The BBC plans to cut $53.23 million from its sports rights budget with some events likely to be dropped from free-to-air television in Britain, the corporation said on Wednesday.
The BBC is tasked with saving $230 million to address a shortfall caused by a drop in TV ownership, fuelled by a loophole which allows viewers to watch BBC iPlayer without a licence.
The announcement did not name specific sports, but the BBC has already handed live coverage of golf's British Open to Sky Sports and Formula 1 coverage appears to heading in a similar direction.
The BBC in 2011 agreed a new deal to 2018 that ended the corporation's status as exclusive television broadcaster of Formula 1 in Britain, home to most of the teams and birthplace of reigning triple world champion Lewis Hamilton.
It now shows half the races live, with highlights of the rest. Pay-TV channel Sky broadcasts all the races on their designated F1 channel.
"I hope the BBC continue," Ecclestone said last August. "We're not interested in the money, we are interested in entertaining the public and doing a service. That's what we are here for."
Media reports have put the current BBC contract at $38 million pounds a year, compared to the $61 million they paid when they had the sole rights.
"Wherever possible we're targeting savings by creating a simpler, leaner BBC. But cuts to budgets for programmes and services are unavoidable," said BBC director-general Tony Hall.
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