Well it may not have a strategic partner as yet but something is certainly cooking at the Subhash Chandra promoted Zee Telefilms Ltd. The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today that it will be holding a board meeting on 13 December to "consider, approve and authorise a joint venture agreement with Turner International India Ltd to market and distribute TV Channels of Zee & Turner and third parties."

A JV company makes eminent sense seeing as to how different the corporate culture of the two companies are. The "cultural clash" (for lack of a better phrase) would more likely be a recipe for a quick and messy divorce. A separate company handling operations will be far better equipped to get on with the job at hand.

And the JV looks like providing some synergies which are tangible rather then speculative as is often the case with Zee. Firstly there is the strength to the Zee basket of channels that the Turner products immediately bring. With HBO, Cartoon Network and CNN added to Zee's bouquet, the package that the advertiser is being offered will have a huge value add.

On the movies front, HBO has a firm handle on blockbuster titles and contemporary movies while Zee MGM would provide the more offbeat and older but still well appreciated films. Cartoon Network wraps it up as far as kids are concerned. As for Zee News and CNN, a content sharing arrangement already exists so there should be no problems there.

Now if Zee TV could just be set right.