PBS-D_and_BBG_JOFOC.doc

BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS

INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING BUREAU

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OFFICE OF CONTRACTS

Upon the basis of the following justification, I, as Contracting Officer, hereby approve the use of other than full and open competition of the proposed contractual action pursuant to the authority of 41 U.S.C. 2304(a) 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

Identification Number: BBG50-C-15-0029

1. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and The Voice of America (VOA) Acquisitions Office through the US Department of State (DOS) European Bureau (EUR) Executive Office is proposing to enter into a contract with the Public Broadcast Service Distribution (PBS-D) to authorize content usage licenses for television broadcasts to National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) and Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR). This is a justification for other than full and open competition.

2. The action being approved herein is a non-competitive procurement of the content rights requested by the Department of State and the Broadcasting Stations in the Baltic States to make a dynamic range of Western public broadcast content with broad appeal available for. The production and placement of this programming is vital to meet the ever-expanding requirements of the BBG’s global broadcasting mission and retain a loyal audience.

3. The BBG will license usage rights of PBS-D television content for the following entities: 196 hours for NTU, 38.5 hours for LRT and 38.5 hours for ERR over a period of two (2) years for three (3) performances within such period. See Attachment I for the list of programs offered.

4. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is under 6.302-1, “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.”

5. The acquisition is in response to the U.S. State Department goal to address the lack of non-commercial, non-partisan western public broadcast content on television in Ukraine, Lithuania and Estonia in reaching Russian speaking audiences, to provide a an alternative to Russian language programming being produced and broadcast. The nature of the foreign policy goal is in response to an urgent and compelling need for providing support to the Ukraine, Lithuanian and Estonian governments as they continually confront Russian disinformation, PBS has produced and distributed award-winning, high-quality public media content on the history and culture of the United States that can serve as an inspiration and model to countries experiencing U.S. disinformation. While other commercial entities produce television content on U.S. history and culture, this content is produced commercially and not suitable for distribution by international public media (NTU, ERR) or state media entities (LRT). All of the media materials for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) are under the copyright of PBS-D for licensing of usage rights to outside broadcasters, including international broadcast. There is no other practicable or legal source for acquisition of content usage rights for these materials.

6. The BBG’s intent to sole source this requirement will be posted in FBO.gov.

7. The estimated value of the licensed content usage rights, program delivery costs and related expenses charged by PBS-D shall not exceed $250,000 USD and shall be effective for a period of two (2) years beginning on or about September 14, 2015-September 13, 2017. The Contracting Officer has determined the price is fair and reasonable for the content rights to the 40+ titles available for broadcast.

8. The programmatic office conducted market research by obtaining information specific to the acquisition of PBS content. The Government’s needs for non-commercial, non-partisan media content could not be met by the commercial marketplace without undue modifications. As PBS-D is the sole copyright owner of PBS television content for distribution outside of the public media system the programmatic office engaged PBS-D in numerous market research conversations with PBS-D on their customary practices on international licensing, including current licensing in the target region, the requirements of PBS-D contract, the availability of items being acquired, and the distribution and support capabilities of PBS-D. The BBG also consulted the State Department on the need and nature of the foreign policy goal of providing Western non-commercial and non-partisan content including the appropriate nature of the items to be acquired by PBS-D.

9. This is a one-time acquisition of content usage rights for public media content only available from PBS-D to the specific broadcasting outlets in the Baltic States cannot be modified to promote competition.

10. Since PBS-D is the only source capable of filling the programmatic requirement they are the only source available.

11. There is no action the Government can take to remove or overcome the copyright barrier prior to the acquisition of content usage rights from PBS-D at this time.

12. Certification

The information contained in this justification for other than full and open competition is certified accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Since this effort exceeds $150K, but does not exceed $650K, this certification serves as APPROVAL.

Cherylynn Peters

August 27, 2015

Signature Date

ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS JOFOC ARE TO BE REFERRED TO: Cherylynn Peters, Office of Contracts. cpeters@bbg.gov 330 Independence Avenue, SW • Washington, DC 20237 • United States of America

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