VOA Aap Ki Dunyaa

Added: Oct 03, 2016 10:14 am In accordance with FAR Subpart 6.302-1 entitled -Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements- the following information is herein documented regarding the non-competitive justification of the below-cited acquisition:
1. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) intends to award a contract to Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation for the broadcast of VOA Aap Ki Dunya programming. This document is a "Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition" (JOFOC).
2. The action being approved herein is a non-competitive procurement of services required to meet the Agency's need to provide the transmission of VOA programming in Pakistan. The placement of this agreement is vital to meet the ever-expanding requirements of the BBG's global broadcasting mission and retains a loyal audience following after 2+ years of broadcasts.
3. The supplies/services required to meet BBG's needs are only available from Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. The estimated cost for this procurement is $981,360.90 per 3 years.
4. Per FAR Subpart 6.302-1, 41 U.S.C.253(c)(1) is the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition for this acquisition, and it is herein cited as follows: When the supplies or services by the agency are available from "Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements," full and open competition need not be provided for.
5. The nature of the proposed acquisition requires these unique services to be provided by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in order to ensure that audience in the country where the Government discourages private FM Channels from broadcasting foreign content is able to listen and /or to see broadcast that clearly present the policies of the United States. This will allow the BBG to provide unbiased information to the audience in Pakistan. Alternate means of broadcasting in this market are under bureaucratic pressures of PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority). The Office of Strategy and Development (OSD) herein certifies that Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation is the only broadcasting outlet that can meet BBG's requirement. The Agency's broadcasting priorities to this area would not be fulfilled if news broadcasting did not continue seamlessly to Pakistan.
6. According to the Market research that was conducted from May 24th, 2016 to June 02nd, 2016, the local contractor confirmed that the situation with PBC remains unchanged. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation is still a suitable affiliate with unique coverage. The coverage area of each FM transmitters is 40 to 50 km radius of all stations, as "Radio Aap Ki Dunya" is being broadcast in the big cities of Pakistan, therefore it covers major part of the population. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation even covers the province of Baluchistan with strategic port Gwadar. In fact, the reach is in three of the four provinces, which has the population of 16 million of inhabitants. No other FM network provides this broad reach. Most of other networks have only two or three FM channels. They also take entertainment or benign informative programs only. Other affiliate such as FM 100, which has eight channels, is not able to take the selected program due to frequent government crackdowns for carrying foreign content. Hence, PBC is a unique opportunity for OSD which no other network can match. No other broadcaster was interested in entering into an agreement with BBG based on previous market research.
In an effort to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, a Notice of Intent will be publicized on the Federal Business Opportunities website as required by FAR Subpart 5.2.
7. The Contracting Officer, with the OSD Authorized Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for this procurement, determined that the anticipated cost of $981,360.90 to the Government will be fair and reasonable.
8. Market research conducted by OSD could not identify any additional potential sources beyond Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation who can meet its requirements. It has been determined Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation is the only vendor capable of providing the required broadcasting and transmission services within Pakistan.
9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition: None
10. Due to the nature of this justification, no actions are planned to overcome barriers to competition at this time, as all available avenues have been explored without success of locating a competitor for this requirement. We continue to conduct market research to identify potential broadcasters within the region.
11. I certify that this justification for other than full and open competition for the above-
12. stated acquisition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief