

NOTE 12.	EQUITY PLANS

Cablevision's Equity Plans

2015 Employee Stock Plan

In March 2015, Cablevision's Board of Directors approved the Cablevision Systems Corporation 2015 Employee Stock Plan ("2015 Plan"), which was approved by Cablevision's stockholders at its annual stockholders meeting on May 21, 2015. Under the 2015 Plan, Cablevision is authorized to grant stock options, restricted shares, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, and other equity-based awards. The Company may grant awards for up to 25,000,000 shares of CNYG Class A common stock under the 2015 Plan. Options and stock appreciation rights under the 2015 Plan must be granted with an exercise price of not less than the fair market value of a share of CNYG Class A common stock on the date of grant and must expire no later than 10 years from the date of grant (or up to one additional year in the case of the death of a holder). The terms and conditions of awards granted under the 2015 Plan, including vesting and exercisability, will be determined by Cablevision's compensation committee and may be based upon performance criteria. No awards had been granted under the 2015 Plan as of June 30, 2015.

As a result of the approval of the 2015 Plan by Cablevision's stockholders, all remaining available shares (other than those subject to outstanding grants of restricted stock or stock options) under the Amended and Restated 2006 Employee Stock Plan have been canceled and no further awards will be granted.

Stock Option Award Activity

In March 2015, Cablevision granted options that are scheduled to vest over three years in 33 1/3% annual increments and expire 10 years from the date of grant. Cablevision calculated the fair value of the option award on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Cablevision's computation of expected life was determined based on historical data for similar awards. The interest rate for periods within the contractual life of the stock options is based on interest yields for U.S. Treasury instruments in effect at the time of grant. Cablevision's computation of expected volatility is based on historical volatility of its common stock.

The following assumptions were used to calculate the fair value of the stock options award granted in the first quarter of 2015:



Risk-free interest rate	1.82		%
Expected life (in years)	8 years
Dividend yield	3.63		%
Volatility	39.98		%
Grant date fair value	$	5.45

The following table summarizes activity relating to Company employees who held Cablevision stock options for the six months ended June 30, 2015:



	Shares Under Option				Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years)
	Time Vesting Options		Performance Based Vesting Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share		Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term (in years)	Aggregate Intrinsic Value (a)
Balance, December 31, 2014	5,097,666		7,633,500		$	14.41	7.17	$	79,347
Granted	2,000,000		—		19.17
Exercised	(302,500	)	(736,383	)	12.74
Balance, June 30, 2015	6,795,166		6,897,117		$	15.23	7.26	$	119,267
Options exercisable at June 30, 2015	795,166		6,897,117		$	13.90	6.15	$	77,207
Options expected to vest in the future	6,000,000		—		$	16.93	8.68	$	42,060


(a)	The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between (i) the exercise price of the underlying award and (ii) the quoted price of CNYG Class A common stock on June 30, 2015 or December 31, 2014, as indicated, and June 30, 2015 in the case of options exercisable and options expected to vest in the future.

In addition, as of June 30, 2015, AMC Networks Inc. ("AMC Networks") and The Madison Square Garden Company ("Madison Square Garden") employees held a total of 108,066 Cablevision stock options. These stock options are not expensed by the Company; however, such stock options may have a dilutive effect on net income per share attributable to Cablevision stockholders.

Restricted Stock Award Activity

The following table summarizes activity relating to Company employees who held Cablevision restricted shares for the six months ended June 30, 2015:



	Number of Restricted Shares		Number of Performance Based Restricted Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value Per Share at Date of Grant
Unvested award balance, December 31, 2014	5,314,870		2,035,300		$	15.46
Granted	1,703,130		584,400		19.17
Vested	(1,571,162	)	(739,600	)	14.47
Awards forfeited	(292,265	)	—		16.47
Unvested award balance, June 30, 2015	5,154,573		1,880,100		16.94

During the six months ended June 30, 2015, 2,310,762 Cablevision restricted shares issued to employees of the Company vested. To fulfill the employees' statutory minimum tax withholding obligations for the applicable income and other employment taxes, 977,749 of these shares, with an aggregate value of $18,265, were surrendered to the Company. These acquired shares have been classified as treasury stock.

Performance Based Restricted Stock Units

In March 2015, Cablevision granted 1,816,660 performance based restricted stock units ("PSUs") to certain employees that are scheduled to cliff vest after three years subject to achievement of specified performance criteria. The PSUs entitle the employee to shares of CNYG common stock up to 150% of the number of PSUs granted depending on the level of achievement of the specified performance criteria. If the minimum performance threshold is not met, no shares will be issued. Accrued dividends are paid to the extent that a PSU vests and the related stock is issued.

The Company recognizes compensation expense for PSUs on a straight-line basis over the vesting period based on the estimated number of shares of CNYG common stock expected to be issued.