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Commitments and Contingencies | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Redeemable Subsidiary Preferred Stock As of March 31, 2017, the fair value of the NBCUniversal Enterprise redeemable subsidiary preferred stock was $763 million. The estimated fair value is based on Level 2 inputs that use pricing models whose inputs are derived primarily from or corroborated by observable market data through correlation or other means for substantially the full term of the financial instrument. Contingencies We are a defendant in a lawsuit filed in December 2011 by Sprint Communications Company L.P. (“Sprint”) in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Sprint’s initial complaint alleged that Comcast Digital Voice and XFINITY Voice infringe twelve Sprint patents covering various aspects of a telecommunications system. In March 2015, Sprint withdrew its allegations of infringement for two of the patents. In December 2016, the Court granted summary judgment for Comcast with respect to non-infringement of one of the patents and granted summary judgment for Sprint of one of the patents as to infringement, but not as to the patent’s validity, with respect to some but not all of Comcast’s accused telecommunications systems. In January 2017, the Court entered judgment in favor of Comcast on Sprint’s claims for infringement of two of the patents. In March 2017, Sprint indicated that it would not proceed to trial on three of the patents. Trial with respect to the four remaining patents, including the patent for which the Court granted partial summary judgment to Sprint, is set to begin in late October 2017. Sprint seeks approximately $950 million in damages, plus pre-judgment interest. Sprint has further indicated that it may seek to add an allegation that Comcast willfully infringed Sprint’s patents and should be subject to increased damages, which could as much as triple the amount of any damages awarded. We believe the claims in the Sprint lawsuit are without merit and are defending the action vigorously. We cannot predict the outcome of the Sprint lawsuit, estimate a range of possible loss or determine how the final resolution of the action would affect our results of operations or cash flows for any one period or our consolidated financial position. In addition, as any action nears a trial, there is an increased possibility that the action may be settled by the parties. Nevertheless, we do not expect the final disposition of the Sprint lawsuit to have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, but it could be material to our consolidated results of operations or cash flows for any one period. We also are a defendant in several unrelated lawsuits claiming infringement of various patents relating to various aspects of our businesses. In certain of these cases, other industry participants are also defendants, and also in certain of these cases, we expect that any potential liability would be in part or in whole the responsibility of our equipment and technology vendors under applicable contractual indemnification provisions, including the Sprint lawsuit above. In addition, we are subject to other legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business. While the amount of ultimate liability with respect to such actions is not expected to materially affect our results of operations, cash flows or financial position, any litigation resulting from any such legal proceedings or claims could be time-consuming and injure our reputation.

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