EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1514991
Filing Year: 2022
Filename: 1514991_10-K_2022_0001514991-22-000007.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business.
AMC Networks Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal executive offices located at 11 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001. AMC Networks Inc. is a holding company and conducts substantially all of its operations through its majority owned or controlled subsidiaries. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to "we," "our," "us," "AMC Networks" or the "Company" refer to AMC Networks Inc., together with its subsidiaries. "AMC Networks Inc." refers to AMC Networks Inc. individually as a separate entity. Our telephone number is (212) 324-8500.
AMC Networks Inc. was incorporated on March 9, 2011 as an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (Cablevision Systems Corporation and its subsidiaries are referred to as "Cablevision"). On June 30, 2011, Cablevision spun off the Company (the "Distribution"), and AMC Networks Inc. became an independent public company.
OVERVIEW
AMC Networks is a global entertainment company known for its popular and award-winning content. We distribute our content to audiences globally on an ever-expanding array of distribution platforms, including: linear networks, subscription streaming services, and social media platforms, as well as through content licensing arrangements. We have an extensive library of television and film properties that we own and control, including several storied franchises that are well-known to a global audience.
We have operated in the entertainment industry for more than 40 years, and over that time we have created targeted and focused video entertainment products that we own and operate and that are powered by distinguished brands, including AMC, AMC+, BBC AMERICA (which we operate through a joint venture with BBC Studios), IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and IFC Films. Our distinctive, critically-acclaimed content spans multiple genres, including drama, documentary, comedy, reality, anthology, feature film and short form. Our content and our brands are well known and well regarded by our key constituents - our viewers and subscribers as well as distributors and advertisers. Our network, streaming and show brands have developed strong, dedicated followings within their respective targeted demographics, increasing their value to distributors and advertisers. Through our AMC Studios in-house studio, production and distribution operation, we own and control a significant portion of the original scripted series that we deliver to viewers on our linear and streaming platforms. Our ability to produce and own high quality content has provided us with the opportunity to distribute our owned content on leading third-party platforms. Our owned content as well as the content that we license is distributed domestically and internationally across linear networks, digital streaming services, home video and syndication.
In the United States ("U.S."), our programming networks are AMC, BBC AMERICA, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv. Our deep and established presence in the industry and the recognition we have received for our content and brands through industry awards, critical acclaim and other honors lend us a high degree of credibility with content creators and producers, providing us with strong relationships with top creative talent and demand for our owned programming for distribution on third-party platforms. Our networks are distributed primarily through traditional and virtual multi-channel video programming distributors ("MVPDs") and are available on every major U.S. distribution platform. Our programming strategy is to target audiences with high-quality, compelling stories and powerful brands, with shows like The Walking Dead, Killing Eve, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, which resonate with critics and fans alike.
For the last several years, an increasing area of focus has been to establish a portfolio of targeted subscription streaming services with strong brands that serve passionate fans with content depth, curation and community. Today, we are the global leader in targeted streaming. Our services include our premium subscription streaming bundle called AMC+. Launched in 2020, AMC+ includes commercial-free access to original programming from across our entertainment networks; library content including The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Mad Men; and access to a number of our targeted streaming services. AMC+ is available to customers through our direct to consumer (“DTC”) app, as well as through MVPDs and virtual MVPDs, and digital streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Channels, Apple TV Channels and The Roku Channel. AMC+ is currently available internationally in Canada and Australia, with additional expansion into overseas markets planned for 2022.
Our targeted streaming offerings also include:
•Acorn TV, featuring world-class mysteries and drama from Britain and beyond;
•Shudder, for fans of horror and suspense;
•Sundance Now, featuring prestige drama and true crime;
•ALLBLK, focused on Black content from Black storytellers; and
•HIDIVE, featuring anime-focused content.
