BBC to lose F1, snooker, darts and red button sport after cuts

Budget cuts at the BBC are likely to mean an end to the corporation's coverage of Formula 1, snooker and darts, while spending on athletics and other minority sports is likely to be severely reduced with 'red button' coverage axed.

The Beeb is looking for £150m worth of savings before the final round of budget and contract negotiations with the government. As much as £35m is expected to come from a sport budget that has "already been salami-sliced over the past five years", according to the Daily Telegraph.

"In 2011 the broadcaster agreed to give up half of its Formula 1 rights to Sky, in a deal that ends in 2018, and it now faces losing the sport in its entirety," says the paper. "The corporation's contract to broadcast three major snooker competitions ends in 2017, and its rights to air the BDO World Darts Championship elapses in 2016, both of which it will find hard to retain."

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In June the broadcaster lost the rights to show the Olympics from 2022, after US company Discovery made a £920m offer for exclusive pan-European rights. However, the games are seen as an "overriding editorial priority" and the BBC hopes to sub-licence the event from Eurosport.

Premier League football highlights, via Match of the Day, and Wimbledon coverage are also safe for the time being, although the corporation agreed to split its Six Nations rugby coverage with ITV earlier this year.

However, it lost the rights to The Open golf in a battle with Sky this year, bringing 61 years of coverage to an end.

"The corporation has struggled to compete for live sports rights against well-financed rivals Sky and BT, leaving many to fear the future of free-to-air sports broadcasting," reports The Guardian.

The rest of the savings will come from elsewhere in the corporation. According to the FT, "£5m will come from BBC news, £12m from television, and £12m from investing less in "new features, innovation and development across the BBC's digital services". The BBC had already said £50m would come from back office savings".