An approach is provided for generating Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes. An LDPC encoder generates a LDPC code with an outer Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) code. For a rate 3/5 code, the approach provides a degree profile that yields reduced memory requirements for storage of the edge values without significantly affecting the performance with respect to an "unmodified" rate 3/5 code. The relevant parameters for the reduced memory LDPC codes are as follows: q=72, n.sub.ldpc=64800, k.sub.ldpc=n.sub.BCH=38880, k.sub.BCH=38688. The above approach has particular application in digital video broadcast services over satellite.