Call for Tender for media monitoring services

The European Commission Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) is issuing an open call for tenders (EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171) to establish a framework agreement for comprehensive media monitoring and analysis services, including advanced AI-enabled analytics and robust IT system capabilities. The estimated total contract value is €27,500,000 for a planned duration of 48 months, with eSubmission required via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal and a submission deadline of 7 September 2026. Eligible economic operators must demonstrate technical experience, financial capacity and compliance with the published administrative and technical specifications; evaluation will follow the MEAT principle with quality weighted 65 and price 35. Bidders should consult the full procurement documents on the EU portal, use the prescribed templates and submit all required declarations and the financial offer form through the eSubmission tool.

What is funded

Scope

Framework contract to provide state-of-the-art media monitoring and analysis services (media tracking, sentiment/coverage reporting, IT systems and AI requirements) for the European Commission, DG COMM, over an intended 48-month period.

Estimated contract value:Estimated overall contract amount approximately €27,500,000 for the framework agreement ¹.

1. 1Who can apply: interested economic operators and service providers able to meet public procurement selection and technical requirements (tender procedure; see procurement documents).
2. 2Contract type and duration: framework agreement (open to calls for specific contracts), planned duration 48 months with eSubmission.
3. 3How to submit: electronic submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal by the stated deadline.

Reference and documents:full tender specifications, technical annexes (including AI requirements), draft contract and financial offer form are published on the Portal. Apply and consult documents on the official notice page Tender details.

Footnotes

1. 1See the procurement notice and estimated overall contract amount on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Tender details.

Summary and objective

What the contract covers

The subject of this call for tenders is the provision of comprehensive media monitoring services for the European Commission (Directorate-General for Communication). The requirement seeks state-of-the-art technology and methods adapted to evolving information technology and communication patterns throughout the duration of the framework contract. Services will include continuous monitoring across media types, reporting and analysis, IT system capabilities (including AI requirements), and associated support needed by DG COMM to follow public opinion, media coverage and communication trends across the Union and beyond.

Procurement identifier and contracting authority:Call identifier EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171. Lead contracting authority: European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication.

Key procurement facts:this is an open eSubmission tender (electronic submission required) issued as a framework agreement (framework contract with potential call-offs). The procurement is non-restricted and follows EU public procurement practice for services. Planned contract duration: 48 months. Estimated overall contract value: €27,500,000.

Important dates and submission

Documentation available (high level)

A full set of procurement documents is published with the tender and must be consulted for bidding. Key documents include: Invitation to tender, Administrative Tender Specifications (Annex I), Technical Tender Specifications (Annex II), Draft Framework Contract (Annex III), Annexes covering evaluation methodology, financial offer form, declaration on honour, detailed IT system requirements including AI requirements, assessment grid and draft contract annexes. Bidders must use the published templates (financial offer form, declaration-of-honour, and other forms) when submitting.

Structured question-by-question extraction and eligibility details

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicants:legal entities able to enter into a public procurement contract with the European Commission. Based on public procurement practice and the content of the tender documents, the following applicant types are eligible and commonly expected to participate: private sector companies (including SMEs, medium and large enterprises), specialised media-monitoring service providers, IT vendors and platform providers, consortia or joint ventures combining media monitoring specialists and technical suppliers, research institutes or universities if they form or join a tendering legal entity or consortium, non-profit organisations or NGOs where they are registered and able to contract, and public-private partnerships where formed as contracting legal entities. Individual natural persons are not suitable as lead contractors for this type of framework service contract. Bidders must satisfy the selection and exclusion criteria set out in the procurement documents and submit the requested evidence and declarations (for example declaration on honour).

Funding Type

Primary financial mechanism:public procurement / tender for a framework service contract. This is a contracted service (paid contract) rather than a grant, loan or equity instrument. The Commission will pay for services under the contract according to the terms of the framework agreement and call-offs.

Consortium Requirement

Consortiums or single bidders:the tender allows either a single legal entity or an economic operator composed of several entities (consortium / joint tender / consortium of subcontractors). The tendering terms include specific tenderer qualification requests and selection criteria. If bidders form consortia, they must provide the requested documentation demonstrating legal, technical and financial capacity for the whole consortium and comply with the administrative requirements in the tender specifications.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility:the contracting authority is the European Commission; procurement is governed by EU public procurement rules. Bidders from EU Member States are eligible. The documents do not restrict participation to EU-only bidders in the scraped summary, but standard Commission procurement rules and the tender specifications define eligible countries (usually EU Member States and possibly other countries party to relevant procurement agreements). Bidders should consult the Invitation to Tender and administrative specifications for the exact list of eligible countries and nationality rules.