The content on these platforms is a mix of licensed and owned originals, a category that continues to expand as we increasingly invest in producing original programming, which is contributing to strong growth and a stable user base. Our various services are distributed in several key markets internationally, including Canada, the UK, parts of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Latin America, and we see a large opportunity for continued expansion of our services globally.
In December 2021, we acquired Sentai Holdings, LLC (“Sentai”), a leading global supplier of anime content and merchandise, with brands including the anime-focused HIDIVE subscription streaming service. With strong industry relationships and access to key content creators in Japan, Sentai distributes and curates one of the anime industry’s most diverse libraries of top trending and classic titles.
Internationally, we deliver programming that reaches subscribers in more than 125 countries and territories around the world. The international division of the Company, AMC Networks International ("AMCNI"), consists of our premier AMC global brand as well as a portfolio of popular, locally recognized brands delivering programming in a wide range of genres.
AMC Networks also operates IFC Films, a film distribution business that distributes independent narrative and documentary films under the IFC Films label as well as the IFC Midnight distribution label. IFC Films is known for attracting high-profile talent and distributing films that regularly garner critical acclaim and industry honors, including numerous Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Cannes Film Festival-award winning titles, and has been behind some of the most culturally impactful and successful independent film and documentary releases of all time. IFC Films also operates IFC Films Unlimited, a subscription streaming service comprised of a broad range of theatrically-released and award winning titles from its distribution labels.
Strategy
Our strategy is to maintain and improve our position as a leading entertainment company by creating and showcasing content that is high-quality, brand defining and compelling to watch, and by owning and operating some of the most popular and award-winning brands in entertainment that create engagement with audiences globally across multiple distribution platforms. Our strategic areas of focus are:
Continued Development of High-Quality Original Content. We intend to continue developing strong original content across our linear networks and streaming services to further enhance our brands, strengthen our relationships with our viewers, subscribers, distributors and advertisers, and to build viewership and attract and retain subscribers for our streaming services. We believe that our continued investment in original programming will support optimization of affiliate and streaming subscription, content licensing and advertising revenue.
Increased Ownership and Control of Content and Valuable IP. AMC Networks’ wholly-owned or majority-controlled library includes more than 6,000 episodes and 1,300 films, as well as more than 20,000 episodes of highly localized unscripted lifestyle content from our AMC Networks International business. In addition, we have storied titles and brands known to a global audience, such as The Walking Dead, the Anne Rice catalog and the Agatha Christie library.
We are very focused on increasing production of our proprietary content and leveraging our library of titles in order to enrich the content mix on our targeted streaming platforms. As our current content licensing deals with third parties expire, hundreds of hours of our popular and acclaimed shows and films will become an exclusive part of our owned and controlled library, including critically acclaimed hits Halt and Catch Fire, Turn, and Rectify, as well as all 11 seasons of The Walking Dead to be discovered and rediscovered by fans, driving growth and value across our portfolio.
Develop and Grow Targeted Streaming Offerings and Brands. For several years, we have focused on creating and growing targeted streaming services. Our targeted streaming strategy is to serve distinct premium audiences and build loyal and engaged fan communities around each service. We are taking a unique approach to the market, serving audiences with targeted offerings that are companions to the larger streaming services. As the market for this category evolves, consumers are increasingly complementing their general entertainment subscriptions with our targeted streaming services. With this strategy, we do not compete with the larger streaming offerings and this puts us in a very advantageous position as we continue to grow this area of our business.
We are seeing the same affinities for our services from consumers overseas as we are in the U.S, and we are beginning to accelerate oversees expansion of our targeted streaming services. Our services, most notably AMC+, Acorn TV and Shudder have begun to launch in key international markets, including Canada, the UK, parts of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Latin America
Innovation in Content, Format and Distribution. We distribute our content across other platforms when it makes business sense to do so, so that our viewers can access our content where, when and how they want it. To that end, we have partnerships with all major streaming services and digital platforms, including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, to make our content available to their subscribers on various platforms permitting subscribers to access programs at their convenience, including electronic-sell-through (EST) and physical (DVD and Blu-ray) formats.
