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DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS AND COLLATERALIZED INDEBTEDNESS
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS AND COLLATERALIZED INDEBTEDNESS
DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS AND COLLATERALIZED INDEBTEDNESS
Prepaid Forward Contracts
The Company has entered into various transactions to limit the exposure against equity price risk on its shares of Comcast Corporation ("Comcast") common stock.  The Company has monetized all of its stock holdings in Comcast through the execution of prepaid forward contracts, collateralized by an equivalent amount of the respective underlying stock.  At maturity, the contracts provide for the option to deliver cash or shares of Comcast stock with a value determined by reference to the applicable stock price at maturity.  These contracts, at maturity, are expected to offset declines in the fair value of these securities below the hedge price per share while allowing the Company to retain upside appreciation from the hedge price per share to the relevant cap price.  
The Company received cash proceeds upon execution of the prepaid forward contracts discussed above which has been reflected as collateralized indebtedness in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.  In addition, the Company separately accounts for the equity derivative component of the prepaid forward contracts.  These equity derivatives have not been designated as hedges for accounting purposes.  Therefore, the net fair values of the equity derivatives have been reflected in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as an asset or liability and the net increases or decreases in the fair value of the equity derivative component of the prepaid forward contracts are included in gain (loss) on derivative contracts in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.
All of the Company's monetization transactions are obligations of its wholly-owned subsidiaries that are not part of the Restricted Group; however, CSC Holdings has provided guarantees of the subsidiaries' ongoing contract payment expense obligations and potential payments that could be due as a result of an early termination event (as defined in the agreements).  If any one of these contracts were terminated prior to its scheduled maturity date, the Company would be obligated to repay the fair value of the collateralized indebtedness less the sum of the fair values of the underlying stock and equity collar, calculated at the termination date.  As of September 30, 2018, the Company did not have an early termination shortfall relating to any of these contracts.
The Company monitors the financial institutions that are counterparties to its equity derivative contracts.  All of the counterparties to such transactions carry investment grade credit ratings as of September 30, 2018.
Interest Rate Swap Contracts
In May 2018, the Company entered into two interest rate swap contracts that mature in April 2019 whereby one contract converts the interest rate on $2,970,000 of the CSC Holdings Term Loan Facility from a one-month LIBO rate to a three-month LIBO rate minus 0.226% and the second contract converts the interest rate on $1,496,250 of the CSC Holdings Incremental Term Loan from a one-month LIBO rate to a three-month LIBO rate minus 0.226%. The objective of these swaps is to potentially pay a lower interest rate than what the Company can elect under the terms of the CSC Holdings credit facilities agreement.
In April 2018, the Company entered into an interest rate swap contract that matures in May 2019 which converts the interest rate on $1,255,513 of the Cequel Term Loan B from a one-month LIBO rate to a three-month LIBO rate minus 0.225%. The objective of this swap is to potentially pay a lower interest rate than what the Company can elect under the terms of the Cequel credit facilities agreement.
In June 2016, the Company entered into two fixed to floating interest rate swap contracts that mature in May 2026. One fixed to floating interest rate swap is converting $750,000 from a fixed rate of 1.6655% to a six-month LIBO rate and a second tranche of $750,000 from a fixed rate of 1.68% to a six-month LIBO rate. The objective of these swaps is to adjust the proportion of total debt that is subject to fixed and variable interest rates.
These swap contracts were not designated as hedges for accounting purposes. Accordingly, the changes in the fair value of these interest rate swap contracts are recorded through the statements of operations.
The Company does not hold or issue derivative instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
The following represents the location of the assets and liabilities associated with the Company's derivative instruments within the condensed consolidated balance sheets:
 
 
 
 
Asset Derivatives
 
Liability Derivatives
Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments
 
Balance Sheet
Location
 
Fair Value at September 30, 2018
 
Fair Value at December 31, 2017
 
Fair Value at September 30, 2018
 
Fair Value at December 31, 2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest rate swap contracts
 
Derivative contracts, current
 
$
3,269

 
$

 
$

 
$

Prepaid forward contracts
 
Derivative contracts, current
 

 
52,545

 

 
(52,545
)
Prepaid forward contracts
 
Derivative contracts, long-term
 
31,510

 

 
(10,131
)
 
(109,504
)
Interest rate swap contracts
 
Liabilities under derivative contracts, long-term
 

 

 
(143,719
)
 
(77,902
)
 
 
 
 
$
34,779

 
$
52,545

 
$
(153,850
)
 
$
(239,951
)

Gains (losses) from the Company's derivative contracts related to the Comcast common stock for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 of $(79,628) and $130,883, respectively, are reflected in gain (loss) on derivative contracts, net in the Company's condensed consolidated statement of operations.
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded a gain (loss) on investments of $111,684 and $(199,312), respectively, representing the net increase (decrease) in the fair values of the investment securities pledged as collateral. 
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded a loss on interest rate swap contracts of $19,554 and $64,405, respectively.
Settlements of Collateralized Indebtedness
The following table summarizes the settlement of the Company's collateralized indebtedness relating to Comcast shares that were settled by delivering cash equal to the collateralized loan value, net of the value of the related equity derivative contracts during the nine months ended September 30, 2018: 
Number of shares
16,139,868

Collateralized indebtedness settled
$
(516,537
)
Derivatives contracts settled
24

 
(516,513
)
Proceeds from new monetization contracts
516,513

Net cash proceeds
$


The cash to settle the collateralized indebtedness was obtained from the proceeds of new monetization contracts covering an equivalent number of Comcast shares.  The terms of the new contracts allow the Company to retain upside participation in Comcast shares up to each respective contract's upside appreciation limit with downside exposure limited to the respective hedge price.