUNE's parent) to cut content deals. Even Internet powerhouse Yahoo (which arguably was the first tech company to tap Hollywood when it hired former Warner Bros. film chief Terry Semel as its CEO) in November snapped up Lloyd Braun, a seasoned producer who led ABC's television group, as head of Yahoo's media and entertainment division.

It all sounds so 1990s. Back then a group of phone companies formed Tele-TV and hired former CBS chief Howard Stringer (now chairman of Sony Corp. of America). Tele-TV died an inglorious death when its squabbling phone partners couldn't agree on a strategy. Americast, a rival '90s project that included SBC, Ameritech, BellSouth, GTE, and Disney, met a similar fate.

But the entertainment carpetbaggers could have more success this time. First, after years of consolidation, the big phone companies are in a better position to go it alone with their video dreams because their territories now span huge swaths of the country. Second, whereas the decline of their phone revenues was a concern a decade ago, it's a dead-serious reality today. With cable companies offering telephone service, phone companies have a much bigger incentive to make TV offerings work. Brian Bedol, CEO of College Sports Television, predicts we're entering the "next phase," in which content has tremendous value for tech companies.

Before they start building that content--or more likely buying it--they need infrastructure in place. SBC plans to spend $5 billion developing its video system: $4 billion on construction, and another billion to sign up customers and install their equipment. Among the opportunities, says Dan York, on whom SBC has pinned its hopes, is the ability of phone companies to use video-over-fiber technology to customize programming. "If you can create compelling content, it doesn't matter if it's created by a movie studio or an operator--your customer is going to be happy," adds Terry Denson, Verizon's new content chief. With the billions the Bellheads are promising to spend, finding partners--and new hires--to take their money shouldn't be all that tough. -- Adam Lashinsky