CT Israel
Agency: Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
Solicitation Number: BBG-73-R-17-0025
Posted Date: March 24, 2017
Original Response Date: April 7, 2017
Product or Service Code: D399 - IT AND TELECOM- OTHER IT AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Set Aside: N/A
NAICS Code: 515120
Contracting Officer Address:
Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
Attn: Adam Gartner, Overseas Contracting Officer
330 Independence Avenue, SW Suite 4360
Washington, DC 20237
United States of America
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested, and a written solicitation document other than this announcement/solicitation will not be issued. A contract will be awarded using simplified acquisition procedures in FAR Part 13.5.
(ii) Solicitation No. BBG-73-R-17-0025 is hereby issued as a request for proposals (RFP).
(iii) The Solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-095 effective January 13, 2017.
(iv) This acquisition is unrestricted. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 515120, with a small business size standard of $38.5 million.
Statement of Work:
(v) The Broadcasting Board of Governors is seeking a television provider to provide the services described in (vi) and (vii) below.
(vi) The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), Office of Strategy and Development (OSD) in Prague, Czech Republic, is seeking an Offeror that is a Multichannel TV Provider (hereinafter "Provider") with nationwide coverage in Israel, that has a reputation for rebroadcasting respected, credible news programming, that is able to broadcast the high picture and sound quality and that has the technical ability to receive and broadcast RFERL and VOA joint program Current Time (CT) via Hotbird satellite or via digital stream in Israel.
The primary objective is to provide transmission of the BBG-provided content (RFERL and VOA joint program Current Time) on a regular basis, as described below in the broadcast schedule, to the largest possible audience in Israel using available BBG funding. The Provider shall also advertise VOA/RFERL joint program Current Time on the official websites of the Provider and it's social networks, including Facebook (banners and posts promoting the launch of the channel, publication of program schedules on regular basis). The Provider will also provide cross-promotion of the Current Time channel for one month; the promos will be produced and sent to the Provider by the BBG at specific day and time agreed upon after contract award- once a Provider is selected by the BBG. The Provider shall provide highly efficient targeted promotion to Russian-speaking subscribers using onscreen messages to subscribers. In cooperation with the BBG's Current Time team, the Provider shall advertise the CT program in Israeli print press and on major Israeli Internet sites in Russian language - a joint press release announcing the launch of the channel, and during the first year of broadcasting, the Provider shall publish at least once in a quarter press-releases regarding the channel and its programs. Additionally the Provider shall broadcast the EPG service to the subscribers and manage the EPG information in 3 languages (English, Russian, Hebrew).
The Provider shall broadcast RFERL and VOA joint program Current Time in Russian language 24/7 from Monday to Sunday with the broadcast airing not varying more than two minutes from the aforementioned times.
Samples can be found here: http://www.currenttime.tv/z/17192.html
BBG is solely responsible for the content of all BBG provided programming is authorized to produce program in any way it sees fit, so long as it does not violate the laws of Israel.
The Provider shall broadcast the program in its entirety, without alteration, abridgement or excerption. However, the Provider (offeror) shall have the right to determine whether the program is in accordance with the laws of the Israel.
BBG's programing feeds will be transmitted by BBG via satellite or Internet/File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The technical details of the transmission to the Provider as well as the programming feeds transmission times will be mutually agreed upon post award.
The Provider shall identify points of contact to discuss with BBG in advance of any planned alteration of the program's scheduled broadcast airing playback or other technical or administrative issues.
(vii) The anticipated award date under this Solicitation is April 16, 2017. Duration of this proposed award shall be twelve (12) months ending April 15, 2018 with one option year period available to be exercised at the sole discretion of the BBG. The subsequent option, if exercised by the BBG will follow sequentially for a total contract duration not to exceed twenty-four (24) months. The Place of Performance for the services will be performed at the contractor's facility/site.
(viii) The provision at FAR Subpart 52.212-1 (Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items) applies to this acquisition.
(ix) The provision at FAR Subpart 52.212-2 (Evaluation of Commercial Items) is hereby incorporated by reference into this combined synopsis/solicitation and the following evaluation procedures will be used for this acquisition. FAR provisions and clauses may be obtained from the Internet Web address at: https://www.acquisition.gov/. This requirement will be evaluated on lowest price/technically acceptable as follows:
BASIS FOR AWARD
This procurement will utilize the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) source selection procedures. This is a competitive LPTA Solicitation in which price is the most important factor. By submission of its offer, the Offeror accepts all Solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements. All technically acceptable offerors shall be treated equally except for their prices. Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being determined technically unacceptable. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.
The Government reserves the right to make a selection based upon the initial proposals submissions and make award without discussions -the offeror should submit its best terms in the initial proposal.
For the purpose of award, the government shall evaluate offers based on the evaluation factors described below:
(i) Technical Proposal
a. Experience - 5 years minimum in broadcasting TV programs,
b. Technical ability to broadcast RFERL and VOA joint program Current Time via Hotbird satellite or via digital stream in Israel. The selected vendor shall be a Network with nationwide coverage.
Price (for the base period and one option year period)
Using Attachment A, The Network Provider shall submit Price schedule for the base period and one option period.
• Base Period: April 16, 2017 - April 15, 2018
• Option year 1: April 16, 2018 - April 15, 2019
FAR 52.232-19 AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR (APR 1984)
Funds are not presently available for performance under this contract beyond April 15, 2018. The Government's obligation for performance of this contract beyond that date is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise for performance under this contract beyond April 15, 2018, until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for performance and until the Contractor receives notice of availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.
The Government shall select the awardee based upon the evaluation of the offeror's price and technical acceptability. The non-cost evaluation factors are all of equal importance. Thus, the failure to meet any one of the technical factors will prelude award to the offerors submitting the proposal.
The government shall choose the lowest -priced and technically acceptable offer for award.
Rejection of Unrealistic Offers:
The Government may reject any proposal that is evaluated to be unrealistic in terms of program commitments, including contract terms and conditions, or unrealistically high or low in cost/price when compared to Government estimates, or are unbalanced, such that the proposal is deemed to reflect an inherent lack of ability to distribute the programming.
(x) Offerors shall submit a completed copy of the provision at FAR 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with its proposal which is completed by registering in the System for Award Management (SAM) website at: https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. This provision can be found at the following website: https://www.acquisition.gov/; if requested by an Offeror, a copy of FAR Subpart 52.212-3 can be obtained by contacting the Contracting Officer. Offerors must be registered in SAM prior to award.
(xi) FAR 52.212-4, "Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items applies to this acquisition with addendum to the clause.
(xii) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation by reference and the proposed subsequent contract as well as the following clauses contained in FAR clause 52.212-5:
_X_ (1) 52.203-6, Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006), with Alternate I (Oct 1995) (41 U.S.C. 4704 and 10 U.S.C. 2402).
_X_ (33)(i) 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Mar 2015) (22 U.S.C. chapter 78 and E.O. 13627).
_X (ii) Alternate I (MAR 2015) of 52.222-50 (22U.S.C. chapter 78 and E.O. 13627).
_X_ (42) 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011) (E.O. 13513).
_X_ (44) 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (June 2008) (E.O.'s, proclamations, and statutes administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury).
_X_ (54) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Jul 2013) (31 U.S.C. 3332).
Additional FAR provisions and clauses incorporated by reference and applicable to this solicitation and the proposed subsequent contract are: FAR 52.217-8 Option to Extend Services (Nov 1999); FAR 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000); 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (Apr 1984); and52.225-25 Prohibition on Contracting with Entities Engaging Certain Activities or Transactions Relating to Iran-Representation and Certifications (Oct 2015); 52.232-39 Unenforceability of Unauthorized Obligations (Jun 2013); and 52.233-2 Service of Protest (Sept 2006).
(xiii) PAYMENT AND BILLING: Payment from BBG shall be in arrears in United States Dollars (USD), net 30 days upon proper invoice. The broadcast fee to be paid to the Provider shall be reduced for failure to broadcast the BBG provided programs. No invoices shall be paid for the period when the Provider (contractor) does not broadcast the provided programs.
The Network Provider will only be paid for the original airings of the VOA program that are run to from start to completion and to the satisfaction of the BBG.
(xiv) A Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) assigned rating is not applicable to this acquisition.
(xv) All offerors shall submit the following: (i) One technical Proposal which addresses the technical factors described and one price proposal. The technical and price proposals must be submitted separately. No price information should be contained in the technical proposal.
To facilitate the award process, all proposals must include a statement regarding the terms and conditions herein as follows:
"The terms and conditions in the solicitation are acceptable to be included in the award document without modification, deletion, or addition."
SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: Documents submitted in response to this Solicitation must be fully responsive to and consistent with the requirements of the solicitation. Failure to comply with all the requirements of the solicitation may result in the offer being considered unacceptable for award.
Proposals shall be received not later than 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Friday, April 7, 2017 at IBB-Prague, Vinohradska 159a, Prague 10, The Czech Republic or via email to: atgartne@bbg.gov and porkertovad@bbg.gov. No FAX PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Late submissions shall be treated in accordance with the solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1(f).
Offers will not be accepted from agents; from principals only.
Any questions or concerns regarding this Solicitation shall be submitted via email by 1:00 EDT PM Friday March 31, 2017 to either Adam Gartner, Overseas Contracting Officer at atgartne@bbg.gov or Dominika Porkertova at porkertovad@bbg.gov. Questions which are submitted after 1:00 p.m. EDT on Friday March 31, 2017, will not be addressed. Responses to the questions submitted, in accordance with the aforementioned instructions will be via an amendment to the Solicitation only, which will be posted to FEDBIZOPPS (www.fbo.gov).
(xvi) Points of Contact: Adam Gartner, Overseas Contracting Officer at atgartne@bbg.gov or via phone +420 221 123 773. Dominika Porkertova at
Adam Gartner, Phone 420221123773, Email atgartne@bbg.gov - Dominika Porkertova, Phone 00420221123780, Email porkertovad@bbg.gov
