RTÉ Nationwide Packages Panel 2026

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

RTÉ seeks companies, sole traders, or entities to provide production services, supply content packages, and offer shooting-editing facilities for its programme, Nationwide. This procurement establishes a panel of suppliers. RTÉ will select panel members for specific assignments based on suitability, fees, availability, speed of response, geographical location, and past performance. The tender is divided into four lots:

• Lot 1(a) – News Features Packages: This lot covers the production of standard news feature segments for the Nationwide programme.
• Lot 1(b) – Extended Feature News Packages: This lot focuses on longer, more in-depth feature news segments.
• Lot 2 - Entire / Special Programmes: This lot involves the production of complete programmes or special segments.
• Lot 3 – Event Led Programmes: This lot pertains to programmes or segments driven by specific events.
• Lot 4 – Editing, Completed Package Editing Services: This lot is for editing services for completed packages.

The exact scope for each lot will be detailed in a separate "Specification" document. The tender involves appointing multiple suppliers to a panel. RTÉ reserves the right to award separate contracts for each lot and to procure similar services from other suppliers at its discretion. The specification mentions a model for 21-minute content requiring a 2-3 day shoot.

3. Background & buyer context

Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) is Ireland's national public service media organisation. It provides free-to-air multimedia services, including television, radio, and digital platforms. RTÉ is a creative organisation producing and commissioning a broad range of high-quality programming. Nationwide is a popular programme featuring news segments. This tender aims to establish a panel of external suppliers to provide production services and content packages for Nationwide, supplementing RTÉ's internal capabilities. The procurement is conducted under an open procedure.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Tenderers must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for evaluation. Failure to meet these will result in the tender being rejected.

• Turnover requirement: Tenderers must have achieved a minimum average annual turnover of €25,000 in each of the three preceding financial years. Audited financial statements or a self-declaration in the Form of Tender are acceptable.
• Insurance: Tenderers must maintain the following minimum levels of insurance cover:
• Public Liability: €2.3 million
• Employer’s Liability: €13 million A letter from the insurance provider/broker confirming cover within the past six months, or a confirmation that cover will be in place upon contract award, is required. A self-declaration is also permitted.
• Certifications: Not specified for this tender.
• Past experience: Not specified as a minimum requirement, but demonstrated experience will be evaluated under Technical Capability and Editorial criteria.
• Personnel: Not specified as a minimum requirement.
• Geographic / facility constraints: Tenderers must be located in different parts of the country.

Tenderers may rely on the capacities of other entities, provided they can prove these resources are available to them via an undertaking from the entity.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded to the Tenderer submitting the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). Tenders will be evaluated in three stages: Compliance Check, Minimum Requirements assessment, and Evaluation against set criteria. The evaluation criteria and their weightings are as follows:

Marks will be awarded comparatively. Higher marks will be given for solutions that exceed RTÉ's specification and offer added value. The cost evaluation uses a formula: [1 – (Tender Price - Lowest Tender Price) / Highest Tender Price] x Weighting %.

6. Submission requirements

Tenders must be prepared and submitted in English, in accordance with the ITT requirements.

• Method statement / response document: Tenderers must submit technical and financial information as set out in Appendix 2 (Tender Requirements).
• CVs: Not specified.
• Pricing schedule: Tenderers must submit fixed prices in Euro (€), DDP to the appropriate RTÉ site, excluding VAT. Prices must be free from fluctuations for the contract term. This is detailed in the "Cost" evaluation criterion.
• Case studies: Not specified as a mandatory submission item, but examples of previous similar features produced are required under the Editorial criterion.
• Declarations:
• Signed statement confirming eligibility (Form of Tender, Appendix 3).
• Self-declaration for Financial Standing and Insurance requirements is permitted.
• Written statement confirming account of legal obligations relating to employment protection and working conditions.
• Written statement confirming account of legal obligations relating to services/supplies/works.
• Tax Clearance Certificate from Irish Revenue Commissioners (or online verification details) will be required from the successful tenderer prior to award.
• Mandatory site visit: Not specified.
• Submission portal: Electronic submissions must be made through the eTenders.gov.ie portal by the deadline. Late tenders will not be accepted except in exceptional circumstances at RTÉ's discretion. Electronic files accepted in MS Word, Excel, and Adobe PDF formats.

7. Key dates & process

These dates are subject to change and will be notified via eTenders. RTÉ requires a minimum of three Business Days to respond to queries.

8. Contract terms that matter

• Term + extension: The tender establishes a panel. Contracts (Orders) will be awarded from this panel. The duration of the panel or individual contracts is not specified. RTÉ reserves the right to add tenderers to the panel post-original award if they score higher than the lowest successful panellist. Tenderers may be removed from the panel for inactivity.
• Payment terms: RTÉ approved invoices will be paid 30 days after invoice approval.
• Key SLAs/KPIs: Not specified in the provided extract.
• Liquidated damages or penalty regimes: Not specified.
• Termination clauses: Tenderers may be removed from the panel if they do not participate actively and constructively, with at least one written warning prior to removal.
• IP ownership: Not specified.
• Sub-contracting rules: Tenderers may rely on the capacities of other entities, provided they can prove these resources are available. Sub-contractors receiving confidential information must undertake to keep it confidential.
• Parent-company guarantee or bond requirements: Not specified.

9. Risks, red flags & unusuals

• Panel structure: The tender establishes a panel, not a single contract. RTÉ retains absolute discretion in selecting suppliers from the panel for specific assignments, considering factors beyond just scoring, such as availability and speed of response. This can create uncertainty for suppliers regarding actual work volume.
• Discretionary award: RTÉ explicitly states it will determine "in its absolute discretion" which panel member is most suitable for a given task. This level of discretion could be a risk for bidders expecting a purely score-based allocation.
• No post-tender negotiations: The open procedure means there will be no scope for negotiations after tenders are submitted.
• Potential for BAFO: RTÉ reserves the right to seek Best and Final Offers (BAFOs) from some or all tenderers, indicating a potential for iterative refinement of proposals.
• Limited value: The estimated value of €195,000 is relatively low for a panel that could potentially include up to ten suppliers, suggesting individual contract values might be small or work may be sporadic.

10. SME fit assessment

This tender is open to companies, sole traders, or entities. The low turnover requirement (€25,000 per year for three years) and the panel structure suggest it is accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and sole traders with relevant production and editing capabilities.

• Credible bidders: A credible bidder would be an individual or small company with demonstrable experience in video production, shooting, and editing for broadcast or similar media. They need to meet the modest financial and insurance thresholds. The editorial and technical capability criteria will be key differentiators.
• Consortium/sub-contracting: While not explicitly forbidden, the tender allows reliance on other entities' capacities. This means a smaller firm could potentially partner or subcontract to meet specific requirements, though the primary tenderer must demonstrate control over those resources.
• Indicative bid-prep effort: Preparing a compliant tender, including gathering financial information, insurance details, and articulating editorial and technical approaches, could take an individual or small team 3-5 days.
• Pwin signal: The tender does not explicitly mention an incumbent. The panel structure and RTÉ's discretion in awarding individual orders mean that while being on the panel is a win, securing actual work depends on RTÉ's selection process. The relatively low estimated value might suggest limited work for each panel member.

11. Where to dig deeper

• Source RFT filename: 26P038 Nationwide Packages Panel Tender - ITT - rev 1.docx
• eTenders CFT ID: 8695430
• Contact email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
• Most important attachments:
• Appendix 1 – The Specification
• Appendix 2 – Tender Requirements
• Appendix 3 – Form of Tender