RFP 951700-24-R-0007 A01 FE.pdf

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

(a) By completing items 8 and 15, and returning or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE

RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return copies to the issuing office.

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

1. CONTRACT ID CODE

3. EFFECTIVE DATE 4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQUISITION NUMBER 5. PROJECT NUMBER (If applicable)

7. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 6) CODE

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016)

Prescribed by GSA FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

FACILITY CODE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED (SEE ITEM 13)

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended. is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA (If required) copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted;

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS.

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

CHECK ONE A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER

NUMBER IN ITEM 10A.

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES (such as changes in paying office, appropriation data, etc.) SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER (Specify type of modification and authority)

15C. DATE SIGNED

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (Type or print)

16C. DATE SIGNED

PAGE OF PAGES

6. ISSUED BY CODE

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR (Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code) (X)

CODE

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

(Signature of person authorized to sign)

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

Previous edition unusable

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

A01

16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

David P. Wallace Contracting Officer

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION (Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

The purpose of this amendment is to provide responses to questions and requests for clarification. As a result of this amendment, the Solicitation Closing Date and Time is changed from February 9, 2024. PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE 12:00 PM ET ON February 16, 2024.

NO questions or clarifications concerning this solicitation shall be submitted after 12:00 PM ET ON February 1, 2024.

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

United States Agency for Global Media Office of Contracts 330 Independence Ave Washington, DC 20237

SEE BLOCK 6

951700-24-R-0007

1 1

02/07/2024

9B. DATED (SEE ITEM 11)

01/24/2024

X

INSTRUCTIONS (Back Page):

Instructions for items other than those that are self-explanatory, are as follows:

Item 1 (Contract ID Code). Insert the contract type identification code that appears in the title block of the contract being modified.

Item 3 (Effective date).

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

For a solicitation amendment, change order, or administrative change, the effective date shall be the issue date of the amendment, change order, or administrative change.

For a supplemental agreement, the effective date shall be the date agreed to by the contracting parties.

For a modification issued as an initial or confirming notice of termination for the convenience of the Government, the effective date and the modification number of the confirming notice shall be the same as the effective date and modification number of the initial notice.

For a modification converting a termination for default to a termination for the convenience of the Government, the effective date shall be the same as the effective date of the termination for default.

For a modification confirming the contracting officer's determination of the amount due in settlement of a contract termination, the effective date shall be the same as the effective date of the initial decision.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Item 6 (Issued By). Insert the name and address of the issuing office. If applicable, insert the appropriate issuing office code in the code block.

Item 8 (Name and Address of Contractor). For modifications to a contract or order, enter the contractor's name, address, and code as shown in the original contract or order, unless changed by this or a previous modification.

Items 9, (Amendment of Solicitation Number - Dated), and 10, (Modification of Contract/Order Number - Dated). Check the appropriate box and in the corresponding blanks insert the number and date of the original solicitation, contract, or order.

Item 12 (Accounting and Appropriation Data).

When appropriate, indicate the impact of the modification on each affected accounting classification by inserting one of the following entries:

(2) Accounting classification Net decrease $

Include subject matter or short title of solicitation/contract where feasible.

Item 16B. The contracting officer's signature is not required on solicitation amendments. The contracting officer's signature is normally affixed last on supplemental agreements.

(i)

NOTE: If there are changes to multiple accounting classifications that cannot be placed in block 12, insert an asterisk and the words "See continuation sheet".

Item 13. Check the appropriate box to indicate the type of modification. Insert in the corresponding blank the authority under which the modification is issued. Check whether or not contractor must sign this document. (See FAR 43.103.)

Item 14 (Description of Amendment/Modification).

Organize amendments or modifications under the appropriate Uniform Contract Format (UCF) section headings from the applicable solicitation or contract. The UCF table of contents, however, shall not be set forth in this document.

Indicate the impact of the modification on the overall total contract price by inserting one of the following entries:

(i) Total contract price increased by $

(ii) Total contract price decreased by $

(iii) Total contract price unchanged.