Growth and Innovation in Advertising. We continue to leverage our premium quality, popular content on our networks to optimize our advertising revenue. In addition, we are embracing new opportunities the evolving advertising space presents, including an expanding presence on advertising video on demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming (FAST) platforms. To date, we have launched a total of seven distinct channels featuring our content, in different configurations, across major AVOD platforms, such as Pluto TV, Sling TV and Samsung TV Plus. We have increased the value of our linear and digital advertising inventory by establishing a leadership position in advanced advertising technologies, including addressable advertising and programmatic buying, to make it easier for a wider variety of advertisers to partner with us and to make the impressions they buy smarter and more effective. We have seen the number of advertisers utilizing these tools increase and our targeted audience advertising sales have grown as a result. In addition to our own initiatives, we are also participating in broader industry efforts focused on expanding the availability of addressable advertising. We believe our products enhance our value to advertisers through better targeting, data and measurement and we believe they will contribute to growth of our overall business in the mid and long term.
We are also creating new opportunities for brands to leverage the strength of our content and our large and passionate fan communities through custom content, on social platforms and also through on-the-ground live events centralized in an initiative called “The Content Room,” which provides a one-stop shop for advertisers to leverage the popularity of our original content in a variety of compelling and innovative ways. These opportunities are rooted in our strong content and proven ability to build vibrant, large and engaged fan communities around our shows and franchises.
Revenue
We earn revenue principally from the distribution of our programming and the sale of advertising. Distribution revenues primarily include fees paid by distributors to carry our programming networks, revenue earned from the licensing of original programming and subscription fees paid for our streaming services. In 2021, distribution revenues and advertising sales accounted for 69% and 31% of our consolidated revenues, net, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2021, no customer accounted for greater than 10% of our consolidated revenues, net.
Distribution Revenue
Subscription revenue: Our programming networks and, to an increasing extent, our streaming services are distributed to our viewing audience throughout the U.S. and around the world via cable and other multichannel video programming distribution platforms, including direct broadcast satellite ("DBS"), platforms operated by telecommunications providers and virtual MVPDs (collectively "distributors") pursuant to agreements with the distributors. Our programming networks' existing distribution agreements expire at various dates through 2028. For our streaming services, we earn monthly fees as the streaming service is provided to our customers.
We frequently negotiate with distributors in an effort to increase the subscriber base for our networks. We have in some instances made upfront payments to distributors in exchange for these additional subscribers. We also may help fund the distributors' efforts to market our programming networks and streaming services or we may permit distributors to offer limited promotional periods without payment of subscriber fees. As we continue our efforts to add subscribers, our subscriber revenue may be negatively affected by such deferred carriage fee arrangements, discounted subscriber fees and other payments, however, we believe that these transactions generate a positive return on investment over the contract period.
Content licensing revenue: We sell rights to our owned original programming and content acquired under long-term distribution arrangements for distribution in a variety of forms including television markets worldwide, streaming services or digital platform providers, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, electronic-sell-through (EST) and physical (DVD and Blu-ray) formats.
Advertising Revenue
We earn advertising revenue by selling advertising time on our programming networks, on digital platforms we own and also on an increasing number of AVOD platforms. In the United States, we sell advertising time in both the upfront and scatter markets. In the upfront market, advertisers buy advertising time for the upcoming season, and by purchasing in advance, often receive discounted rates. In the scatter market, advertisers buy advertising time close to the time when the commercials will be run, and often pay a premium. The mix between the upfront and scatter markets is based upon a number of factors, such as pricing, demand for advertising time and economic conditions. Internationally, advertising markets vary by jurisdiction. The majority of international advertising is sold close to the time when the commercials will be run (similar to the U.S. scatter market) and we are generally represented by third-party sales agents.
