This contradicts Zee's official stance that it has got the in-principle nod from Viacom to distribute the channel and the matter is awaiting clearance from the Reserve Bank of India.

"Nothing has been finalised yet. We are still talking," said Freston.

Though Zee Network spokesperson said that the deal was awaiting approval from the regulatory authorities, a senior official in the company admitted that there were complex issues which were to be settled. "We are yet to sort out matters like where the decoders will come from, who will bear the expenses, how the income will be shared and whether there will be ads on the network," he said.

Zee is keen to have a children entertainment channel in its direct-to-operator (DTO) bouquet which isscheduled to start on November 14. The network has already launched a Marathi and a Bengali channel and plans to kick off eight regional channels under the DTO service.

Besides the Nickelodeon channel, Zee is also interested in getting VH1 from the Viacom stable. Viacom owns and operates the networks like MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon.

In an interview to The Financial Express, Freston also said MTV would not stand to benefit `a lot"'in terms of synergy from the proposed merger of CBS Corp with Viacom. "Our focus is on the youth audience. They cater to a wider range of people."

Nickelodeon and Paramount, however, will benefit as programme suppliers to the CBS network. Though things are yet to be worked out, Nickelodeon could supply shows to CBS to strengthen its morning programming. Besides, the network could provide a programming outlet for Paramount.

MTV, however, can use the radio properties of CBS to do cross promotions. CBS has around 180 radio stations. Besides, MTV can do shows for CBS'sCountry Music Channel. "Under the merger agreement, I will have to report to CBS' chief executive Mel Karmazin. But he has assured us of more funds," Freston said.

The MTV chairman, however, was cautious of running into details. "We are not allowed by the regulatory authorities to hold talks with the CBS officials for the next 60 days till the shareholders meet. So the details are still to be worked out."

The merger makes sense because the two companies have different assets. Viacom, Freston said, is interested in the web properties of CBS. "CBS follows a different strategy: The network takes a stake, promotes the site but does not run it. We operate our web assets directly."

What will MTV's cutting edge be? "We can run shows on the Internet as well as on the network. We recently launched a weekly game show for MTV Network as well as our web. Besides, we can promote the site on the network."MTV will be launching MTVIndia.Com next year. Fans will have access to news, features, interviews, audio and videoclips.

Though MTV's Asian operations are incurring losses, Freston said that it would break even by 2002. The viewership in India is up about 700 per cent during the last year and the network is planning South Africa launch.