surprise that one television station was threatening legal action against another in a row over TV rights. Mr. Woods said the association was not responsible for issuing television rights for the coverage of the Olympic Games. He told The Royal Gazette that he was "very surprised'' to hear the Bermuda Broadcasting Company was threatening to take legal action against Visual Services Bermuda (VSB) -- because the three parties had met on November 10 to resolve the matter. Mr. Woods said at the meeting he had asked them to work together to provide the best service to the community when it came to coverage of the games. But in a letter to the BOA this week, lawyer Mr. Mark Ray said Mr. Rick Richardson, the BBC's general manager, understood that after the meeting the BOA would publicly acknowledge the BBC's exclusive rights for the Games. Mr. Ray said Supreme Court proceedings would be instituted against the BOA if they did not publish a letter in The Royal Gazette by December 15 acknowledging the BBC's exclusive rights to the Games.

In a letter to VSB's Manager Mr. Michael Bishop, Mr. Ray said the Caribbean Broadcasting Company had the exclusive rights to distribute broadcasts of the Games throughout its membership region of Caribbean and Bermuda television.

"As the sole Bermudian subscribing member of CBU, BBC obtained the exclusive right to broadcast the Games here,'' he said.

VSB had said on their evening sports report that they were the official Olympic station in Bermuda and has run promotional advertisements for the Games which are being held in Atlanta in July next year.

Mr. Ray said at the close of his letter to Mr. Bishop that if a written confirmation stating that if VSB did not deliver a corrective statement "clarifying the position'' he had set out by December 15 then he would issue proceedings in the Supreme Court against VSB for "malicious falsehood and/or breach of copyright''.

Mr. Bishop declined to comment when contacted last night.