diff --git a/cmdutils.c b/cmdutils.c
index 0ab98e85b71f5..36e472a705415 100644
--- a/cmdutils.c
+++ b/cmdutils.c
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
 struct SwsContext *sws_opts;
 AVDictionary *format_opts, *codec_opts;
 
-static const int this_year = 2012;
+const int this_year = 2012;
 
 static FILE *report_file;
 
diff --git a/cmdutils.h b/cmdutils.h
index b9ea1cfc69b77..61d07887b0e25 100644
--- a/cmdutils.h
+++ b/cmdutils.h
@@ -43,6 +43,11 @@ extern const char program_name[];
  */
 extern const int program_birth_year;
 
+/**
+ * this year, defined by the program for show_banner()
+ */
+extern const int this_year;
+
 extern AVCodecContext *avcodec_opts[AVMEDIA_TYPE_NB];
 extern AVFormatContext *avformat_opts;
 extern struct SwsContext *sws_opts;