Smithsonian Institution: Additional Information Should Be Developed and Provided to Filmmakers on the Impact of the Showtime Contract Page: 48 of 55
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Appendix III: Comments from the
Smithsonian Institution
not within our expertise, the object sought is not in our collections, or the curator sought
is not available at that time). As GAO's report confirms, the vast majority of requests to
film at the Institution are being evaluated and approved as always: Requests from news
and public affairs programs, requests for the production of academic, scholarly or
curriculum-based programs, and requests relating to the production of programs that
will not be distributed commercially are outside the scope of this contract and are thus
unaffected; commercial television and film projects which intend to use Smithsonian
content in a way that is only "incidental" to the overall program are not affected either.
The only programming which could be affected by the "non-compete" provision in the
contract is certain types of programs which contain "more than incidental use" of
Smithsonian content. Thus far, as we expected based on past experience, the number of
programs that fall within this narrow category of competitive programs is tiny: as of
November 30, 2006, only two out of 130 filming requests have been denied on these
grounds. In addition, for those filmmakers who seek to feature a substantial amount of
Smithsonian content in a program to be exhibited by a commercial distributor, there are
several options: First, the filmmaker may decide after consulting with the Smithsonian to
reduce the amount of Smithsonian content so that it is "incidental" to the overall film.
Second, the filmmaker may choose to (but is not required to) contact Smithsonian
Networks to see if it would be interested in working on and airing the film. Third, the
Smithsonian may choose to allow the program as one of its annual "one-offs" (a program
that is permitted under the contract even though it may compete with the venture but
which the Smithsonian deems an important project and wants to allow). Thus far, we
have selected a total of four programs as "one-offs" which will be counted against our
allotments in the years in which these programs are expected to air. Based on our
predictions, and supported by the actual requests we have received this year, it appears
that the annual one-off allotment is sufficient to meet the demand for outside commercial
projects featuring "more than incidental" Smithsonian content.
Only if these three outcomes are not viable - which occurs in only a very small number of
cases as the data above support - would a filming proposal be rejected for reasons related
to the contract. However, given these many options, we are confident that filmmakers will
continue to work successfully with the Smithsonian for many years to come.
In sum, the contract with Showtime enables the Smithsonian to further its mission via the
creation and distribution of hundreds of hours of quality television programming while
approving each program's factual accuracy and consistency with the Institution's
reputation, incurring no financial risk, generating millions in revenue, permitting
traditional access to Smithsonian collections, and only rarely restricting the use of
Smithsonian collections in competing filming projects. The Smithsonian Board of
Regents weighed the advantages and constraints of the new partnership and concluded it
was overwhelmingly more likely to allow the Institution to "increase and diffuse
knowledge" and provide significantly increased benefits to the millions of Americans
whom we inform, educate and enlighten each year.
Responses to Issues Raised by GAO
1. Current Data Supports Expectations Based On Historical Review of Smithsonian
Filming RequestsGAO-07-275 Smithsonian's Contract with Showtime
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Smithsonian Institution: Additional Information Should Be Developed and Provided to Filmmakers on the Impact of the Showtime Contract, report, December 15, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc298598/m1/48/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.