Source Sought Notice National News Service_HQ0516-FY-26-0005_WM_v3.pdf

Sources Sought Notice

MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY

National News Service Access and Transmission Method

Sources Sought Tracking Number: HQ0516-FY-26-0010

CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS:

Acquisitions and Procurement Department of War Information Activity

6700 Taylor Avenue Fort George G. Meade, MD 20755

The Department of War Information Activity (DWIA) is seeking information from industry to assist with market research identifying media outlets capable of providing support. The intent of this Sources Sought is to determine the availability and technical capabilities of commercial industry entities to provide the services described herein. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response.

The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess availability of the anticipated requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.

1. INSTRUCTIONS:

Interested parties are requested to submit a capability statement package in response to this Sources Sought Synopsis. Submissions shall not exceed ten (10) pages, single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font. The response should be organized into the following sections:

• Section 1: Company Profile: Include the company name, address, Unique Entity ID (UEI), CAGE code, business size, and socioeconomic status under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, if applicable. Provide a point of contact with name, title, phone, and email.

• Section 2: Capability Statement: Provide a detailed narrative of your company's capabilities to meet the requirements outlined in Section 1.0. Describe your data sources, monitoring panel size, analytical platform, and reporting capabilities. Include information on any relevant past performance with government or commercial clients for similar services.

• Section 3: Questions: Provide responses to the following:

o Is your data considered an industry standard or used by major industry organizations (e.g., for network, network-affiliated local or independent media outlets)? If so, please describe.

o Describe your typical business/licensing model (e.g., subscription-based, tiered access).

o Are your services available on any Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), such as the GSA Schedule? If so, please provide the contract number.

2. BACKGROUND:

The Department of War Information Activity (DWIA), formerly known as Defense Media Activity (DMA), is the Department of War’s (DoW) consolidated media organization. Its mission is to provide information products to DoW personnel, their families, and the public across all media platforms. This media is critical for news production, live streaming, and broadcasts on the American Forces Network (AFN) and social media channels.

To support this mission, DWIA requires access to receive live feeds from the Network News Service. The requirements are described in section 8. The primary delivery method for media feeds shall be via a cloud-native IP video distribution platform, and if necessary, as a backup method, Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) or Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP). The content must include coverage of key DoW-related events, such as press conferences and speeches held by U.S. government leadership during national and foreign travel, and Capitol Hill testimonies. All media used will be in support of the Department of War command information policies and interests. Video recorded in foreign countries where top level U.S. government leaders travel to, and conduct press events is an example of media received under previous contracts.

3. OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this contract is to acquire a reliable, 24/7 access, 365 days a year, comprehensive portfolio of broadcast-quality media content, including national and international news, special event feeds, and pooled material, to support DWIA’s global communication mission.

4. SCOPE:

The scope of this requirement provides DWIA access to a national network news service's full portfolio of media, including all National Pool News Feeds and special event feeds available from the contractor's Washington D.C. Bureau. All media used will be in support of the command information policies and interests. Video recorded in foreign countries where top level U.S. government leaders travel to, and conduct press events is an example of media received under previous contracts.

5. SPECIFIC TASKS:

The required service is a cloud-native IP video distribution platform delivery system (e.g., LiveU Matrix). The news gathering service connected to the cloud-native IP shall provide national hard news, regional news events (D.C. based), live coverage of major breaking news, Capitol Hill testimonies, press conferences, speeches, b-roll and other live events of top U.S. leadership including but not limited to the President of the United States and the Secretary of War.

Contractor shall also perform the following:

5.1: The contractor shall make available access to its full portfolio of content, including all national pool feeds. This shall include the capability for DWIA to simultaneously receive at least two (2) continuous media feeds of content that include but are not limited to national and international hard news, live breaking news, scheduled press conferences, live events, unedited B-roll footage, and any pool feeds available at its Washington D.C. Bureau that supports the Department of War’s mission.

5.1.1: The Contractor shall provide a daily schedule of planned video feeds of live events via email no later than 6:00am EST. In addition, Contractor shall provide daily look ahead reports of the next days planned events by 6:00pm EST and provide updates with additions and/or changes as soon as available.