Our arrangements with advertisers provide for a set number of advertising units to air over a specific period of time at a negotiated price per unit. In most domestic advertising sales arrangements, our programming networks guarantee specified viewer ratings for their programming. If these guaranteed viewer ratings are not met, we are generally required to provide additional advertising units to the advertiser at no charge. For these types of arrangements, a portion of the related revenue is deferred if the guaranteed viewer ratings are not met and is subsequently recognized either when we provide the required
additional advertising unit or the guarantee obligation contractually expires. In the United States, most of our advertising revenues vary based upon the popularity of our programming as measured by Nielsen. In addition to the Nielsen rating, our advertising rates are also influenced by the demographic mix of our viewing audiences, since advertisers tend to pay premium rates for more desirable demographic groups of viewers.
Our programming networks have advertisers representing companies in a broad range of sectors, including automotive, restaurants/food, health, and telecommunications industries.
Programming
We obtain programming through a combination of development, production and licensing; and we distribute programming directly to consumers in the United States and throughout the world through our programming networks, streaming services, theatrical release of acquired films and other forms of distribution. Our programming includes original programming that we control, either through outright ownership or through long-term licensing arrangements, as well as acquired programming that we license from studios and other rights holders.
Original Programming
Through our AMC Studios operation, we increasingly produce and own more of our original programming, primarily for our programming networks and streaming services, and also for license to third parties worldwide. Decisions as to how to distribute programming are made on the basis of a variety of factors including the relative value of any particular alternative.
We also contract with some of the industry's leading production companies to produce original programming that appears on our programming networks and streaming services. These contractual arrangements either provide us with outright ownership of the programming, in which case we hold all programming and other rights to the content, or they consist of long-term licensing arrangements, which provide us with exclusive rights to exhibit the content on our programming networks, but may be limited in terms of specific geographic markets or distribution platforms. The license agreements are typically of multi-season duration and provide us with a right of first negotiation or a right of first refusal on the renewal of the license for additional programming seasons.
Acquired Programming
The majority of the content on our programming networks and streaming services consists of films, episodic series and specials that we acquire pursuant to rights agreements with film studios, production companies or other rights holders. This acquired programming includes episodic series such as Law and Order, The X-Files, Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men and Batman, as well as an extensive film library. The rights agreements for this content are of varying duration and generally permit our programming networks and streaming services to carry these series, films and other programming during certain window periods.
SEGMENTS
We manage our business through the following two operating segments:
•Domestic Operations: Includes activities of our programming services and AMC Broadcasting & Technology. Our programming services consist of our five national programming networks, our streaming services, our AMC Studios operations, and our film distribution business. Our national programming networks are AMC, WE tv, BBC AMERICA, IFC, and SundanceTV. Our streaming services are AMC+, Acorn TV, ALLBLK, Shudder, Sundance Now, and HIDIVE. Our AMC Studios operation produces original programming for our programming services and also distributes and licenses such programming worldwide. Our film distribution business consists of: IFC Films, a leading distributor of high-quality, talent-driven independent films that operates two distribution labels, IFC Films and IFC Midnight; and RLJE Films, a film production and distribution business which we acquired as part of our 2018 acquisition of RLJ Entertainment. AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology, our technical services business, primarily services most of the national programming networks.
•International and Other: Includes AMC Networks International, our international programming businesses consisting of a portfolio of networks around the world, and 25/7 Media (formerly known as Levity), our production services business.
For financial information of the Company by operating segment, see Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Consolidated Results of Operations" and Note 23 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Domestic Operations
Programming Networks - Our programming networks consist of the following services:
•As of December 31, 2021, AMC reached approximately 78 million Nielsen subscribers and had distribution agreements with all major U.S. and Canada distributors.
•AMC is home to some of the most popular and acclaimed dramas on television, including The Walking Dead, the highest-rated series in cable history; Fear the Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Kevin Can F**K Himself, and Gangs of London.