Target Sector

Sectoral focus:media monitoring, communications, media intelligence, public opinion tracking, PR analytics, information analysis, IT systems for media monitoring (including AI-enabled analytics). CPV codes associated with the tender include 79416000 (news agency services), 72310000 (information services related to advertising), 79310000 (business and management consultancy services [where relevant for reporting and analysis]), and 92400000 (news agency services and related). The scope spans ICT (platforms, AI), communications, media analytics and research/monitoring services.

Mentioned Countries

Explicit countries:none listed in the scraped summary. The contracting authority is the European Commission (EU institution). Region implied: European Union; bidders should refer to procurement documents for allowed non-EU participants if any.

Project Stage (expected maturity)

Expected maturity:operational service delivery and system deployment. The call is for operational media monitoring services and IT systems to be used immediately (mature solution). Bidders are expected to offer proven platforms, established workflows, and operational capacity for monitoring, analysis and reporting rather than early-stage R&D.

Funding Amount (scale)

Estimated total contract value:€27,500,000 for the full framework. Planned duration: 48 months. The tender is a framework agreement; actual call-offs will be made under the framework and total spend is estimated at €27.5 million over the contract period. Individual call-off values and annual breakdowns are specified in the contract documents and financial offer form templates.

Application Type and submission method

Application method:open tender published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission method required: electronic submission via the Portal (ESUBMISSION). Bidders must register and submit all documents through the Portal before the stated deadline and use the provided templates (financial offer form in Excel and other forms).

Nature of Support

Nature of support:paid contractual services. Successful bidders will receive monetary remuneration for delivered services per the framework contract pricing and invoicing conditions. The procurement also entails non-monetary obligations such as compliance with technical specifications, data protection, reporting, and system interoperability requirements. There are no discretionary grants or non-financial coaching services as part of the award; the contract funds service delivery.

Application Stages

Number of evaluation stages:typically multiple. Based on the documents provided (invitation to tender, evaluation methodology, assessment grid): 1) validation of admissibility and eligibility; 2) selection stage assessing economic and financial capacity and technical/ professional capacity (exclusion and selection criteria); 3) award stage evaluating quality (technical evaluation) and price using weighted criteria (quality weight 65, price weight 35 as indicated in the procurement lot data). Thus applicants should expect at least three sequential stages: admissibility, selection, award.

Success Rates

No explicit historical success rate is provided in the tender documentation. As with European Commission competitive procurements, a small number of bidders reach contract award depending on whether the framework is awarded to one or several operators and on the number of compliant offers. The tender uses weighted evaluation with quality and price criteria; success depends on meeting mandatory requirements and achieving competitive scores in quality and price. Bidders should assume a competitive process and prepare to meet all mandatory technical and administrative standards.

Co-funding Requirement

Co-funding:not applicable in classical sense (this is a procurement contract). The contractor will deliver services in return for payment defined in the financial offer and contract. There is no requirement for co-financing from bidders in the form of grant co-funding; however bidders must demonstrate financial capacity to perform the contract and cover any upfront costs until invoiced by the Commission under the contract terms.

Templates and application forms

Template documents provided in the procurement package and mandatory to use or follow include: Invitation to Tender template, Annex I Administrative Tender Specifications, Annex II Technical Tender Specifications, Annex II E AI requirements, Annex II B Media Monitoring IT System technical specification, Annex III Draft Framework Contract, Annex 2 declaration-of-honour-tenders (DOCX template), Annex 6 financial offer form (XLSX template), assessment grid (XLSX), Annex 7 evaluation methodology (PDF). Bidders must complete the financial offer form exactly as provided and submit the declaration on honour and other administrative forms. The evaluation methodology and assessment grid set out how quality and price will be scored; bidders should structure technical offers to directly address the evaluation criteria and scoring sub-criteria in these annexes.

1. 1Prepare and submit through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (eSubmission) before 2026-09-07 13:00:59 Brussels time.
2. 2Complete and include the mandatory templates: financial offer form (Annex 6), declaration on honour (Annex 2) and other administrative forms.
3. 3Address all technical requirements in Annex II (including IT system and AI requirements in Annex II B and Annex II E).
4. 4Provide evidence for selection criteria: financial capacity, professional capacity, technical capabilities and references for media monitoring services.
5. 5Ensure conformity with exclusion criteria and supply the requested supporting documents.
6. 6Structure the technical proposal to match the evaluation methodology and assessment grid (quality weight 65, price weight 35).
7. 7If bidding as a consortium, include contractual arrangements or statements demonstrating joint liability and allocation of tasks and capacities.