5.1.2: The Contractor shall deliver all video and audio content at a professional, broadcast-ready technical quality, free of significant, contractor-fault defects.

5.1.3: The Contractor shall work with government maintenance personnel to assist in troubleshooting problems and provide remote diagnostic support within 15 minutes of notification from the COR or designated DWIA technical staff. On-site maintenance is not required under this contract. In addition, Contractor shall make available any requested planned feeds not routed to the cloud-native IP video distribution platform delivery system within 30 minutes of notification via email or news desk phone call.

5.1.4: The contractor will provide contact phone numbers and email addresses for both their newsroom and technical support to assist with troubleshooting and routing requests both during normal operation hours and after normal operating hours. The contact information provided should allow DWIA personnel to reach support or technical personnel to fulfill requests or resolve issues within the timeframe mentioned in Section 6.1.3 Changes to the contact information shall be provided as soon as available to DWIA personnel.

5.1.5 In the case of transmission error, or recorded event is not made available in real-time (i.e. live feed of speech), contractor shall make recordings available either through re-feed or make downloadable for a minimum of four (4) days after event has concluded.

6. REPORTING AND DELIVERABLES:

The service provides teams of domestic and global video coverage dedicated to different national or international events daily. Contractor also relies heavily on local affiliates sharing content. Stations will often contribute locally obtained footage that may be of national interest.

6.1 DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall provide the following deliverables:

PWS Task

Deliverable Title

Format Due Date Distribution/Cop-ies

Frequency and Remarks

6.1.1 Continuous

News Feed

Broadcast Quality Video via IP.

Continuous Standard Distribution*

24/7/365

6.1.2 Daily Feed

Schedule & Loo k ahead report

Email

Daily (by 0600

EST & 1800

EST)

Standard Distribution*

Daily

6.1.3 Technical &

Routing Support

Phone/Email

As Requested Standard Distribution*

Continu-ous

6.1.4 Contact

Information

Email or Phone Number

At initial Contract start and as necessary

Standard Distribution*

Once or if updated

6.1.5 Content

Remediation

Broadcast Quality Video via IP (re-feed or

As Requested Standard Distribution*

As request-ed downloadable file)

*Standard Distribution: 1 copy of the transmittal letter without the deliverable to the Contracting Officer; 1 copy of the transmittal letter with the deliverable to the Primary COR.

7. Performance Standards.

Performance Standard Acceptable Quality Level

(AQL)

Method of Surveillance

7.1: Service Availability: The desired feed shall be available for use.

The service feed shall be available 99.8% of the time, measured monthly. The AQL is calculated monthly. (Total minutes in month - Total minutes of unplanned feed outage) / (Total minutes in month)

Desired feeds will be monitored by DWIA Master Control. All unplanned outages will be logged.

7.2: Daily schedules, reports and updates: Contractor shall provide a daily schedule, a daily look-ahead report, and all subsequent updates.

The daily schedule and look-ahead reports shall be delivered by the prescribed time (0600 EST and 1800EST) 95% of the time each month. Updates are sent when changes are available.

Monitored by COR and Master Control via email receipt.

7.3: Content Quality: Delivered video and audio shall be free of contractor-fault technical defects (e.g., severe distortion, audio/video sync errors).

98% of all feeds are delivered without requiring a re-feed due to contractor technical fault.

Documented via Customer Complaint Record, validated by COR.

7.4: Maintenance and Routing Request Response

Remote diagnostic support must be initiated within 15 minutes of government notification. Routing request m ust be completed within 30

Monitored by DWIA technical staff and documented by COR based on email/phone logs.

minutes of government notification.

7.5 Contact Information Provide contact information for

newsroom and technical support and provide updates as necessary

Monitored by DWIA technical staff and documented by COR based on email/phone logs.

7.6: Content Remediation: Make missed content available for re-feed and/or download.

100% of valid requests for missed or faulty content shall be fulfilled as soon as possible and made available for 4 days.

Documented by COR via email/phone logs of requests and fulfillment.