•The network helped usher in what is commonly referred to as a “New Golden Age of Television,” with its debut of Mad Men in 2007 and Breaking Bad in 2008. With Mad Men, AMC became the first basic cable network to ever win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2008 after which it won the coveted award another four years in a row. Subsequently, AMC’s Breaking Bad won this Emmy® Award in 2013 and 2014. Both series are among the most critically acclaimed and awarded series in the history of television.
•AMC's film library consists of films that are licensed under long-term contracts with major studios such as Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Sony, MGM, NBC Universal, Paramount and Buena Vista. AMC generally structures its contracts for the exclusive cable television rights to air the films during identified window periods.
•As of December 31, 2021, WE tv reached approximately 76 million Nielsen subscribers and had distribution agreements with all major U.S. distributors.
•Driven by unscripted originals, WE tv is the #1 U.S. cable network for African-American women on Friday nights, fueled by its popular slate of original series and popular franchises Love After Lockup, Marriage Boot Camp, and Growing Up Hip Hop, as well as fan favorites Mama June: Road to Redemption and The TS Madison Experience. WE tv’s programming also includes recent premieres Brat Loves Judy, docuseries The Mysterious Death of Eazy-E, and Love During Lockup.
•In 2022, WE tv will continue to develop and premiere new unscripted series including docuseries, Hip Hop Homicides, produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and hosted by Van Lathan.
•WE tv's programming also includes popular series CSI: Miami and Law & Order as well as feature films, with certain exclusive license rights from studios such as Paramount, MGM, Disney and Warner Bros.
•A joint venture between AMC Networks and BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC), BBC AMERICA reached approximately 73 million Nielsen subscribers and had distribution agreements with all major U.S. distributors as of December 31, 2021.
•The network has attracted wide critical acclaim for its influential series, including its Peabody Award-winning original series Killing Eve. Created by multi-award winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag), and co-starring Sandra Oh, who won the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Eve, and Jodie Comer, who won a BAFTA Award and Emmy Award for her iconic portrayal of assassin Villanelle.
•BBC AMERICA is the definitive home and co-producer of the most iconic natural history programming from the BBC, including the Planet Earth and Blue Planet franchises, Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty, the Sir David
Attenborough-narrated series Seven Worlds, One Planet, Wild Patagonia, and Wonderstruck, the network’s nature micro-net offering viewers nature content for 24 hours every Saturday.
•BBC America is also a go-to for culturally contagious unscripted series including Top Gear and Top Gear America along with The Graham Norton Show, and the timeless fan favorite Doctor Who, one of the longest running series in the world, spanning 57 years and winning over 100 awards, honored by Guinness World Records as the longest running science-fiction series in the world.
•As of December 31, 2021, IFC reached approximately 68 million Nielsen subscribers and had distribution agreements with all major U.S. distributors.
•IFC is the home of offbeat, unexpected comedies that are in keeping with the network's "Always On Slightly Off" brand, which air alongside fan-favorite movies and comedic cult TV shows.
•Acclaimed series include the Emmy-nominated Documentary Now!, created by Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen and executive produced by Lorne Michaels, and the Critics' Choice Award-nominated Sherman’s Showcase, created by and starring Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle and executive produced by John Legend’s Get Lifted Film Co. and RadicalMedia, and short form LGBTQ+ softball comedy series, Slo Pitch. IFC is also the broadcast home of the Independent Spirit Awards, the first event to honor independent film exclusively and an annual celebration of the spirited pioneers who bring a unique vision to filmmaking.
•IFC's programming also includes films from various film distributors, including Fox, Miramax, Sony, Lionsgate, Universal, Paramount and Warner Bros.
•As of December 31, 2021, SundanceTV reached approximately 66 million Nielsen subscribers and had distribution agreements with all major U.S. distributors.
•SundanceTV has remained true to founder Robert Redford’s mission to celebrate creativity and distinctive storytelling through unique voices and narratives since its launch in 1996.
