BBC Sport’s in-house production team has retained the contract to stage and produce BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
In September last year, the event was the first BBC Sport programme to be put out for competitive tender.
Bids were assessed by 2 senior members of the BBC Entertainment Team; Head of Business, Matthew Travers; Commissioning Editor, Jo Wallace; BBC Sport Director, Barbara Slater; Head of TV Sport Philip Bernie; and Sports production consultant and Chair, Jackie Myburgh.
“The Evaluation Panel was very impressed by the quality of the proposals and their individual credentials. Ultimately we felt that BBC Sport’s in-house team put forward the most creative, robust and complete response to the requirements of the tender,” said Myburgh.
Each proposal was measured against five criteria – quality of editorial proposals; strength of event staging plans; fit with the BBC’s strategic priorities; risk and value for money.
The 3 year deal runs until 2021, with an option to extend for a further 2 years.
“SPOTY is widely considered to be the most prestigious award ceremony in UK sport and it remains incredibly popular with BBC audiences. I look forward to seeing how the programme will evolve in coming years to ensure its place on the sporting calendar remains as strong as ever,” added Slater.
The tender is part of the BBC’s Compete or Compare strategy and is the first programme to be competed in this way in sport, ahead of the removal of the in-house guarantee next year.
October’s SPOTY was criticised when Mo Farah won the overall prize, but wasn’t able to make it to the ceremony. The live feed to him broke down.
