The airport operator has invited incumbent JCDecaux Airport, Clear Channel and a joint venture between Van Wagner and Australian outdoor contractor Eye Corp to make presentations next week.
However, Viacom Outdoor, which narrowly missed out on the contract in 1999, and Maiden Outdoor did not submit bids.
Viacom is currently defending the £1.2bn 10-year contract with Transport for London for the Tube advertising concession, while Maiden said the contract did not fit with its core business of rail, roadside and retail.
BAA is due to make a final decision on the contract, which spans Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, early next year, with the new agreement to start in April 2007.
JCDecaux, which is also bidding for the London Tube contract against Viacom, has held the BAA account since 1999 when it acquired the previous incumbent Sky Sites and formed the JCDecaux Airport division.
Industry insiders are divided over whether BAA is actively looking to move or whether it is simply trying to wring a lower price out of JCDecaux.
The pitch is a statutory review required under Civil Aviation Authority Guidelines, but BAA is hoping to award the contract for up to 10 years, instead of the usual five.
Heathrow is the world's busiest international airport and the seven airports serve a total of more than 140 million passengers annually, 28% of the European market.
The deal covers 1,700 sites, including posters, lightboxes, ambient media and promotional space, and the advertising space is set to increase still further when Heathrow opens its fifth terminal in 2008.
Clear Channel is a significant player in airports in the US and also holds the contract for Birmingham International Airport.
Van Wagner, which in the UK focuses on premium large-format billboards, is a strong force in outdoor in the US, while its bid partner Eye Corp has a network of domestic and international airports in Australia.
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