The corporation has taken a quarter-page ad in the Financial Times and full-page ad in trade magazine Broadcast to generate interest for the business, reported to be worth between £100m and £150m.
The WPP Group is expected to be among the bidders for the commercial subsidiary, which generated revenue in excess of £100m for the BBC last year.
Other companies expressing an interest in the business include BT, Crown Castle, French technology group Thomson, Ascent Media Group, Macquarie Infrastructure Communications Group and venture capitalists the Carlyle Group.
Peter Phillips, director of business development leading the sale, said: "The BBC has a great relationship with BBC Broadcast and we are committed to finding a long-term partner that can not only continue to deliver the outstanding quality of services back to the BBC, but also help BBC Broadcast continue to develop in new markets."
"Staff issues and the right cultural fit will also be an important part of the deal," he added.
The corporation said while a sale to a single buyer was preferable, it was open to the prospect that the business could be broken up. The corporation also said it would consider a management buy-out.
The BBC has appointed accountants Ernst & Young to evaluate the business.
BBC Broadcast offers a full range of services required to promote, playout and provide access to broadcast content across all media from television to mobile phones.
It also provides technical, operational and creative expertise to its clients.
The business was put up for sale as a result of internal reviews by BBC director general Mark Thompson on how to make the BBC more accountable to its licence fee payers.
As well as axing up to 3,000 staff and moving a further 1,500 jobs north to Manchester, Thompson said BBC commercial operations would be reviewed and potentially put up for sale as part of the £320m cost-saving initiatives.
The corporation's magazine and distribution arm BBC Worldwide, which was rumoured to be part of the BBC sell-off, is likely to stay put -- the business has just generated £20m from the sale of its 'Strictly Come Dancing' format being sold overseas.
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