•Working with today's most innovative talent, SundanceTV attracts viewer and critical acclaim for its original scripted programming and true-crime documentaries, which has included the Peabody-award winning Rectify, Top of the Lake and Top of the Lake: China Girl, directed by Oscar-winning Jane Campion and starring Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman.
•Current series include: the Emmy Award-winning short form anthology series State of the Union, previously starring the award-winning duo of Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd with the next season starring Brendan Gleeson and Patricia Clarkson; true crime series Indefensible starring Jena Friedman; and It Couldn’t Happen Here from Hilarie Burton Morgan.
•SundanceTV is also home to past fan favorites including NCIS, Jag, and Columbo.
Streaming Services - Our streaming services ended 2021 with more than nine million aggregate paid streaming subscribers1. Our streaming portfolio includes the following targeted services:
•Launched in 2020, AMC+ is the Company’s premium streaming bundle featuring an extensive lineup of popular and critically acclaimed original programming from AMC, BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV and full access to targeted streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited.
•AMC+ features a library of commercial-free content, including fan favorites Mad Men, Halt & Catch Fire, Turn: Washington’s Spies, Hell on Wheels, NOS4A2, Rectify, Orphan Black, Portlandia, and series from The Walking Dead Universe, among many others.
•AMC+ also offers a growing slate of original and exclusive series including Ragdoll, Kin, Gangs of London, The North Water, The Beast Must Die, Too Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, Spy City, Ultra City Smiths, Anna, and Firebite.
•Upcoming series for AMC+ include 61st Street, from BAFTA-winner Peter Moffat and executive produced by Michael B. Jordan; Moonhaven, from Peter Ocko, who we previously collaborated with on the critically-acclaimed Lodge 49; Dark Winds, executive produced by Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin; and two new series from the Anne Rice catalog: Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. AMC and The Walking Dead Universe Chief Content Officer Scott Gimple have continued developing projects for The Walking Dead Universe, including a new episodic anthology planned for 2022 called Tales of the Walking Dead and other spinoffs. As part of Gimple’s multi-year plan, there are a variety of projects currently in development, including additional series, specials, digital content and more.
•AMC+ recently launched in Canada and Australia, and is available in the United States through its website, the AMC+ app, and a number of digital and cable partners.
•Acorn TV is North America’s largest streaming service specializing in British and international television. Acorn TV adds exclusive new programs with a deep library of mysteries, dramas, and comedies with no commercials.
•In 2021, Acorn TV featured several commissioned original series including the second season of Miss Fisher spinoff Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, British crime drama Whitstable Pearl, Kiwi romantic comedy Under the Vines and British detective drama Dalgleish starring Bertie Carvel, as well as Irish crime thriller Bloodlands starring James Nesbitt and co-executive produced by Jed Mercurio, the return of New Zealand detective series My Life Is Murder starring Lucy Lawless, popular Canadian period drama Murdoch Mysteries, and a growing catalog of popular binge-able dramas that include A Place to Call Home, Detectorists, Jack Irish and Foyle’s War.
•Recent Acorn TV original series include Deadwater Fell starring David Tennant, highly-rated BBC One drama The Nest; and groundbreaking BBC One period drama A Suitable Boy from Mira Nair.
•Acorn TV’s international distribution is growing, with the service available in key markets including Canada, the UK, South Africa, and across Europe and Latin America.
•Shudder is a premium streaming service offering a selection of horror, thriller and supernatural movies, series, and specials, uncut and commercial free.
1 A paid subscription is defined as a subscription to a direct-to-consumer service or a subscription received through distributor arrangements, in which we receive a fee for the distribution of our streaming services, and includes an estimate of subscribers that converted to paying status in the subsequent period based on historical conversion percentages.
•Shudder brings its subscribers Hollywood favorites, cult classics and original series and critically acclaimed new genre films they cannot find anywhere else. 2021 programming included new seasons of Creepshow, The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula and Slasher: Flesh & Blood, and 50 original or exclusive films including V/H/S/94, The Boy Behind the Door and The Amusement Park, the previously lost film from horror master George A. Romero.
