Zee Network bouquet of pay channels was also blacked out from the Hathway cable systems for a day. But the signals of the channels including Zee Cinema and the Alpha group of regional language channels were started on Saturday, sources said. Hathway Cable & Datacom, sources said, has not paid to Sony since June 2000. Besides, Sony wants Hathway to increase the declared connectivity of paid subscribers from November 2000. "The demand is to hike the paid connectivity by more than three times," sources said.

Hathway Cable & Datacom, according to cable industry sources, has a declared paid connectivity of around 10,000 for SetMax in Mumbai, 20,000 for CNBC, and 40,000 for AXN.

While SetMax and AXN are off the Hathway network in Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, the business channel CNBC is available in some pockets. Sources in Sony said Hathway was taking unauthorised signals of CNBC and showing the business channel in certain pockets of Mumbai. Sony distributes the pay channels SetMax, AXN and CNBC. Hathway Cable & Datacom, where Star TV has picked up a 26 per cent stake, and Sony Entertainment Television are engaged in negotiations. An agreement is expected to be reached soon. While the settlement is pending, the three channels are blacked out from the Hathway network which includes Win Cable and UCN. "The three channels are losing reach in prime areas. The Sony bouquet is not as strong as the Star TV or Zee Network bouquet," a source in Hathway said.

While Sony TV and Zee TV are free-to-air channels, Star Plus is a pay channel. The bouquet of Sony and Zee would strengthen once they decide to make their flagship channels go pay. The two companies have announced that they have plans of converting Zee TV and Sony TV into pay channels.