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Commitments and Contingencies (Notes) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Commitments The following table summarizes the Company’s payment obligations as of December 31, 2022 for its contractual obligations.
| Total |  | 2023 |  | 2024 |  | 2025 |  | 2026 |  | 2027 |  | Thereafter
Programming Minimum Commitments (a) | $ | 55 |  |  | $ | 55 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |
Other (b) | 13,398 |  |  | 2,707 |  |  | 2,202 |  |  | 820 |  |  | 753 |  |  | 739 |  |  | 6,177 |
| $ | 13,453 |  |  | $ | 2,762 |  |  | $ | 2,202 |  |  | $ | 820 |  |  | $ | 753 |  |  | $ | 739 |  |  | $ | 6,177 |
(a)The Company pays programming fees under multi-year contracts, typically based on a flat fee per customer, which may be fixed for the term, or may in some cases escalate over the term. Programming costs included in the statements of operations were $11.6 billion, $11.8 billion and $11.4 billion for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 respectively. Certain of the Company’s programming agreements are based on a flat fee per month or have guaranteed minimum payments. The table sets forth the aggregate guaranteed minimum commitments under the Company’s programming contracts. (b)“Other” represents other guaranteed minimum commitments, including rights negotiated directly with content owners for distribution on company-owned channels or networks, commitments related to our role as an advertising and distribution sales agent for third party-owned channels or networks, commitments to our customer premise equipment and device vendors and contractual obligations related to third-party network augmentation. The following items are not included in the contractual obligation table due to various factors discussed below. However, the Company incurs these costs as part of its operations: •The Company rents utility poles used in its operations. Generally, pole rentals are cancelable on short notice, but the Company anticipates that such rentals will recur. Rent expense incurred for pole rental attachments for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 was $207 million, $200 million and $192 million, respectively. •The Company pays franchise fees under multi-year franchise agreements based on a percentage of revenues generated from video service per year. The Company also pays other franchise related costs, such as public education grants, under multi-year agreements. Franchise fees and other franchise-related costs included in the accompanying statement of operations were $730 million, $733 million and $741 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 respectively. •The Company has $484 million in letters of credit, of which $37 million is secured under the Charter Operating credit facility, primarily to its various casualty carriers as collateral for reimbursement of workers' compensation, auto liability and general liability claims, as well as $346 million of surety bonds. Legal Proceedings In August 2015, a purported stockholder of Charter, Matthew Sciabacucchi, filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery, on behalf of a putative class of Charter stockholders, challenging the transactions involving Charter, TWC, A/N, and Liberty Broadband announced by Charter on May 26, 2015. The lawsuit, which named as defendants Charter and its board of directors, alleged that the transactions resulted from breaches of fiduciary duty by Charter’s directors and that Liberty Broadband improperly benefited from the challenged transactions at the expense of other Charter stockholders. On January 12, 2023, the parties reached a tentative agreement to settle the lawsuit. The settlement is subject to preliminary and final approval by the court and will result in a net payment to Charter as a result of the settlement of the derivative claims by the plaintiffs. The Company cannot provide assurance that this tentative settlement will be finalized and approved by the court. Pending finalization of the settlement and in the event the settlement is not finalized and approved by the court, the Company will continue to vigorously defend this lawsuit. Although Charter is unable to predict the outcome of this lawsuit, it does not expect the outcome will have a material effect on its operations, financial condition or cash flows. The California Attorney General and the Alameda County, California District Attorney are investigating whether certain of Charter’s waste disposal policies, procedures and practices are in violation of the California Business and Professions Code and the California Health and Safety Code. That investigation was commenced in January 2014. A similar investigation involving TWC was initiated in February 2012. Charter is cooperating with these investigations. While the Company is unable to predict the outcome of these investigations, it does not expect that the outcome will have a material effect on its operations, financial condition, or cash flows. In March 2020, Charter Communications, LLC (“CC, LLC”), an indirect subsidiary of the Company, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in Dallas, Texas related to the fatal stabbing of an individual in her home by an off duty CC, LLC technician: William Goff, as Personal Representative of Betty Jo McClain Thomas, deceased, et al. v. Roy James Holden, Jr. and Charter Communications, LLC, Case No. CC-20-01579-E, pending in County Court at Law No. 5 for Dallas County, Texas. The complaint alleged that CC, LLC was responsible for Mrs. Thomas' death. Following a two phase trial, the jury returned a verdict finding CC, LLC ninety percent at fault for Mrs. Thomas’ death, and awarded compensatory damages of $375 million to plaintiffs and then awarded $7.0 billion in punitive damages to plaintiffs on July 26, 2022. On October 7, 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion for a judgment that proposed a reduced total award of $1.1 billion. The trial judge signed the judgment, and CC, LLC posted a $25 million bond to stay the judgment pending appeals. On January 11, 2023, and after issuing a series of decreasing settlement demands over several months, the plaintiffs issued a new, lower settlement demand to CC, LLC and its insurers, and then on January 18, 2023, plaintiffs also filed a notice of remittitur with the court to further reduce the judgment to $262 million, comprised of $87 million in actual damages, and $175 million in punitive damages. On January 24, 2023 and upon the insistence and demand of its insurers, CC, LLC reached a tentative settlement of this lawsuit at an amount substantially less than the reduced judgment and within CC, LLC’s insurance coverage. In the event the settlement is not ultimately finalized, CC, LLC will continue to vigorously defend this lawsuit including pursuing all available appeals. The Company is a defendant or co-defendant in several lawsuits involving alleged infringement of various intellectual property relating to various aspects of its businesses. Other industry participants are also defendants in certain of these cases or related cases. In the event that a court ultimately determines that the Company infringes on any intellectual property, the Company may be subject to substantial damages and/or an injunction that could require the Company or its vendors to modify certain products and services the Company offers to its subscribers, as well as negotiate royalty or license agreements with respect to the intellectual property at issue. While the Company believes the lawsuits are without merit and intends to defend the actions vigorously, no assurance can be given that any adverse outcome would not be material to the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or liquidity. The Company cannot predict the outcome of any such claims nor can it reasonably estimate a range of possible loss. The Company is party to other lawsuits, claims and regulatory inquiries that arise in the ordinary course of conducting its business. The ultimate outcome of these other legal matters pending against the Company cannot be predicted, and although such lawsuits and claims are not expected individually to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity, such lawsuits could have, in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Whether or not the Company ultimately prevails in any particular lawsuit or claim, litigation can be time consuming and costly and injure the Company’s reputation.

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