Commitments and Contingencies

The following table sets forth our future annual repayment of contractual commitments as of March 31, 2019:



	Year Ended March 31,
	2020		2021		2022		2023		2024		Thereafter		Total
	(Amounts in millions)
Contractual commitments by expected repayment date (off-balance sheet arrangements)
Film obligation and production loan commitments⁽¹⁾	$	648.6	$	225.4	$	108.7	$	32.0	$	8.8	$	5.6	$	1,029.1
Interest payments⁽²⁾	154.3		151.6		148.1		144.1		112.8		104.6		815.5
Operating lease commitments	37.2		36.5		35.8		35.5		20.1		52.3		217.4
Other contractual obligations	128.8		44.5		26.2		10.7		0.9		—		211.1
Total future commitments under contractual obligations⁽³⁾	$	968.9	$	458.0	$	318.8	$	222.3	$	142.6	$	162.5	$	2,273.1

____________________________

(1)

Film obligation commitments include distribution and marketing commitments, minimum guarantee commitments and program rights commitments. Distribution and marketing commitments represent contractual commitments for future expenditures associated with distribution and marketing of films which we will distribute. The payment dates of these amounts are primarily based on the anticipated release date of the film. Minimum guarantee commitments represent contractual commitments related to the purchase of film rights for pictures to be delivered in the future. Program rights commitments represent contractual commitments under programming license agreements related to films that are not available for exhibition until some future date (see below for further details). Production loan commitments represent amounts committed for future film production and development to be funded through production financing and recorded as a production loan liability when incurred. Future payments under these commitments are based on anticipated delivery or release dates of the related film or contractual due dates of the commitment. The amounts include estimated future interest payments associated with the commitment.


(2)	Includes cash interest payments on the Company's debt, excluding the interest payments on the revolving credit facility as future amounts are not fixed or determinable due to fluctuating balances and interest rates.


(3)	Not included in the amounts above are $127.6 million of redeemable noncontrolling interest, as future amounts and timing are subject to a number of uncertainties such that we are unable to make sufficiently reliable estimations of future payments (see Note 11).

The Company is obligated to pay programming fees for all qualifying films that are released theatrically in the U.S. by Sony’s Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics and TriStar labels through 2021. The Company does not license films produced by Sony Pictures Animation. The programming fees to be paid by the Company to Sony are based on the quantity and domestic theatrical exhibition receipts of qualifying films. Since the term of the output programming agreement with Sony applies to all films released theatrically through December 31, 2021, the Company is obligated to pay fees for films that have not yet been released in theaters. The Company is unable to estimate the amounts to be paid under these agreements for films that have not yet been released in theaters, however, such amounts are expected to be significant. The Company has also entered into agreements with a number of other motion picture producers and is obligated to pay fees for the rights to exhibit certain films that are released by these producers.

Operating Leases. The Company has operating leases for offices, back-up transponder capacity and equipment. Certain of the Company's operating leases for its Corporate and United Kingdom offices include certain lease and leasehold improvement incentives. These amounts and the required lease payments are aggregated and amortized on a straight line basis to rent expense over the lease period.

The operating lease for the Company's principal office expires in August 2023. The Company incurred rental expense of $27.0 million during the year ended March 31, 2019 (2018 — $20.7 million; 2017 — $15.6 million).

Multiemployer Benefit Plans. The Company contributes to various multiemployer pension plans under the terms of collective bargaining agreements that cover its union-represented employees. The Company makes periodic contributions to these plans in accordance with the terms of applicable collective bargaining agreements and laws but does not sponsor or administer these plans. The risks of participating in these multiemployer pension plans are different from single-employer pension plans such that (i) contributions made by the Company to the multiemployer pension plans may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers; (ii) if the Company chooses to stop participating in certain of these multiemployer pension plans, it may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the underfunded status of the plan, which is referred to as a withdrawal liability; and (iii) actions taken by a participating employer that lead to a deterioration of the financial health of a multiemployer pension plan may result in the unfunded obligations of the multiemployer pension plan to be borne by its remaining participating employers.