State reason for modification.

When removing, reinstating, or adding funds, identify the contract items and accounting classifications.

(g)

(h)

When the SF 30 is used to reflect a determination by the contracting officer of the amount due in settlement of a contract terminated for the convenience of the Government, the entry in Item 14 of the modification may be limited to --

(i) A reference to the letter determination; and

(ii) A statement of the net amount determined to be due in settlement of the contract.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

STANDARD FORM 30 (REV. 11/2016) BACK

(1) Accounting classification Net increase $

Number Section Reference Question USAGM Response 1 General question N/A Is there an incumbnant? Yes, the incumbant is Amagi Corporation.

2 General question N/A Is this an extension of an existing contract? No, this is not an extension of an existing contract.

3 General question N/A If this is an extension of an existing contract can we get the contract number? This is not an extension of an existing contract.

4 General question N/A Can we get a 3 week extension to the current due date? The proposal submission date will be extended 12:00pm EST, February 16, 2024.

5 (v) Page 1 of

SOW

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is seeking a cloud-based TV channel playout and delivery platform to build several new, linear channels. Any platform or solution shall be able to rapidly scale additional channels upon USAGM request. Question: Is the cost of the expansion channels as referenced to be included in the cost of the contract?

Or will additional funding be added to the contract to account for the increased cost of these channels.

This will be a brand new contract.

6 Channel Marketplace Distribution

Please expand the intended use case for the marketplace, and can USAGM identify any specific marketplaces? You can refer to the Amagi Connect marketplace.

7 Ingest 1 1. How much data will be imported to the Cloud from USAFM MAM systems?

8 Ingest 1 a. GBs/TBs 5 TB 9 Ingest 1 b. Number of Assets 1,500 Assets

10 Ingest 1 c. Total hours of digital content 500 hours 11 Ingest 1.1.2 Is the intent of this requirement to provide the personnel to perform the role of "content importers"? USAGM internal resources will manage content importing.

12 Ingest 1.6.1 Please define latency tolerance on input, file-to-live, live-to-file and live-to-live switching, etc. Within your proposal, please suggest reasonable latency for FAST streaming channels based on the latest industry standards.

13 Ingest 1.6.1 How many live ingest source feeds are expected per channel, are they geographically distributed? Live source feeds will come out of USAGM TV master control in

Washington. One per channel is sufficient.

14 What are the expected formats, frame rates, and bit rates of each? avci50 NTSC 15 Ingest 1.6.3.1 How many audio and subtitle verlays, CG, chyrons, motion graphics, etc. tracks per channel?

This will vary upon the type of production. Standard TV graphics, crawl, lower thirds, subtitles, watermarks, etc.. should all be possible.

16 Ingest 1.6.3.2 How many layers are planned per ingest channel? 1 layer 17 Scheduler 2 Please provide more information about the existing traffic and scheduling system that interfaces with the cloud playout system?

Integration with current USAGM traffic scheduling systems is not requirement.

18 Scheduler 2.2.1 What are the expected output bitrates? Output bitrates may range anywhere from 3-10 megabits/s 19 Scheduler 2.2.1 Please list the required output codec(s) and resolutions. TV industry standards for FAST and streaming television solutions like Over-the-Top (OTT) are acceptable.

20 Scheduler 2.2.1 Will HLS output be single profile or multi-profile? If the latter, is there a pre-defined profile stack to use? Please elaborate. TV industry standards for FAST and streaming television solutions like Over-the-Top (OTT) are acceptable.

21 Scheduler Please provide types of graphic branding elements (HTML5, Webm, etc.) & the maximum number of layers. TV industry standards for FAST and streaming television solutions like Over-the-Top (OTT) are acceptable.

