XML 38 R16.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.1
Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

NOTE 9. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

The Company has commitments under certain firm contractual arrangements (“firm commitments”) to make future payments. These firm commitments secure the future rights to various assets and services to be used in the normal course of operations. The total firm commitments and future debt payments as of March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018 were approximately $41 billion and $32 billion, respectively. The increase from June 30, 2018 was primarily due to the issuance of $6.8 billion of senior notes (See Note 5 – Borrowings), the new multi-year, multi-platform rights agreement expanding the Company’s television, digital and Spanish-language rights and extending its arrangement with Major League Baseball (“MLB”) through the 2028 MLB season partially offset by sports programming rights payments.

Contingencies

Profits Participants Litigation

On November 25, 2015, Wark Entertainment, Inc. filed a lawsuit (the “Wark Lawsuit”) against Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, the FOX Network, and Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. (“Fox Entertainment Group”) in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles, Central District (the “Superior Court”). On November 30, 2015, Temperance Brennan, L.P., Snooker Doodle Productions, Inc., and Bertha Blue, Inc. filed a lawsuit (the “Temperance Brennan Lawsuit”) against 21CF, Fox Entertainment Group, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, and the FOX Network in the Superior Court. The plaintiffs in these cases are profits participants in the television series Bones, which was produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television, a unit of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (“TCFTV”), and aired on the FOX Network from 2005 to 2017. TCFTV, 21CF, the FOX Network and Fox Entertainment Group are defendants in one or both of the Wark Lawsuit and the Temperance Brennan Lawsuit (collectively, the “Lawsuits”), which were joined by the Superior Court on December 21, 2015.

The plaintiffs in the Lawsuits alleged, among other things, that TCFTV breached its contracts with the plaintiffs and committed fraud concerning certain of those contracts, and that 21CF, Fox Entertainment Group, and the FOX Network induced TCFTV’s breach of contract and intentionally interfered with the plaintiffs’ contracts with TCFTV. These allegations were based on plaintiffs’ claims that in licensing Bones between affiliated 21CF entities, the defendants agreed to lower license fees for Bones to the detriment of the Plaintiffs (collectively, the “Affiliated Dealing Claims”). The plaintiffs also challenged TCFTV’s accounting practices with regard to Bones, including challenging TCFTV’s distribution and overhead charges for Bones (the “Accounting Claims”). The defendants vigorously disputed the Affiliated Dealing Claims and the Accounting Claims and the related allegations.

On April 8, 2016, the Superior Court stayed the Accounting Claims and ordered that the Affiliated Dealing Claims be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the plaintiffs’ contracts. On February 20, 2019, the arbitrator issued a punitive damages award of approximately $129 million against the defendants, including the FOX Network. On February 27, 2019, the defendants filed a motion with the Superior Court to vacate the entire punitive damages award on the ground that the arbitrator did not have authority to award punitive damages, and the plaintiffs filed a petition with the Superior Court to confirm the entirety of the arbitrator’s award. A hearing on these matters was held on April 29, 2019. On May 2, 2019, the Superior Court issued a ruling granting the defendants’ motion, denying the plaintiffs’ petition and vacating the entire punitive damages award.

FOX News Channel

The Company and certain of its current and former employees have been subject to allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination and racial discrimination relating to alleged misconduct at the Company’s FOX News channel business. The Company has resolved many of these claims and is contesting other claims in litigation. The Company has also received regulatory and investigative inquiries relating to these matters. To date, none of the amounts paid in settlements or reserved for pending or future claims, is individually or in the aggregate, material to the Company. The amount of liability, if any, that may result from these or related matters cannot be estimated at this time. However, the Company does not currently anticipate that the ultimate resolution of any such pending matters will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, future results of operations or liquidity.

U.K. Newspaper Matters Indemnity

In connection with the separation of 21CF and News Corporation in June 2013, 21CF agreed to indemnify News Corporation, on an after-tax basis, for payments made after the separation arising out of civil claims and investigations relating to phone hacking, illegal data access and inappropriate payments to public officials that occurred at subsidiaries of News Corporation, as well as legal and professional fees and expenses paid in connection with the related criminal matters, other than fees, expenses and costs relating to employees who are not (i) directors, officers or certain designated employees or (ii) with respect to civil matters, co-defendants with News Corporation (the “U.K. Newspaper Matters Indemnity”). In accordance with the Separation Agreement, certain costs and liabilities related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters Indemnity were assumed by the Company. The liability recorded in the Consolidated and Combined Balance Sheets related to the indemnity was approximately $50 million as of March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2018.

Other

The Company establishes an accrued liability for legal claims when the Company determines that a loss is both probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Once established, accruals are adjusted from time to time, as appropriate, in light of additional information. The amount of any loss ultimately incurred in relation to matters for which an accrual has been established may be higher or lower than the amounts accrued for such matters. Any fees, expenses, fines, penalties, judgments or settlements which might be incurred by the Company in connection with the various proceedings could affect the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. For the contingencies disclosed above for which there is at least a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred, other than the accrual provided, the Company was unable to estimate the amount of loss or range of loss.

The Company’s operations are subject to tax in various domestic jurisdictions and as a matter of course, the Company is regularly audited by federal and state tax authorities. The Company believes it has appropriately accrued for the expected outcome of all pending tax matters and does not currently anticipate that the ultimate resolution of pending tax matters will have a material adverse effect on its consolidated and combined financial condition, future results of operations or liquidity. Each member of the 21CF consolidated group, which includes 21CF, the Company (prior to the Distribution) and 21CF’s other subsidiaries, is jointly and severally liable for the U.S. federal income and, in certain jurisdictions, state tax liabilities of each other member of the consolidated group. Consequently, the Company could be liable in the event any such liability is incurred, and not discharged, by any other member of the 21CF consolidated group. The tax matters agreement requires 21CF and/or Disney to indemnify the Company for any such liability. Disputes or assessments could arise during future audits by the Internal Revenue Service in amounts that the Company cannot quantify.