Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Audience Services

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

06 May 2025 at 14:53

Award Notice
Tender

04 Mar 2024 at 15:17

Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has completed its procurement process to award a contract for "Audience Services" under the industry category of customer services, with a location focus in the UK. The contract, valued at £40.6 million, was signed on 8th April 2025 with Serco Limited, marking the completion of this procurement stage. The procurement used a competitive procedure with negotiation, highlighting a well-structured, strategic selection process. The awarded contract is subject to English law and includes a 12-month transition period starting 16th April 2026, with an initial term of five years and potential extensions of up to three years, reaching a possible maximum duration of eight years.

This tender offers significant opportunities for business growth, particularly for companies involved in customer management services and those integrating technological innovations to enhance service efficiency. The procurement process aims to ensure that businesses can leverage new technologies like AI to maximise operational efficiency and audience engagement for the BBC. Companies that can provide innovative solutions or demonstrate the ability to effectively use rich data for audience insights will be particularly well-suited to compete. The BBC’s need for a supplier to deliver comprehensive end-to-end services offers a promising opportunity for businesses capable of aligning with the BBC’s strategic objectives and leveraging digital advancements to create value.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Audience Services

Notice Description

The BBC has procured customer management services to support a broad range of services including: * Handling editorial and non-editorial complaints * Responding to enquiries * Managing comments & appreciations * Technical support for iPlayer, Sounds, BBC Account * Reception Advice * BBC Action Lines * BBC Charitable Appeals & Donations collections (Lifeline & Radio 4) * Artist mail * Ticketing for BBC shows * 'Take Part' in a show * BBC Switchboard The BBC has a mission to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which continue to inform, educate and entertain. Audience Services supports this by continuing to put our audiences at the heart of our operation, providing them exceptional service, irrespective of channel. We engage them with respect and understanding and work to build audience loyalty to the BBC and the Licence Fee.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The over-riding objective of the procurement was to enhance the service offering whilst maintaining the high quality of the services enjoyed by audiences today. Potential efficiency opportunities were assessed for all service lines, in particular how the introduction of new technologies such as AI can augment case handling making our skilled agents even more efficient and effective. We also want to make better use of the rich data we compile to help us drive audience insights across the BBC. Examples of potential use cases already identified include: * Sifting and grouping contacts which relate to the same issue, which can be handled via bulk responses * Drawing from our Knowledge database to draft responses for agents to review * Increasing audience self-service via dynamic FAQ surfaced using Chatbot We made use of the negotiation phase of this procurement to work with bidders to really develop this thinking and ensure we deliver the best operating model possible for the next generation of Audience Services. The procurement has awarded the contract to a single supplier to provide a seamless end-to-end service to audiences in conjunction with the BBC team.

Options: The BBC has entered into a contract to allow for a 12-month transition period, to Service Commencement on 16th April 2026. The service provision has an initial term of five years ending on 31st March 2031. The Contract may be extended, at the BBC's discretion, by up to 36 months. This means that the maximum length of the service provision could be 8 years. The total value includes all maximum, potential extensions to the contract.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04453f
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/019138-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive procedure with negotiation
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

22 - Printed matter and related products

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

22459000 - Tickets

64214200 - Telephone switchboard services

79342300 - Customer services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£47,920,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£40,600,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 May 20251 years ago
Submission Deadline
3 Apr 2024Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
8 Apr 20251 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
W1A 1AA
Postcode Area
West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
West End
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Serco Limited

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

Loading OCDS record...