ITV

Tag: gathers

  • Bidding for BBC’s HR services gathers momentum

    MUMBAI: The BBC has launched the next stage of the procurement process for parts of its HR services in the UK. The process formally began in July 2005 with the publication of a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union. It has attracted widespread interest from a broad range of service providers.

    Eight organisations are being taken through to the next round, all of whom have demonstrated a strong desire and credibility as potential suppliers for parts of the BBC’s HR services. The bidders are Accenture, Capita, Convergys, Excellerate HRO, Hewitt, IBM, Northgate and Xchanging.

    BBC People director Stephen Dando said, “I am delighted with the really positive response we have received from the market to our advert for the partial outsourcing of services within BBC People. During the next phase of the process there will be a rigorous evaluation of not only the expertise and operations of these bidders, but their culture and fit with the BBC – this is a crucial part of our evaluation.”

    The areas which the BBC is looking for a supplier or suppliers to undertake are recruitment, remuneration, development, HR administration services, relocation, occupational health services, and disability access services.

    The preference is to award one contract for all of the services, however the BBC will award more than one contract where it is deemed commercially advantageous to do so, or where this is necessary to achieve the required service standards. The BBC states that it has conducted a rigorous evaluation process in order to compile a long list of interested parties. Final negotiations are expected to take place at the end of this year and the contract with the successful supplier is due to become operational from spring 2006.

    The procurement process follows an internal review which proposed that a number of services should be outsourced. The review team identified this as one of the measures to help put extra resources into programmes as part of the BBC’s radical plans to transform the organisation into a simpler and more creative digital broadcaster.

    The BBC will be in full consultation with the recognised trade unions throughout the procurement process. BBC People was formed in 2001, bringing together for the first time the vast majority of the BBC’s functional HR specialists. The Division supports the whole employment process. It supports around 27,000 BBC staff, some 6,000 casuals and 6,000 freelances based within multiple UK locations and internationally, and deals with the significant ‘churn’ associated with new hires/leavers.

  • CBS’ marketing blitz for ‘Raymond’ finale gathers steam

    MUMBAI: As the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond heads toward its final episode on 16 May US broadcaster CBS is continuing to roll out an aggressive multi-platform marketing and publicity campaign to support the event.

    In India the show airs on Star World.
     

    The finale will be preceded by a one-hour special featuring behind-the-scenes footage, highlights from the show’s nine seasons and interviews with the cast. The multi-layered effort includes on-air tributes by celebrities; heavy promotion on Viacom radio and cable properties; extensive co-marketing with CBS’s 200-plus affiliated stations; special Raymond themed content on the special CBS Eye on American which airs for passengers travelling on American Airlines. in addition in conjunction with King World there will be a month of programming for episodes in syndication.
     
     

    In a fitting tribute CBS’ sister channel TV Land will pre-empt regularly scheduled programming to salute the series on 16 May. As the finale of Everybody Loves Raymond is airing on CBS, TV Land will be closed for business. Instead of regularly scheduled programming, viewers tuning in to TV Land will instead see a room filled with 210 guys named Raymond.

    Each Raymond represents an episode of the series, and will wear a t-shirt identifying which episode they represent. They will stand and introduce themselves, one by one, by name and episode, for the entire half hour. Throughout this tribute, TV Land will remind viewers that they should really be watching the finale on CBS.

    Prior to the series finale, Comedy Central will present a half-hour special featuring Ray Romano’s stand-up act. CBS stars and other celebrities will also take part in a series of promotional spots where they’ll congratulate the show on its nine-year run and express why the show is so special to them. Participating celebrities include Dr. Phil, Jeff Probst, Charlie Sheen, Anthony LaPaglia, Jason Alexander, Mark Addy, Jami Gertz, Rob Morrow, David Krumholtz and Khandi Alexander, among others.

    CBS has also produced a tie-in guide resembling a Barone family photo album. It is full of ways that stations can promote the finale locally. The guide includes trivia questions for local contests including a list of guest stars from Kevin James who starred in the movie Hitch to basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

    Leading up to the series finale, cast members from the Emmy award-winning series will appear on several of the leading daytime and late night talk shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Larry King Live and The Tony Danza Show.

    On 16 May the cast will appear together in New York City for one last time in a media blitz. the activity will start on CBS’ Early Show and culminate on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange when the cast of the show and CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves ring the closing bell.