The Board of Control for Cricket in India has admitted to have incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 150 crore during the series against South Africa and Australia due to its failure in awarding the telecast rights.

The on-going imbroglio over awarding the telecast rights have cost the BCCI approximately Rs 150 crore during the South Africa and Australia series, BCCI Secretary S K Nair disclosed in a letter to Saurashtra Cricket Association secretary Niranjan Shah.

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The letter was in response to Shah's query about the telecast rights row written to BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra.

The ad hoc arrangement with Prasar Bharti was likely to fetch Rs 130 crore for the two series but the income was still far less than what could have been earned had the telecast rights been awarded before that, Nair said in the letter.

BCCI had decided to award the four-year telecast rights for all international matches to be played in India to Zee Telefilms for USD 308 million for 144 playing days.

But the entire issue got locked in a legal battle as BCCI decided to withdraw its Letter of Intent to Zee after ESPN-Star Sports, another bidder for the rights, moved Mumbai High Court against the awarding of rights.

The Board, therefore, had to make an ad hoc arrangement for telecast of these two series with Prasar Bharti.

Nair said had the telecast rights been awarded before the two series then it would have fetched the Board a revenue of about Rs 275 crore for 30 days.

"Doordarshan would be paying Rs 100 crore for the terrestrial rights of the matches against Australia and South Africa and another Rs 30 crore is expected from the sale of overseas rights.

"Therefore, if we assume that Rs 275 crore would have come from these two series if the four-year deal was through, the ad hoc arrangement has fetched approximately Rs 130 crore and the loss was say Rs 150 crore," the letter said.

Commenting on Shah's apprehensions that the affiliated units of BCCI may have lost revenue to the tune of Rs 15 crore, Nair said that was not the case.

Considering that 33 per cent of the revenue is shared with staging and non-staging units, the consolidated loss for the affiliated members was about Rs 50 crore, he said.

"The money is usually distributed amongst 25 affiliated units (leaving out Railways, Universities, Services, CCI and NCC). Therefore, the share of each unit works out to be Rs 2 crore only.

"Under the circumstances, it is not comprehended how you have derived at the figure of Rs 15 to 17 crore for each staging and non-staging units," he said.