8. REQUIREMENTS:

The Government is seeking sources with the capability to provide video and data. The service must include, at a minimum:

8.1 A cloud-native IP video distribution platform delivery system (e.g., LiveU Matrix).

8.2 Access to the Network News Service 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

8.3 Access to raw feeds of national and international hard news, regional news events (D.C.

based), live coverage of major breaking news, Capitol Hill testimonies, press conferences, speeches, unedited B-roll and other pool-fed live events of top U.S. leadership including but not limited to the President of the United States and the Secretary of War.

8.4 The capability for DWIA to simultaneously receive at least two (2) continuous media feeds of content that include, but are not limited to, raw feeds of national and international hard news, live breaking news, scheduled press conferences, live events, unedited B-roll footage, and any pool feeds available at its Washington D.C.

Bureau that supports the Department of War’s mission.

8.5 Video and audio content at a professional, broadcast-ready technical quality, free of significant contractor-fault defects.

8.6 Contact names and titles, phone numbers, and email addresses for both newsroom and technical support to assist with troubleshooting and routing requests both during normal and abnormal operating hours.

8.7 Data Analytics Platform: Access to a secure, web-based platform or online tool that allows for on-demand data access, querying, analysis, and custom report generation on both current and historical data.

8.8 Reporting: The delivery of weekly summary reports.

9. Additional Considerations

9.1 DWIA requires the feasibility to receive weekly reports and analytics. This information will be used to support various mission-critical activities. By procuring a service that provides this level of industry-standard data, DWIA will be able to perform analyses and make assessments with the same level of fidelity and insight used by professionals at the forefront of the commercial video industry.

9.2 The contractor must comply with all applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clauses and Department of War clauses and provisions incorporated into the resulting contract.

9.3 The Government will not enter into any reciprocal agreements requiring it to exchange or offer government-produced media and any other non-acceptable commercial media requirements.

PSC Code: T099 - Television Broadcasting (Knowledge Based Services; Photographic, Mapping, Printing, and Publication Services).

NAICS Code: 516120

Response Guidelines:

Vendors who wish to respond to this should send responses via email NLT 08 May 2026, 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) to Contracting Specialist Michael Brasseur (michael.l.brasseur.mil@mail.mil) and Contracting Officer Thomas Brown (thomas.j.brown314.civ@mail.mil), and interested parties are requested to respond to this SOURCES SOUGHT with a white paper. Submissions cannot exceed 10 pages, single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font with at least one-inch margins on 8 1/2” X 11” page size, not including any manufacturer cut sheets or system block diagrams. Responses MUST specifically describe the contractor’s capability to meet the requirements outlined in this SOURCES

SOUGHT.

mailto:michael.l.brasseur.mil@mail.mil mailto:thomas.j.brown314.civ@mail.mil

Disclaimer:

This SOURCES SOUGHT is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this synopsis.

All information contained in the SOURCES SOUGHT is preliminary, as well as subject to modification and is in no way binding on the Government. FAR clause 52.215-3, “Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes”, is incorporated by reference in this SOURCES SOUGHT. The Government does not intend to pay for information received in response to this SOURCES SOUGHT. Responders to this invitation are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this SOURCES SOUGHT. This SOURCES SOUGHT will be the basis for collecting information on capabilities available. This SOURCES SOUGHT is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received in this SOURCES SOUGHT that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned nor will receipt be confirmed. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this SOURCES SOUGHT are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

PARTICIPATION IN THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY AND FOR

PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS A

COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO PROCURE ANY ITEMS/SERVICES OR

FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PAY FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED. THE

GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ASSOCIATED COSTS AS A

RESULT OF PROSPECTIVE OFFERORS’ INTEREST, RESPONSE OR

PARTICIPATION IN THIS SOURCES SOUGHT. ANY FORMAL SOLICITATION WILL

BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE. THE GOVERNMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT

TO CANCEL THIS REQUIREMENT AT ANY TIME DURING THE ACQUISITION

PROCESS.

ANY SOLICITATION RESULTING FROM THE ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION

OBTAINED WILL BE POSTED TO THE PUBLIC IN SAM.GOV IN ACCORDANCE

WITH THE FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 5. HOWEVER,

RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED RESPONSES TO A

SOLICITATION.