Commitments And Contingencies
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Dec. 31, 2012
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Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commitments And Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Lease obligations The Company leases facilities under non-cancelable operating leases with various expiration dates through 2018. Several lease agreements contain rent escalation clauses or rent holidays. For purposes of recognizing minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases, the Company uses the date of initial possession to begin amortization, which is generally when the Company enters the space and begins to make improvements in preparation for intended use. For scheduled rent escalation clauses during the lease terms or for rental payments commencing at a date other than the date of initial occupancy, the Company records minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company has the option to extend or renew most of its leases which may increase the future minimum lease commitments. Because the terms of the Company’s original facilities lease agreements for its current Los Gatos, California headquarters site required the Company’s involvement in the construction funding of the buildings, the Company is the “deemed owner” (for accounting purposes only) of these buildings. Accordingly, the Company recorded an asset of $40.7 million, representing the total costs of the buildings and improvements, including the costs paid by the lessor (the legal owner of the buildings), with corresponding liabilities. Upon completion of construction of each building, the Company did not meet the sale-leaseback criteria for de-recognition of the building assets and liabilities. Therefore the leases are accounted for as financing obligations. In the first quarter of 2010, the Company extended the facilities leases for the current Los Gatos buildings for an additional five year term after the remaining term of the original lease, thus increasing the future minimum payments under lease financing obligations by approximately $14 million. The leases continue to be accounted for as financing obligations and no gain or loss was recorded as a result of the lease financing modification. At December 31, 2012, the lease financing obligation balance was $31.8 million, of which $1.2 million and $30.6 million were recorded in “Accrued expenses” and “Other non-current liabilities,” respectively, on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The remaining future minimum payments under the lease financing obligation are $15.1 million. The lease financing obligation balance at the end of the extended lease term will be approximately $25.8 million which approximates the net book value of the buildings to be relinquished to the lessor. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company entered into a facilities lease agreement to expand its Los Gatos headquarters to a nearby site. The ten year lease term will commence after the construction of the buildings is complete. Future minimum lease payments associated with this lease are $63.4 million as of December 31, 2012 and are included below. Future minimum payments under lease financing obligations and non-cancelable operating leases as of December 31, 2012 are as follows:
Rent expense associated with the operating leases was $29.7 million, $16.9 million and $14.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Rent expense for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased primarily due to certain short-term facilities leases to house the Company's content delivery network equipment. Streaming Content The Company had $5.6 billion and $4.8 billion of obligations at December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, including agreements to license streaming content that represent current or long-term liabilities or that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets because they do not meet content library asset recognition criteria. The license agreements that are not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets do not meet content library asset recognition criteria because either the fee is not known or reasonably determinable for a specific title or it is known but the title is not yet available for streaming to subscribers. For those agreements with variable terms, the Company does not estimate what the total obligation may be beyond any minimum quantities and/or pricing as of the reporting date. For those agreements that include renewal provisions that are solely at the option of the content provider, the Company includes the commitments associated with the renewal period to the extent such commitments are fixed or a minimum amount is specified. The Company has entered into certain license agreements that include an unspecified or a maximum number of titles that the Company may or may not receive in the future and/or that include pricing contingent upon certain variables, such as theatrical exhibition receipts for the title. As of the reporting date, it is unknown whether the Company will receive access to these titles or what the ultimate price per title will be. Accordingly, such amounts are not reflected in the commitments described below. However such amounts are expected to be significant and the expected timing of payments could range from less than one year to more than five years. The expected timing of payments for these agreements to acquire and license streaming content that represent current or long-term liabilities as well as obligations not reflected on the Consolidated Balance Sheets is as follows:
The Company has licenses with certain performing rights organizations (“PROs”), and is currently involved in negotiations with other PROs, that hold certain rights to music "publicly performed" in connection with streaming content into various territories. For the latter, the Company accrues for estimated royalties that are expected to be due to PROs and adjusts these accruals based on any changes in estimates. These amounts are included in the Company's streaming content obligations. If the Company is unable to reach mutually acceptable terms with the PROs, it could become involved in litigation and /or could be enjoined from delivering certain musical compositions, which could adversely impact the Company. Additionally, pending and ongoing litigation between certain PROs and other third parties in various territories could impact the Company's negotiations with PROs. While the Company anticipates finalizing these negotiations, the outcome of these negotiations is uncertain. The results of any negotiation may be materially different from management’s estimates. Legal Proceedings From time to time, in the normal course of its operations, the Company is a party to litigation matters and claims, including claims relating to employee relations, business practices and patent infringement. Litigation can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict and the Company's view of these matters may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. The Company expenses legal fees as incurred. The Company records a provision for contingent losses when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. An unfavorable outcome to any legal matter, if material, could have an adverse effect on the Company's operations or its financial position, liquidity or results of operations. On December 5, 2012, the Company and its Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings each received a “Wells Notice” from the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) indicating its intent to recommend to the SEC that it institute a cease and desist proceeding and/or bring a civil injunctive action against the Company and Mr. Hastings for violations of Regulation Fair Disclosure, Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rules 13a-11 and 13a-15 thereunder. On January 13, 2012, the first of three purported shareholder class action lawsuits was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against the Company and certain of its officers and directors. Two additional purported shareholder class action lawsuits were filed in the same court on January 27, 2012 and February 29, 2012, respectively, alleging substantially similar claims. These lawsuits have been consolidated and the Court has selected lead plaintiffs. Lead plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint on June 26, 2012. The consolidated complaint alleges violations of the federal securities laws and seeks unspecified compensatory damages and other relief on behalf of a class of purchasers of the Company's common stock between October 20, 2010 and October 24, 2011. The complaint alleges among other things, that the Company issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business practices and violated accounting rules concerning segment reporting, which led to artificially inflated stock prices. On February 4, 2013, the Company filed a demurrer to the consolidated complaint and a motion to stay the litigation. Management has determined a potential loss is reasonably possible however, based on its current knowledge, management does not believe that the amount of such possible loss or a range of potential loss is reasonably estimable. On November 23, 2011, the first of six purported shareholder derivative suits was filed in the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County, against the Company and certain of its officers and directors. Five additional purported shareholder derivative suits were subsequently filed: two in the Superior Court of California, Santa Clara County on February 9, 2012 and May 2, 2012; and three in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on February 13, 2012, February 24, 2012 and April 2, 2012. The purported shareholder derivative suits filed in the Northern District of California have been voluntarily dismissed. On July 5, 2012, the purported shareholder derivative suits filed in Santa Clara County were consolidated and lead counsel was appointed. The lawsuits were subsequently consolidated and the Court selected lead plaintiffs. Lead plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint on June 26, 2012. The consolidated complaint alleges violations of the federal securities laws and seeks unspecified compensatory damages and other relief on behalf of a class of purchasers of the Company's common stock between October 20, 2010 and October 24, 2011. The consolidated complaint alleges, among other things, that the Company issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business practices and violated accounting rules concerning segment reporting, which led to artificially inflated stock prices. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint on August 27, 2012. That motion is pending. Management has determined a potential loss is reasonably possible however, based on its current knowledge, management does not believe that the amount of such possible loss or a range of potential loss is reasonably estimable. The Company is involved in other litigation matters not listed above but does not consider the matters to be material either individually or in the aggregate at this time. The Company's view of the matters not listed may change in the future as the litigation and events related thereto unfold. |