Cablevision 2011 Annual Report Download - page 207

COMBINED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
I-83
In re Cablevision Consumer Litigation: Following expiration of the affiliation agreements for carriage of
certain Fox broadcast stations and cable networks on October 16, 2010, News Corporation terminated
delivery of the programming feeds to the Company, and as a result, those stations and networks were
unavailable on the Company's cable television systems. On October 30, 2010, the Company and Fox
reached an agreement on new affiliation agreements for these stations and networks, and carriage was
restored. Several class action lawsuits were subsequently filed on behalf of the Company's customers
seeking recovery for the lack of Fox programming. Those lawsuits were consolidated in an action before
the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and a consolidated complaint was filed in
that court on February 22, 2011. The plaintiffs have asserted claims for breach of contract, unjust
enrichment, and consumer fraud, and seek unspecified compensatory damages, punitive damages and
attorneys' fees. The Company has filed a motion to dismiss this action. The Court's decision is pending.
The Company believes that these claims are without merit and intends to defend these lawsuits
vigorously, but is unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits with certainty or reasonably estimate a
range of possible loss.
Livingston v. Cablevision Systems Corporation, et al.: On January 26, 2012, a securities lawsuit was
filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Company and certain
current and former officers, by a Cablevision shareholder, purportedly on behalf of a class of individuals
who purchased Cablevision common stock between February 16, 2011 and October 28, 2011. The
complaint alleges that the Company and the individual defendants violated Section 10(b) of the Securities
Exchange Act by allegedly issuing materially false and misleading statements regarding (i) the
Company's customer retention and advertising costs, and (ii) the Company's loss of video customers,
especially in the New York area. The complaint also alleges that the individual defendants violated
Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act for the same alleged conduct. Plaintiff seeks unspecified
monetary damages, attorneys' fees, and equitable relief. The Company believes that these claims are
without merit and intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously, but is unable to predict the outcome of this
lawsuit with certainty or reasonably estimate a range of possible loss.
Patent Litigation
Cablevision is named as a defendant in certain lawsuits claiming infringement of various patents relating
to various aspects of the Company's businesses. In certain of these cases other industry participants are
also defendants. In certain of these cases the Company expects that any potential liability would be the
responsibility of the Company's equipment vendors pursuant to applicable contractual indemnification
provisions. The Company believes that the claims are without merit and intends to defend the actions
vigorously, but is unable to predict the outcome of these lawsuits with certainty or reasonably estimate a
range of possible loss.
DISH Network Contract Dispute
In 2005, subsidiaries of the Company (now subsidiaries of AMC Networks) entered into agreements with
EchoStar Communications Corporation and its affiliates by which EchoStar Media Holdings Corporation
acquired a 20% interest in VOOM HD Holdings LLC ("VOOM HD") and EchoStar Satellite LLC (the
predecessor to DISH Network, LLC ("DISH Network")) agreed to distribute VOOM on DISH Network
for a 15-year term. The affiliation agreement with DISH Network for such distribution provides that if
VOOM HD fails to spend $100,000 per year (subject to reduction to the extent that the number of offered
channels is reduced to fewer than 21), up to a maximum of $500,000 in the aggregate, on VOOM, DISH
Network may seek to terminate the agreement under certain circumstances. On January 30, 2008, DISH
Network purported to terminate the affiliation agreement, effective February 1, 2008, based on its
assertion that VOOM HD had failed to comply with this spending provision in 2006. On January 31,