CPV 924 – News Agency Services

What does CPV 924 cover?

CPV group 924 covers services provided by news agencies and related press services. These include the subscription to news content and press releases from news agencies (e.g. dpa, Reuters, AFP), picture agency services for editorial photographs and illustrations, media monitoring and clipping services, press analysis, and the supply of public institutions with current news feeds. Specialist press services and information services for authorities may also fall under CPV 924.

Public contracting authorities such as federal ministries, federal agencies, state press offices, municipal press offices, and public service broadcasters procure news agency services for their editorial and communications tasks. Federal ministries subscribe to news tickers and picture agency services for press releases. Municipalities use media monitoring to evaluate their public relations activities. Federal agencies procure specialist press services for specific subject areas.

Digital transformation is changing the market: AI-powered media monitoring services, automated press clippings, and social media monitoring are increasingly tendered as supplements to traditional news services. Multilingual news services and international press agencies are also procured for EU institutions and internationally active federal agencies. Further information on the CPV system is available from the European Commission (SIMAP) and Regulation (EC) No 213/2008.

Typical Services in CPV 924

Examples of Tenders with CPV 924

• News agency service for a federal ministry: A federal ministry tenders a full dpa news service including picture, video, and infographic service for three years — with API integration into the editorial system, multi-user licences, and technical support.
• Media monitoring for the Federal Press and Information Office: The Federal Press and Information Office procures a comprehensive media monitoring service for print, online, TV, radio, and social media — with daily morning briefing, topic filters, sentiment analysis, archive access, and customised dashboard.
• Picture agency service for a municipal press office: A large city tenders access to a picture archive with editorial usage rights for online and print publications — with daily updates, local search functions, DRM management, and unlimited downloads.

Current tenders with CPV 924 are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) and on national procurement platforms.

Who is CPV 924 relevant for?

Public Contracting Authorities

Federal ministries, the Federal Press and Information Office, state governments, municipal press offices, public service broadcasters, and state information services are the central contracting authorities. EU institutions procure multilingual news services for their communications activities.

Companies and Bidders

News agencies, picture agencies, media monitoring companies, and specialist information service providers are the typical bidders. Timeliness and reliability of news supply, technical integration into existing systems, GDPR compliance, and public sector references are required. Further information on eligibility requirements and procurement procedures is available from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

How does Bond help with CPV 924?

Tender Match – Automatically Find Tenders (CPV 924)

With tender.match, news agencies and media service providers automatically receive all relevant tenders with CPV 924 directly in their dashboard. BOND indexes tenders from over 1,000 procurement portals in the EU – from TED to national platforms and regional contracting authorities. Instead of manually searching dozens of portals every day, matching media service contracts are filtered and delivered by industry, competency, region, and company profile. An automated gap analysis immediately shows where the company meets the requirements and where gaps exist. This ensures companies never miss a deadline and can focus on preparing their bids.

Company Match – Find the Right Partners (CPV 924)

For companies looking for suppliers, subcontractors, or consortium partners for media projects, company.match provides direct access to qualified firms from an EU-wide database of over 28 million companies. Especially for larger media service contracts that a single company cannot handle alone, company.match automatically identifies suitable partners for bidding consortia and partial services – increasing the chances of winning the contract.

Frequently Asked Questions about CPV 924

Must subscriptions to news agencies be put to competitive tender?

Yes, where the contract value exceeds the relevant threshold and no uniqueness (exclusive service) exists. For standard news agency services where several providers are active in the market, a competitive procedure is required above the threshold. For market-dominant services with an objective unique position, a negotiated procedure may be considered.

Are editorial contents subject to procurement law?

Purely editorial, journalistic services are — according to prevailing opinion — not public contracts within the meaning of procurement law, as they cannot be determined through procurement specifications. The boundary is fluid: media monitoring and news feeds with a technical character are subject to procurement law, while creatively-journalistic original contributions may be exempt. Details are governed by the VgV.

How do I find tenders with CPV 924?

Tenders are published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) for EU-wide procedures for national procedures. Bond automatically aggregates all relevant tenders from over 1,000 portals and delivers them filtered by company profile.