Dish Network 2014 Annual Report Download - page 156

DISH NETWORK CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
F-50
Holdco will be approximately $524 million and the total loans from American III to SNR Wireless will be
approximately $3.503 billion.
After Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless have made the final payments to the FCC for the Northstar Licenses
and the SNR Licenses, respectively, our total non-controlling equity and debt investments in the Northstar Entities
and the SNR Entities will be approximately $9.778 billion. We have funded and will fund these investments from
existing cash and marketable investment securities. Such funding has included and will include $899 million in
total equity and debt investments in the Northstar Entities and SNR Entities during the fourth quarter 2014, cash and
marketable investment securities as of December 31, 2014, cash generated from operations during 2015, and a $400
million refund from the FCC to one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries related to the AWS-3 Auction. Issuance of
any AWS-3 Licenses to Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless depends, among other things, upon the FCC’s review
and approval of the applications filed by Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless. Objections to the applications filed
by Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless must be submitted to the FCC within ten calendar days following the
release by the FCC of the public notice listing the applications acceptable for filing. We cannot predict the timing
or the outcome of the FCC’s review of the applications filed by Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless.
In the event that the FCC grants the Northstar Licenses and the SNR Licenses, we may need to make significant
additional loans to the Northstar Entities and the SNR Entities, or they may need to partner with others, so that the
Northstar Entities and the SNR Entities may commercialize, build-out and integrate the Northstar Licenses and the
SNR Licenses, and comply with regulations applicable to the Northstar Licenses and the SNR Licenses. Depending
upon the nature and scope of such commercialization, build-out, integration efforts, and regulatory compliance, any
such loans or partnerships could vary significantly. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain a
profitable return on our non-controlling investments in the Northstar Entities and the SNR Entities.
Guarantees
During the third quarter 2009, EchoStar entered into a new satellite transponder service agreement for Nimiq 5 through
2024. We sublease this capacity from EchoStar and also guarantee a certain portion of EchoStar’s obligation under its
satellite transponder service agreement through 2019. As of December 31, 2014, the remaining obligation of our
guarantee was $312 million.
As of December 31, 2014, we have not recorded a liability on the balance sheet for this guarantee.
Purchase Obligations
Our 2015 purchase obligations primarily consist of binding purchase orders for receiver systems and related
equipment, broadband equipment, digital broadcast operations, engineering services, and products and services
related to the operation of our DISH branded pay-TV service. Our purchase obligations also include certain fixed
contractual commitments to purchase programming content. Our purchase obligations can fluctuate significantly
from period to period due to, among other things, management’s control of inventory levels, and can materially
impact our future operating asset and liability balances, and our future working capital requirements.
Programming Contracts
In the normal course of business, we enter into contracts to purchase programming content in which our payment
obligations are generally contingent on the number of Pay-TV subscribers to whom we provide the respective
content. These programming commitments are not included in the “Commitments” table above. The terms of our
contracts typically range from one to ten years with annual rate increases. Our programming expenses will continue
to increase to the extent we are successful in growing our Pay-TV subscriber base. In addition, our margins may face
further downward pressure from price increases and the renewal of long-term pay-TV programming contracts on
less favorable pricing terms.