The sale, subject to government approval, will be worth up to £2bn.
The short-list includes CSC, Fujitsu, EDS, Capita, Accenture, IBM, Logica and HP.
The move to procure a new technology contract followed an internal strategic review of the BBC’s technology requirements for the next decade. The review identified potential annual savings for the BBC of at least £20m if its technology services were outsourced.
Says John Varney, chief technology officer at the BBC: “We have received really positive feedback from the market about this deal, and are delighted to be able to announce that our timetable for procurement is on track. During the next phase of the process there will be a rigorous evaluation of not only the technology expertise and operations of these bidders, but their culture and fit with the BBC – this is a crucial part of our negotiations.”
BBC Technology’s customers include Hutchison 3G, for delivery of English soccer Premier League clips to the new breed of mobile phones, ESPN and BSkyB.
