The BBC is reviewing its media planning and buying account.
Havas Group Media has handled the business since 2015 and will be defending the account.
The business is worth £25m a year in agency fees and media budget. The contract will be awarded for up to four years.
The BBC issued a tender for the statutory review last week. It explained that the broadcaster wants to make sure it is reaching younger audiences, for which it wants to use paid media channels alongside its owned media.
The review is being handled by the BBC’s procurement team.
Havas Group Media won the account from Group M’s MEC Manchester, now known as Wavemaker, in 2015. Before this it was jointly handled by PHD and Havas.
A BBC spokesperson said: "Audiences need to be aware of BBC programmes and services to get the most out of their licence fee. Our existing media buying contract is coming to an end and as is legally required, we’re tendering for the new contract."