The Company does not participate in any multiemployer benefit plans that are considered to be individually significant to the Company, and as of March 31, 2019, all except two of the largest plans in which the Company participates were funded at a level of 80% or greater. The other two plans, the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan and the Screen Actors Guild - Producers Pension Plan were funded at 66.80% and 76.97%, respectively for the 2018 plan year, but neither of these plans were considered to be in endangered, critical, or critical and declining status in the 2018 plan year. Total contributions made by the Company to multiemployer pension and other benefit plans for the years ended March 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 were $56.9 million, $70.9 million, and $59.4 million, respectively.

If the Company ceases to be obligated to make contributions or otherwise withdraws from participation in any of these plans, applicable law requires the Company to fund its allocable share of the unfunded vested benefits, which is known as a withdrawal liability. In addition, actions taken by other participating employers may lead to adverse changes in the financial condition of one of these plans, which could result in an increase in the Company's withdrawal liability.

Contingencies

From time to time, the Company is involved in certain claims and legal proceedings arising in the normal course of business. In addition, the matters discussed below under the captions Fiduciary Litigation and Appraisal Litigation have arisen in connection with the Starz Merger.

The Company establishes an accrued liability for claims and legal proceedings when the Company determines that a loss is both probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Once established, accruals are adjusted from time to time, as appropriate, in light of additional information. The amount of any loss ultimately incurred in relation to matters for which an accrual has been established may be higher or lower than the amounts accrued for such matters.

Due to the inherent difficulty of predicting the outcome of claims and legal proceedings, the Company often cannot predict what the eventual outcome of the pending matters will be, what the timing of the ultimate resolution of these matters will be, or what the eventual loss, if any, related to each pending matter may be. Accordingly, at this time, the Company has determined a loss related to these matters in excess of accrued liabilities is reasonably possible, however a reasonable estimate of the possible loss or range of loss cannot be made at this time.

Fiduciary Litigation

Between July 19, 2016 and August 30, 2016, seven putative class action complaints were filed by purported Starz stockholders in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the "Fiduciary Litigation"). On August 22, 2018, the parties to the Fiduciary Litigation reached an agreement in principle providing for the settlement of the Fiduciary Litigation on the terms and conditions set forth in an executed term sheet. On October 9, 2018, the parties to the Litigation executed a stipulation of settlement, which was filed with the court (the "Stipulation"). The Stipulation provides for, among other things, the final dismissal of the Fiduciary Litigation in exchange for a settlement payment made in the amount of $92.5 million, of which $37.8 million was reimbursed by insurance. The Company is continuing to seek additional insurance reimbursement, including pursuant to a lawsuit submitted by the Company on November 7, 2018 against certain insurers. Accordingly, in the year ended March 31, 2019, the Company has recorded the net expense of $54.8 million in the "shareholder litigation settlements" line item in the consolidated statement of operations related to these items. The Fiduciary Litigation settlement was approved by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the settlement amount and insurance reimbursement discussed above were paid during the quarter ended December 31, 2018. On November 5, 2018, an insurer that entered into an agreement and contributed $10.0 million to the Company's aggregate insurance reimbursement filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory judgment for reimbursement of its agreed upon payment. The Company believes the lawsuit to be without merit and intends to vigorously defend it.

Appraisal Litigation

Between December 8, 2016 and March 16, 2017, five verified petitions for appraisal (representing approximately 22.5 million shares of Starz Series A common stock) were filed by purported Starz stockholders (dissenting shareholders) in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the "Appraisal Litigation"). These actions were consolidated into In re Starz Appraisal, Consolidated C.A. No. 12968-VCG. On November 8, 2018, the parties to the Appraisal Litigation entered into a settlement agreement that provides for, among other things, the final dismissal of the Appraisal Litigation in exchange for a settlement payment made by the Company of approximately $964.0 million, which the Company paid during the three months ended December 31, 2018. During the year ended March 31, 2019, the Company recorded a shareholder litigation charge of $59.3 million in the "shareholder litigation settlements" line item in the consolidated statement of operations related to the Appraisal Litigation, representing the amount by which the settlement amount exceeded the previously accrued (at date of acquisition) dissenting shareholders' liability plus interest through the date agreed in the settlement. The portion of the settlement payment representing the $797.3 million value of the original merger consideration attributable to the dissenting shareholders that was accrued at the time of acquisition is reflected within cash flows from financing activities in the statement of cash flows, with the remainder of the settlement payment reflected within cash flows from operating activities in the statement of cash flows. The Appraisal Litigation settlement was approved by the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the claims in the Appraisal Litigation were dismissed on November 19, 2018.