World Service Global Business to Business (B2B) Satellite Distribution - Request for Information (RFI)

BBC World Service (WS) broadcasts radio and television news services in 42 languages to a global audience. These broadcasts cover most of the populated world and have an estimated audience reach of 365 million people per week. Currently the core distribution of WS live content to locations worldwide is done via a number of satellites using the WS Satellite Media Distribution System (SMDS). These locations consist of transmitter sites and partners that enable the BBC to reach its global audience via shortwave, local FM, or countrywide networks. A significant part of BBC World Service’s business is provision of content to other broadcasters through partnership arrangements. The diversity of locations has been serviced by a satellite-based distribution using industry standard technology. The existing satellite-based distribution was commissioned in 2013 and consists of two serviced footprints, one for Europe and the other for the Rest of the World (RoW). The BBC would welcome responses to this request for information (RFI) in order to inform our thinking prior to any potential procurement exercise. The purpose of this notice is to invite interested parties to complete a questionnaire which will allow the BBC to gain an understanding of: • Current market capability and capacity to provide all or part of the World Service Global B2B satellite distribution services, including availability, service management and cost. • IP transport solutions available for content delivery and the feasibility of migrating to a Hybrid IP/Satellite operating model. • The capability of a hybrid IP/Satellite operating model to distribute World Service content including availability, service management and cost. • An understanding of whether a hybrid IP/Satellite operating model would result in a reduced TCO. Please note this invitation has been issued purely as an information seeking exercise and is not part of any formal procurement process.