Zee extends an olive branch

Zee Television has sent two letters to the Indian board, signalling its readiness to resolve the television-rights issue with the board amicably. Both parties have been involved in a bitter battle over television rights since September 2004. This is a significant gesture, for it could mean that the matter can be resolved out of court before the Pakistan series.

Zee TV took the BCCI to court for cancelling a television-rights tender that the channel felt it had won by offering US$308million and then putting up a deposit of US$20million last year. The bidding process was scrapped after ESPN-Star, the only other main contender for the rights, took legal action against the Indian board.

According to the Telegraph, Subhash Chandra, Zee TV's chairman, wrote a letter to Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, saying that his problems were with the the previous president [Jagmohan Dalmiya], but now he sought a fair solution. "Now that a new team has taken over," Chandra wrote in a letter dated February 1, "we were wanting to explore the possibility of a reasonable resolution. We have grave apprehensions as to the conduct of the past president of the BCCI which are the subject matter of our petition in court." He added that he wanted "to make an earnest attempt to take matters forward".

After receiving no reply for two weeks, Zee once again sent a letter to the board, saying that the court case was necessary because Zee had heard that Dalmiya had called on ESPN-Star and Doordarshan "for a meeting for awarding telecast rights to them through negotiations".

SK Nair, the board secretary, said to Cricinfo, "I have no knowledge. I cannot answer on the basis of some information." The information, however, was confirmed by Mahendra, who acknowledged that Chandra wanted to meet.