11.

Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Matters

Celador International Ltd. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. On May 19, 2004, an affiliate of the creator and licensor of the television program, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” filed an action against the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, including American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. and Buena Vista Television, LLC, alleging it was damaged by defendants improperly engaging in certain intra-company transactions and charging merchandise distribution expenses, resulting in an underpayment to the plaintiff. On July 7, 2010, the jury returned a verdict for breach of contract against certain subsidiaries of the Company, awarding plaintiff damages of $269.4 million. The Company has stipulated with the plaintiff to an award of prejudgment interest of $50 million, which amount will be reduced pro rata should the Court of Appeals reduce the damages amount. On December 21, 2010, the Company’s alternative motions for a new trial and for judgment as a matter of law were denied. Although we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of this lawsuit, the Company believes the jury’s verdict is in error and is vigorously pursuing its position on appeal, notice of which was filed by the Company on January 14, 2011. On or about January 28, 2011, plaintiff filed a notice of cross-appeal. The Company has determined that it does not have a probable loss under the applicable accounting standard relating to probability of loss for recording a reserve with respect to this litigation and therefore has not recorded a reserve.

The Company, together with, in some instances, certain of its directors and officers, is a defendant or codefendant in various other legal actions involving copyright, breach of contract and various other claims incident to the conduct of its businesses. Management does not expect the Company to suffer any material liability by reason of these actions.

Contractual Guarantees

The Company has guaranteed bond issuances by the Anaheim Public Authority that were used by the City of Anaheim to finance construction of infrastructure and a public parking facility adjacent to the Disneyland Resort. Revenues from sales, occupancy and property taxes from the Disneyland Resort and non-Disney hotels are used by the City of Anaheim to repay the bonds. In the event of a debt service shortfall, the Company will be responsible to fund the shortfall. As of December 31, 2011, the remaining debt service obligation guaranteed by the Company was $359 million, of which $87 million was principal. To the extent that tax revenues exceed the debt service payments in subsequent periods, the Company would be reimbursed for any previously funded shortfalls. To date, tax revenues have exceeded the debt service payments for the Anaheim bonds.

ESPN STAR Sports, a joint venture in which ESPN owns a 50% equity interest, has an agreement for global programming rights to International Cricket Council events from 2007 through 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN and the other joint-venture partner have jointly guaranteed the programming rights obligation of approximately $0.7 billion over the remaining term of the agreement.

Long-Term Receivables and the Allowance for Credit Losses

The Company has accounts receivable with original maturities greater than one year in duration principally related to the Company’s sale of program rights in the television syndication markets within the Media Networks segment and the Company’s vacation ownership units within the Parks and Resorts segment. Allowances for credit losses are established against these receivables as necessary.

The Company estimates the allowance for credit losses related to receivables for the sale of syndicated programming based upon a number of factors, including historical experience, and an ongoing review of the financial condition of individual companies with which we do business. The balance of syndication receivables recorded in other non-current assets, net of an immaterial allowance for credit losses, was $0.8 billion as of December 31, 2011. The activity in the current period related to the allowance for credit losses was not material.

The Company estimates the allowance for credit losses related to receivables for sales of its vacation ownership units based primarily on historical collection experience. Projections of uncollectible amounts are also based on consideration of the economic environment and the age of receivables. The balance of mortgage receivables recorded in other non-current assets, net of a related allowance for credit losses of approximately 5%, was approximately $0.5 billion as of December 31, 2011. The activity in the period related to the allowance for credit losses was not material.

Income Taxes

During the quarter, the Company settled certain tax matters with various jurisdictions. As a result of these settlements, the Company reduced its unrecognized tax benefits by $64 million.

In the next twelve months, it is reasonably possible that our unrecognized tax benefits could change due to resolutions of open tax matters. These resolutions would reduce our unrecognized tax benefits by approximately $52 million.