26P024 RTÉ Music Returns Solution

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1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

This procurement seeks a cloud-based Television Music Returns and Audio Recognition Service for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The solution will automate the identification, management, validation, reporting, and analysis of music usage across RTÉ television services, replacing the current manual process. It will provide an end-to-end platform for creating, managing, approving, and submitting music usage reports and cue sheets for all relevant RTÉ television content.

The service must support the following RTÉ television services:

• RTÉ One
• RTÉ2
• RTÉ News
• RTÉjr
• RTÉ Player and associated on-demand services

The solution will handle the following content types:

• Programming content (In-house, Independent Productions, Acquired, Acquired Irish, Acquired Ireland Independent Programmes)
• Promotional content
• Commercial sponsorship content
• Advertising

The primary objectives are to:

• Improve music reporting accuracy.
• Reduce manual effort.
• Enhance compliance with music licensing obligations.
• Provide complete auditability.
• Deliver actionable music usage analytics.
• Support negotiations with music collecting societies.
• Reduce operational and legal risk associated with inaccurate reporting.

The solution shall provide automated music identification through audio recognition technology. It will generate broadcaster-compliant cue sheets and music usage reports suitable for submission to RTÉ’s collecting society partners, including IMRO, MCPS, and PPI.

Key functional requirements include:

• Automated audio fingerprinting and music identification from television programme files and/or live broadcast feeds.
• Automated generation and management of cue sheets for all identified music.
• Integration of music metadata, including ISRC, ISWC, composer, publisher, and rights holder information.
• Reporting of music usage data to collection societies in compliant formats.
• A user-facing dashboard and workflow management interface for editorial, music, and legal teams.
• Ongoing maintenance, technical support, and system updates.

The contract duration is intended to be three years, with RTÉ holding the right to terminate earlier. RTÉ also has the right to extend the contract by two additional one-year periods, for a maximum total duration of five years.

3. Background & buyer context

Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) is Ireland's national public service media organisation. It provides television, radio, and online services. In 2026, RTÉ marks 100 years of public service media in Ireland. RTÉ's television services include RTÉ One, RTÉ One+1, RTÉ2, RTÉ2+1, RTÉjr, and the RTÉ News channel. It also operates four primary radio stations and a range of digital services, including RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Radio Player, and RTÉ Player, which had over 155 million streams in 2025. RTÉ Archives maintains a significant audiovisual collection. The RTÉ Concert Orchestra supports artists and performs widely. Saorview, Ireland's free-to-air digital television service, is owned and managed by RTÉ. 2rn, a subsidiary of RTÉ, manages Ireland’s main digital television and radio transmission infrastructure. This procurement is driven by RTÉ's need to modernise its music reporting processes, moving from a predominantly manual system to an automated, cloud-based solution to improve accuracy, efficiency, and compliance.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered:

• Turnover requirement: Tenderers must demonstrate an average annual turnover of at least €150,000 in each of the last three financial years. Supporting documentation, such as audited accounts or a letter from an accountant, may be required.
• Insurance: Tenderers must hold or be able to put in place the following insurance levels:
• Employer's Liability: €13 million
• Public Liability: €6.5 million
• Professional Indemnity: Not required for this tender.
• Product Liability: Not required for this tender.
• Cyber Liability: Not required for this tender. Tenderers must confirm they can meet these requirements and provide supporting documentation upon request. If a consortium bids, each member must meet the requirements or be covered by another member's insurance.
• Certifications: Not specified for this tender.
• Past experience: Tenderers must demonstrate sufficient recent and relevant experience to deliver a contract of this nature. This will be assessed by evaluating up to three completed or commenced contracts within the last three years. Details of these contracts, including their value, must be provided.
• Personnel: Not specified for this tender.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Not specified for this tender.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender based on a combination of quality and price. A minimum score of 60% is required for each of the quality-based criteria.

Award Criteria