Audience Services

A Contract Award Notice
by THE BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION (BBC)

Source
Find a Tender
Type
Contract (Services)
Duration
not specified
Value
£41M
Sector
PROFESSIONAL
Published
06 May 2025
Delivery
not specified
Deadline
n/a

Concepts

Location

United Kingdom:

Geochart for 1 buyers and 1 suppliers

1 buyer

1 supplier

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.

Total Quantity or Scope

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.

Award Detail

1 Serco (Hook)
  • Audience Services
  • Reference: 019138-2025-1
  • Value: £40,600,000

Renewal 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.

Award Criteria

Merit Score 55
Whole Life Cost Score 45

CPV Codes

  • 79342300 - Customer services

Indicators

  • Options are available.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** In the case of technology requirements, the BBC may involve its technology partner (Atos IT Solutions and Services Limited) to assist in the scoping and drafting of invitations to tender and/or the evaluation of tenders. However, the final decision as to which is the most economically advantageous (by reference to the award criteria) will be made by the BBC. The awarding authority reserves the right not to award a contract and to annul the procurement process at any stage. Tenders and all supporting documents must be priced in sterling and all payments will be made in sterling. The contract shall be subject to English law. The awarding authority does not bind itself to accept the lowest, or any tender and reserves the right to accept part of a tender unless the tenderer expressly stipulates otherwise in the tender document.

Reference

Domains