THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT: USAGM-SN-18-0011AM FARSI ACQUIRED PROGRAMMING The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), Office of Contracts (CON) located at 330 Independence Ave, SW Washington, D.C. 20237, intends to award a sole source contract to Damavand Horizon Inc. supporting Voice of America's Persian News Network (PNN) under FAR 13.5 Simplified Acquisition for Commercial Items. The VOA Persian Service is acquiring programming from Damavand Horizon Inc. for two, weekly series in the Persian (Farsi) Language: 1. "Chess" - The Chess is a :55minute show that features a roundtable of Five rotating Iranian personalities (Academics, Politics, celebrities...) who discuss, debate and at times debunk the hot news, controversies and issues of the week in Iran. The Chess discusses on the week's events, on one side of panel focusing on political, economic and social issues. On the other side of panel focusing on future prospects of Iran and democratic transition. The Show featuring a multi-generational panel of Iranian personalities as co-hosts, who discuss the week's "Hot Topics" ranging from sociopolitical to entertainment news. While the show primarily spotlights conversations between its panelists, it also regularly features reportages on the subject, interview segments with prominent figures, such as celebrities and politicians. The agency intends to purchase 22 episodes with the option to procure more subject to the availability of funding. Estimated Cost: $196,900.00. 2. "Citizen Watch" is a :55minute show that focuses on transparency, freedom, justice, human dignity, rule of law, effective democratic institutions, healthy economy, secularism, gender equality and human dignity. Empowering and strengthen civil societies in fighting corruption, actively promoting civil society with the knowledge, tools, and capacity they need to actively and safely counter corruption. The agency intends to purchase 21 episodes with the option to procure more subject to the availability of funding. Estimated Cost: $193,200.00. The Contractor shall use its own resources, equipment, vehicles, and insurance for all aspects of content production, including but not limited to on-location or in-studio video production and post-production video editing. The Contractor shall be responsible for all graphic elements: Opening logo/promo title sequence, font, text, animations etc. pertaining to the video. Visuals must support the content of the topics and depict the theme of each episode and may require a variety of shooting locations. Separate interviews with main and supporting character(s)/expert(s) will provide facts and commentary about events occurring in the episode. The Contractor shall secure any and all needed permissions for any elements of music, text, illustrations/graphics, photos, videos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork that are included in each episode. The Contractor shall provide a copy of all permissions, releases, and clearances to VOA upon request for both programs. Contractor shall deliver TV ready episodes to VOA. This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive price proposals. Interested firms must submit a written response that demonstrates their ability to provide the above. The written response must be submitted to Alisa Martine, Contract Specialist by, Wednesday, September, 26, 2018 12:00pm eastern daylight time via email at
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