BBC May Axe TV Channel, Sporting Events to Reduce Costs, Telegraph Reports

Chris Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, said the British broadcaster may axe a digital television channel and sports events as part of spending cuts, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing an interview.

The newspaper reported Patten as saying that the BBC would “not be the same” after initiatives to cut 20 percent from the corporation’s budget are introduced later this year.

Patten said digital TV channels BBC 3 or BBC 4 could be axed and one of its main sporting events lost, according to the Telegraph.

The spending cuts must not impinge on the corporation’s core services, particularly the World Service, the newspaper reported Patten as saying.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Jenkins in London at kjenkins3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dick Schumacher at dschumacher@bloomberg.net.