The Associated Press

The Associated Press, a not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York, supplies wire stories, multimedia news content, editorial imagery, software licenses, and live remote news services to federal agencies as a prime contractor (99% of recent awards), competing entirely in full-and-open procurements with no set-aside designations. The organization operates three named subsidiaries — Press Association, Inc., Wide World Photos, Inc., and Associated Press Television News LTD — each extending capability reach into distinct content verticals and distribution channels.

The Associated Press dominates a highly concentrated federal customer base anchored by Voice of America. The top customer accounts for 76% of recent awards by count (70 awards, $52.1 million combined potential value) and 76% by dollars, with the U.S. Agency for Global Media / Voice of America driving enterprise-wide wire service subscriptions, live remote news coverage from international hot zones (including Ukraine and Jerusalem), and media workspace support for political conventions. The Department of State ranks second across both metrics — 15 awards for $4.7 million from the Office of the Secretary of State, with additional awards from the Bureau of Public Affairs and the Bureau of International Information Programs — and includes federal grant work. The source explicitly names two Department of State grants (awarded May 2022 and October 2022, extended through June 2024) funding AP news content distribution to media outlets across the Pacific Islands, Laos, and Timor-Leste to counter Chinese state-controlled media influence in the region. Defense Media Activity and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting round out the top four, with combined awards valued under $2.5 million. Across 229 awards spanning 26 distinct agencies, the top five customers account for 57% of award count and 90% of combined potential value, indicating extreme concentration on U.S. international media and public diplomacy missions.

The Associated Press places work under multiple blanket purchase agreements, with 29 task orders under BBG39A150007 carrying $125 thousand combined potential value, supplemented by two task orders under USSOCOM Wide Mission Support and individual orders under smaller agency-specific BPAs. Recent representative contracts include a $9.64 million definitive contract awarded by Voice of America on September 30, 2022, for enterprise-wide wire service access covering text, video, photos, and images through September 2027; a $300,301 definitive contract from the Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security awarded November 2, 2023, for editorial images and footage with a base year plus four option years and a base-year ceiling of $116,836; a $792,920 one-year purchase order from Voice of America awarded June 1, 2026, for news and multimedia services; and a $258,187 software licensing order from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting for AP ENPS (newsroom production software) covering fifty desktops, exercising an option period through July 2027. Additional work includes live remote news services ($10,000 to $31,860 per order for overseas coverage), pre-recorded news standups ($1,340), media workspace services during national political conventions ($20,000 per event), and software subscriptions such as AP Planner access ($10,456 to the Smithsonian Institution). A 2026 election data package for Voice of America valued at $155,000 represents the most recent award, dated September 25, 2026.

The Associated Press maintains minimal subcontractor engagement — two sub-awards with Booz Allen Hamilton for Senior Military Engagement Program support in 2023 and 2024, delivering news publisher services and wire stories for reuse. Activity has remained relatively flat over the past four years, averaging six to seven awards annually through 2024, with only one award in 2025 and three in 2026 year to date. Six awards (combined potential value $12.1 million) face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete opportunity for competitors and recompete risk for the vendor. Federal contract category distribution reflects the vendor's news and media focus — top NAICS codes include News Syndicates (44 awards), Satellite Telecommunications (35 awards), Television Broadcasting (18 awards), and Newspaper Publishers (17 awards). Top PSC codes center on IT and telecommunications subscriptions (42 awards under IT and Telecom–Other IT and Telecommunications, 20 under Web-Based Subscription, 13 under Telecommunications Network Management) and professional support services (34 awards under Support–Professional: Other, 12 under Communications). Of the combined $68.3 million potential value across all 229 awards, $48.7 million (71%) has been obligated.