22 Scheduler What is USAGM's preferred graphic authoring system? (Adobe Animate, Google Web Designer, etc.) After Effects 23 Scheduler How many outputs are required for a single playout channel? The number and variety of outputs (HLS, Zixi, SRT) will depend on the number of TV Platforms that are willing to carry the channels. Any proposed solution shall easily scale by both number of outputs and formats.

24 Scheduler 2.1.1 What is USAGM's existing traffic system? Our solution supports several traffic and control vendors who have already implemented our API.

Integration with current USAGM traffic scheduling systems is not longer a requirement.

25 Please expand on the estimated number of services, as the provided pricing model only indicates 2 channels. We need a greater understanding of the scope of the project to deliver accurate pricing.

There is funding for 2 channels. Additional channels might be added based on available funding.

26 Are radio channels included in distribution? No 27 Please provide a rough order-of-magnitude estimate of the max number of HLS viewers you anticipate at any given time. Our intent is to destribute these streams to head-end television systems and not the public internet. However, if we do decide to serve these channels publicly on the web or our own OTT channels we will use our own CDN to serve the HLS streams.

28 Scheduler 2.4. WIll there be multiple different timezones in the same GUI ( same operator ) No, UTC is fine.

29 Playout Given the amount of content that is planned for cloud playout, what is a good estimate of the storage requirements?

Otherwise, please let us know the number of assets, duration, format and retension/refresh policy so we can estimate needed storage.

5 TB

30 Playout How many other endpoints outside of redundant CDN feed per channel are expected? The number and variety of outputs (HLS, Zixi, SRT) will depend on the number of TV Platforms that are willing to carry the channels. Any proposed solution shall easily scale by both number of outputs and formats.

31 Playout 3.8 If CDN is provided by USAGM, analytics would come directly from chosen vendor. Is there anything more expected of the cloud provider than this?

Yes, please elaborate if you have an analytics platform to provide some data on Cloud channels.

32 Channel Marketplace Distribution

Does USAGM do this today? If so who is it thru? Currently, USAGM has 2 pilot channels with Amagi.

33 Security 1.1.1.1.4 Once USAGM has placed the system into operation, the Contractor shall support Agency’s continuous monitoring activities.

Questions: Is the expectation of this statement to infer that the contractor will provide actual personnel for perform this requirement?

Yes, USAGM will need support for Cloud channels for any issues.

34 Support Can a self-managed, cloud-hosted, and licensed playout software solution running in a customer-managed cloud environment meet your requirements?

Currently we would prefer Software as a Service hosted by the vendor.

35 Other Has the Government ever contracted a consultant or third party for input on this project? If so, who was/is the consultant? No

36 Will these additional Playout and ingest Channels be co-located with any previously purchased cloud playout solutions or will they be located external to today's infrastructure/local?

These are new channels specifically created for the FAST marketplace and will be independent of any existing, local intrastructure.

37 Given the complexity of the RFP, is the Government planning to schedule a Pre-Bid Conference or site survey so potential contractors can get a good feel for the installation environment, power grid and other operational parameters?

No, I believe there may be confusion with some other solicitiation, perhaps much larger in scope than this one.

38 What is the available internet bandwidth to move content to and from the cloud? We have multiple gigabit connections.

39 Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this?(like,from India or Canada) Yes, if a company is registered in SAM.gov and has security items that are listed in the RFP.

40 Whether we need to come over there for meetings? No 41 Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA?

(like, from India or Canada) Yes, if a company is registered in SAM.gov and has security items that are listed in the RFP.

42 Can we submit the proposals via email? Proposals may only be submitted via Email. Submit proposals as it is directed in the RFP.

43 Combined Synopsis Solic 3.6 Please elaborate on this requirement Offerors' solutions must be in compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

44 Combined Synopsis Solic 3.6.1 Please provide examples See response above.

45 Cloud Playout Price Template In Channel 1 you reference a row for Cloud Playout, and a separate row for Advanced Playout. Is this 1 single channel? - Do you mean to say that this channel is an advanced capability channel? (higher tier) No, this is not an advanced capability channel.

