COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments

Future cash payments and commitments required under arrangements pursuant to contracts entered into by us in the normal course of business as of December 31, 2023, are as follows:


	Payments Due by Period
	Total		Year 1		Years 2-3		Years 4-5		More than 5 years
Off balance sheet arrangements:
Purchase obligations (a)	$	5,809,702	$	2,708,555	$	2,805,204	$	288,157	$	7,786
Guarantees (b)	75,840		75,840		—		—		—
Letters of credit (c)	133,512		1,485		1,310		—		130,717
Total	$	6,019,054	$	2,785,880	$	2,806,514	$	288,157	$	138,503

(a)Purchase obligations primarily include contractual commitments with various programming vendors to provide video services to customers and minimum purchase obligations to purchase goods or services, including contracts to acquire handsets and other equipment. Future fees payable under contracts with programming vendors are based on numerous factors, including the number of customers receiving the programming. Amounts reflected above related to programming agreements are based on the number of customers receiving the programming as of December 31, 2023, multiplied by the per customer rates or the stated annual fee, as applicable, contained in the executed agreements in effect as of December 31, 2023.

(b)Includes franchise and performance surety bonds primarily for our cable television systems.

(c)Represent letters of credit guaranteeing performance to municipalities and public utilities and payment of insurance premiums. Payments due by period for these arrangements represent the year in which the commitment expires although payments under these arrangements are required only in the event of nonperformance.

The table above does not include obligations for payments required to be made under multi-year franchise agreements based on a percentage of revenues generated from video service per year.

Many of our franchise agreements and utility pole leases require us to remove its cable wires and other equipment upon termination of the respective agreements. We have concluded that the fair value of these asset retirement obligations cannot be reasonably estimated since the range of potential settlement dates is not determinable.

The table above does not include obligations for rent related to utility poles used in our operations. Our pole rental agreements are for varying terms, and management anticipates renewals as they expire. Rent expense incurred for pole rental attachments for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 was $40,868, $40,277, and $37,545, respectively.

Legal Matters

On December 7, 2023, Warner Records Inc., Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC and a number of other purported copyright holders (collectively, the “Warner Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “Warner Matter”), alleging that certain of our Internet subscribers directly infringed over 10,700 of the Warner Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works. The Warner Plaintiffs seek to hold us liable for claims of contributory infringement of copyright and vicarious copyright infringement. The Warner Plaintiffs also claim that our alleged secondary infringement was willful and seek substantial statutory damages.

The Warner Matter follows a similar complaint filed in December 2022 by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC, UMG Recordings, Inc., Capitol Records, LLC, Concord Music Group, Inc., and Concord Bicycle Assets, LLC (collectively, the “BMG Plaintiffs”) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (the “BMG Matter”) alleging that certain of our Internet subscribers directly infringed over 8,100 of the BMG Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works. The BMG Plaintiffs seek to hold us liable for claims of contributory infringement of copyright and vicarious copyright infringement. The BMG Plaintiffs claim that our alleged secondary infringement was willful and seek substantial statutory damages. Trial in this matter is scheduled for September 2024.

We intend to and are vigorously defending against the claims in the Warner Matter and the BMG Matter. In addition to contesting the claims of liability, we have an affirmative defense under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that, if successful, would preclude or limit monetary damages against us in connection with some or all of the Warner Plaintiffs’ and BMG Plaintiffs’ asserted claims. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these litigations. We may incur significant costs in defending these actions, and if we need to take measures to reduce our exposure to these risks or are required to pay damages in relation to such claims or choose to settle such claims, our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

We also receive notices from third parties, and in some cases we are named as a defendant in lawsuits, claiming infringement of various patents or copyrights relating to various aspects of our businesses. In certain of these cases other industry participants are also defendants, and in certain of these cases we expect that some or all potential liability would be the responsibility of our vendors pursuant to applicable contractual indemnification provisions. In the event that we are found to infringe on any patent or other intellectual property rights, we may be subject to substantial damages or an injunction that could require us or our vendors to modify certain products and services we offer to our subscribers, as well as enter into royalty or license agreements with respect to the patents at issue. We are also party to various other lawsuits, disputes and investigations arising in the ordinary course of our business, some of which may involve claims for substantial damages, fines or penalties.

Although the outcome of these matters cannot be predicted and the impact of the final resolution of these matters on our results of operations in a particular subsequent reporting period is not known, management does not believe that the resolution of these matters, individually, will have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial position or our ability to meet our financial obligations as they become due, but they could be material to our consolidated results of operations or cash flows for any one period.