MTV WANTS ITS CMT, TNN

CBS cable music stations Country Music Television and The Nashville Network will be rolled into Viacom’s MTV Networks Group, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone told media at a gathering Tuesday in New York.

The move, part of the pending merger between CBS and Viacom, will result in both channels reporting to Tom Freston, the MTV Networks Chairman and CEO who already oversees MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon.

Other immediate changes include buttless chaps and a ten-gallon hat for MTV VJ Carson Daly.

The deal is expected to give the CBS cable products wider distribution and will "probably" result in job cuts, according to CBS CEO Mel Karmazin, who will take the same post at Viacom once the merger closes.

The $43 billion transaction will win Justice Department approval "soon," Redstone also said.