46 Cloud Playout Price Template Are automated captions referring to uploading embedded captions, or external real time captions? Just uploaded caption or subtitle files.

47 We would like to know if this is a brand new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services. There is an incumbent, Amagi Corporation.

48 If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number? 951700-22-P-0428 49 Content Ingest Can you provide additional information on the expected number of USAGM channels this platform serves over the performance period? A rough understanding of the scaling timeline would be very helpful.

Currently the requirement is to start with 2 channels. However, any solution should be able to easily scale for additional, future channels if necessary.

50 Content Ingest You mention the requirement to integrate with existing MAM systems Dalet, Frame.io, and Imagen. Can you elaborate on how you desire these integrations to work with the Cloud Playout Platform?

The requirement is only for the ability to easily export content from these systems to the playout system.

51 Content Ingest Further, what are the media file formats you use for these MAM systems today that would be required for support within the Cloud Playout Platform?

AVCI 50

52 Content Ingest You request essential content management industry metadata field support. Can you elaborate on the fields in which you require support?

Any solution will need to support generating electronic programming guides from the playout schedule and associated show and asset metadata (like Title, Description, Airdate, etc...)

53 Content Ingest You request each channel to support multiple live inputs. Please clarify this requirement, including if the live inputs are being switched, consistently fed for geography/market variation, or otherwise

SRT or Zixi live inputs with the possibility of live switching within the playout solution.

54 Channel Scheduler You mention the need for transcoding. Can you provide the desired pairs of formats for which transcoding must be performed from and to? We assume this list may be different from the list of MAM formats requested above.

Please suggest your best transcoding solution for FAST playout.

55 Channel Scheduler You mention a traffic scheduling software system. Do you need integration with such a system beyond bulk importing? Can you provide the name and version of your traffic scheduling software application?

Integration with current USAGM traffic scheduling systems is no longer a requirement.

56 Channel Scheduler You request automation to assist with managing the schedule and content transfer to the Cloud Playout Platform. What are the metadata exchange requirements for automating with 3rd party systems related to scheduling, and does the other platform support adds, updates, and deletes to the schedule?

Integration with current USAGM traffic scheduling systems is no longer a requirement.

57 Playout & Distribution Can you elaborate on the specific SLAs you require related to resiliency, including the number of dropped frames permitted due to a distribution failure of the Cloud Playout Platform?

TV industry standards for FAST and streaming television solutions like Over-the-Top (OTT) are acceptable.

58 Playout & Distribution You require archiving of video feeds. We presume this is for compliance purposes, with both the video andrun logs preserved. Can you describe the use cases where you will request the archived content and run logs, including if it is a manual and/or an automated process and arough quantity of requests per month?

Compliance requests would be very rare, maybe once a year.

59 Security You require Digital Right Management from the Cloud Playout Platform, inclusive of geo-blocking, content exclusives, and embargos. Since DRM is a shared responsibility between the content provider and distributor, can you elaborate specifically on what DRM requirements are required for the Cloud TV Playout platform to differentiate from those provided by the CTV platform provider?

Yes, USAGM as a content providers will ensure it has all rights to air content placed on these channels. With that said, there are always special cases surrounding aquired content. Please elaborate in your proposal DRM solutions available within the proposed cloud playout solution.

60 Security You require this to be FISMA/FedRAMP Authorized. Please advise which authority to operate level will be required for this application?

The chosen vendor will need to be FISMA/FedRAMP compliant.

61 Channel Marketplace Distribution

Can you provide the list of CTV channels you desire to distribute the USAGM streams? The distribution of FAST is a new line of content placement for USAGM Business Development. We are open to any interested carriers.

62 Transition Plan You require a transition-in and a transition-out plan. Can you elaborate on the critical milestones you will require for both plans? Will you require a test environment of the Cloud Playout Platform to allow USAGM users the ability to test out new workflows and/or integrations both during these phases as well as during the steady state operation?

Sandbox/test environment would be ideal.