Procurement lot details and CPV codes:the tender is published as LOT-0001. Main CPV: 79416000. Additional CPV codes: 72310000, 79310000, 92400000. Planned period: 48 months. SME suitability indicator: false (the tender is not specifically reserved for SMEs).

How to access full tender documents:All tender specifications, templates and annexes are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal at the tender details page for EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171. Bidders must download and follow the documents published there and use the Portal for submission. See the tender page link in the procurement record Tender details EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171 ¹.

Contact and further information:the contracting authority is the European Commission, DG COMM - Communication. The tender documents include specific contact and procedural information about requests for clarification, the last date to submit questions (2026-08-27), and the eSubmission procedures. All communications and final submissions must follow the rules set out in the Invitation to Tender and administrative specifications.

Concluding summary

This procurement seeks one or more service providers under a framework contract to deliver comprehensive media monitoring services for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication, over a four-year period with an estimated total contract value of €27.5 million. The Commission requires advanced operational capabilities, including IT systems and AI-enabled analytics, continuous monitoring across media channels, structured reporting and analytical support. The tender is an open electronic submission process via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and uses mandatory templates for administrative and financial elements. Evaluation is by exclusion/selection and award stages with a strong emphasis on quality (65) and price (35). Interested bidders should download and study all annexes, complete the prescribed templates (financial offer form, declaration on honour), ensure compliance with the technical requirements (including AI-related requirements), and submit a fully compliant eSubmission before the closing date 2026-09-07 13:00:59 Brussels time.

Footnotes

1. 1Official tender page and full procurement documents are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal under Call identifier EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Overview

The European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM), is launching a framework agreement to procure state-of-the-art **media monitoring services** that adapt to evolving communication patterns and information technology throughout the contract duration [1][4].

This is a **high-value public procurement tender** with an estimated total contract value of **€27,500,000**, intended to secure advanced monitoring capabilities using modern AI and IT systems [1][4].

Key Contract Details

Who Can Apply (Eligibility)

Eligible tenderers are **professional service providers** capable of delivering quantitative and qualitative media monitoring, typically requiring registration in an **EU Member State** or a country with an EU public procurement agreement [3].

While specific financial thresholds (e.g., minimum turnover) are not explicitly stated in the summary, standard DG COMM tenders for this value usually require proof of **technical experience** and sufficient **financial capacity** to handle a multi-year, high-volume contract [2][3].

Core Technical Requirements:Bidders must demonstrate capability in **AI-driven analysis**, **real-time monitoring** across print/online/broadcast/social channels, and provision of a robust **IT monitoring system** with tagging, sentiment analysis, and metadata extraction [1][4].

Award Criteria & Evaluation

The contract will be awarded based on the **Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT)** principle, using a weighted scoring system: **65% for Quality** and **35% for Price** [1].

Quality assessment will focus on the **state-of-the-art technology**, adaptability to evolving research areas, and the methodology for **AI requirements** and IT system performance as detailed in the technical specifications [1].

Critical Dates & Deadlines

1. 1Last date to request additional information: **27 August 2026, 13:00 Brussels time** [1]
2. 2Deadline for tender submission: **7 September 2026, 13:00:59 Brussels time** [1]
3. 3Public opening of tenders: **7 September 2026, 13:30 Brussels time** [1]

Required Documentation

Applicants must submit the following key documents available in the procurement portal:**Invitation to Tender**, **Technical Tender Specifications** (including AI requirements and IT System specs), **Administrative Tender Specifications**, **Declaration on Honour**, and the **Financial Offer Form** [1].

Specific annexes include the **Evaluation Methodology**, **Draft Framework Contract**, and the **Assessment Grid** used for scoring [1].

How to Apply

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the **EU Funding and Tenders Portal** using the eSubmission tool; physical submissions are not accepted [1].

Access the official tender page here:EU Tender Details [1].

Footnotes

1. 1Official procurement details and documents are available at the EU Funding & Tenders Portal EC-COMM/2026/OP/0171.
2. 2Estimated value and duration confirmed via TED and Development Aid summaries Development Aid.