The action, which could also mean some senior members of staff losing their jobs, includes producers in television and radio, according to a report in the Daily Mail. The BBC said it is to issue a statement later today.
The broadcaster's reputation has taken a battering in recent months, with a series of news stories revealing fake winners were picked in phone-in competitions on shows including 'Children In Need', 'Comic Relief' and 'Sport Relief'. It was also caught up with producer RDF in the 'Queengate' scandal, which involved footage of the Queen edited in a misleading manner.
The first and most damaging story, because it involved child viewers being duped, emerged in March when it came to light that a live phone-in competition on 'Blue Peter' was rigged. Because of a phoneline fault, the production team asked a member of the audience to enter the competition, posing as a viewer.
In July, media regulator Ofcom handed the BBC a £50,000 fine in relation to 'Blue Peter', marking the first time it had fined the corporation.
Today's expected action comes after a BBC internal investigation called by director-general Mark Thompson to uncover other instances of abuses of competitions and put the BBC's house in order. In July, he suspended all BBC competitions and called for a "zero tolerance" approach to future lapses and mandatory training for all staff on the issue.
Thompson met with the BBC Trust yesterday and it is understood disciplinary action was one of the issues under discussion in the meeting. A BBC spokeswoman declined to comment.
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