This is a sample page with a marble background in a span.
This indented div has a few words with the background image.
This paragraph uses background-image in a span.
Unfortunately, WebTV does not read background-image in a span.
But it does read a background color.
One way to get a background color behind a word or a phrase:
<span style="background-color:#cccccc">text</span>
If can this you like this effect, see the highlighter page.
I made sample pages using this background-image in a page, a div and a paragraph.