Cablevision 2011 Annual Report Download - page 26

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services we provide. Continuation or worsening of these conditions may further adversely impact our
results of operations, cash flows and financial position.
We rely on the capital markets, particularly for offerings of debt securities, as well as the credit markets,
to meet our financial commitments and liquidity needs. Disruptions and/or volatility in the capital and
credit markets could adversely affect our ability to refinance on satisfactory terms, or at all, our scheduled
debt maturities and could adversely affect our ability to draw on our revolving credit facilities.
A continuation or worsening of the economic downturn may impact our ability to comply with the
covenants and restrictions in our indentures, credit facilities and agreements governing our other
indebtedness and may impact our ability to pay our indebtedness as it comes due. If we do not repay our
debt obligations when they become due and do not otherwise comply with the covenants and restrictions
in our indentures, credit facilities and agreements governing our other indebtedness, we would be in
default under those agreements, and the debt incurred under those agreements could then be declared
immediately due and payable. In addition, any default under our indentures, credit facilities or
agreements governing our other indebtedness could lead to an acceleration of debt under other debt
instruments that contain cross acceleration or cross-default provisions. If the indebtedness under our
indentures, credit facilities and our other debt instruments were accelerated, we would not have sufficient
assets to repay amounts due thereunder. To avoid a default, we could be required to defer capital
expenditures, sell assets, seek strategic investments from third parties or reduce or eliminate dividend
payments and stock repurchases or other discretionary uses of cash. However, if such measures were to
become necessary, there can be no assurance that we would be able to sell sufficient assets or raise
strategic investment capital sufficient to meet our scheduled debt maturities as they come due. In
addition, any significant reduction in necessary capital expenditures could adversely affect our ability to
retain our existing customer base and obtain new customers, which would adversely affect our future
operating results, cash flows and financial position.
Disruptions in the capital and credit markets can also result in higher interest rates on publicly issued debt
securities and increased costs under credit facilities. Such disruptions would increase our interest
expense, adversely affecting our results of operations and financial position.
Our access to funds under our revolving credit facilities is dependent on the ability of the financial
institutions that are parties to those facilities to meet their funding commitments. Those financial
institutions may not be able to meet their funding commitments if they experience shortages of capital and
liquidity or if they experience excessive volumes of borrowing requests within a short period of time.
Moreover, the obligations of the financial institutions under our revolving credit facilities are several and
not joint and, as a result, a funding default by one or more institutions does not need to be made up by the
others.
Longer term, volatility and disruptions in the capital and credit markets as a result of uncertainty,
changing or increased regulation of financial institutions, reduced alternatives or failures of significant
financial institutions could adversely affect our access to the liquidity needed for our businesses. Such
disruptions could require us to take measures to conserve cash until the markets stabilize or until
alternative credit arrangements or other funding for our business needs can be arranged.
We have substantial indebtedness and we are highly leveraged, which reduces our capability to
withstand adverse developments or business conditions.
We have incurred substantial amounts of indebtedness to finance operations, to upgrade our cable plant
and acquire other cable television systems, programming networks, sources of programming and other
businesses. We also have incurred substantial indebtedness in order to offer our new or upgraded services
to our current and potential customers and to pursue activities outside our core businesses such as our
acquisitions of an electronics retailer, Clearview Cinemas, Newsday and our development of Rainbow
DBS. In 2006, CSC Holdings incurred $3.5 billion of debt, approximately $3.0 billion of which was