•Shudder recently launched internationally in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
•Sundance Now is for TV watchers looking for their next series to obsess over and offers a rich selection of original and exclusive series from engrossing true crime to heart-stopping dramas and fiercely intelligent thrillers from around the world, all streaming commercial-free.
•Sundance Now has exclusively premiered several distinctive, critically acclaimed Sundance Now Original Series, including supernatural drama A Discovery of Witches, glamourous thriller Riviera and critically acclaimed French spy drama The Bureau, plus Sundance Now Exclusives, such as Nordic noir thriller Wisting and British drama Des starring David Tennant; as well as riveting true crime series like No One Saw a Thing.
•Sundance Now is also available in key markets overseas including the UK, Ireland, Germany and Australia.
•ALLBLK is an invitation to a world of streaming entertainment that is inclusively, but unapologetically - Black. Featuring a diverse lineup of content that spans across genres and generations, the ALLBLK library includes exclusive original series such as Craig Ross Jr.’s Monogamy, A House Divided, and Double Cross; must-see independent films, nostalgic Black cinema, popular network TV, lively stage plays, and so much more.
•ALLBLK is available on iOS, Android, Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV and Apple TV Channels, Roku and Roku Channels, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, Cox, DISH, Sling TV, Charter and more. ALLBLK’s content can also be found on Comcast and AT&T outlets under the WEtv+ banner.
•HIDIVE is an anime-focused direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service with the rights to a growing catalog of over 500 uncut, commercial free TV series, movies, and original video animations. In addition to its deep and diverse catalog, HIDIVE offers simulcast streams of the freshest anime content directly from Japan. HIDIVE is available in North America as well as key overseas markets including the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America.
AMC Studios - Our AMC Studios operation is our in-house studio production and distribution operation.
•AMC Studios launched in 2010 with its first series, The Walking Dead, the highest-rated series in cable history.
•Since then, AMC Studios has produced several critically acclaimed, award-winning and culturally distinctive originals for AMC, including scripted series: Fear the Walking Dead, The Terror anthology, Lodge 49, NOS4A2, TURN: Washington's Spies; Halt and Catch Fire; Into the Badlands; The Son; Dispatches From Elsewhere, Soulmates, 61st Street, and Kevin Can F**k Himself; as well as unscripted series: Ride with Norman Reedus, Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics, James Cameron's Story Of Science Fiction, Eli Roth’s History of Horror, and Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America.
Film Distribution - Our film distribution business, IFC Films, is a leading distributor of high-quality, talent-driven independent films.
•IFC Films operates two distribution labels: IFC Films and IFC Midnight, both of which distribute independent films across virtually all available media platforms, including in theaters, on cable/satellite video on demand, cable network television, streaming/downloading to internet-connected screens and DVDs. IFC Films has a film library consisting of more than 1,000 titles.
•IFC Films also operates IFC Films Unlimited, its own subscription based streaming service in the United States and Canada which launched in 2019.
•As part of its strategy to grow the marketplace for independent films, IFC Films also operates the IFC Center as well as DOC NYC. IFC Center is an independent movie theater located in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village. DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the United States, takes places every November in person in New York and, since 2020, online across the United States, and also offers year-round documentary programming both online and in person.
•Notable IFC Films releases include the acclaimed The Dry, starring Eric Bana, Bergman Island from Mia Hansen Love, Benedetta from Paul Verhoeven and Werewolves Within from director Josh Ruben. Films from its recent slate appeared in over 220 Top 10 End of Year critic’s lists and garnered 7 Independent Spirit Award Nominations for The Novice, Catch the Fair One, The Nowhere Inn and Holler.
AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology - AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology is a full-service network programming feed origination and distribution company, which primarily services most of the domestic programming networks of the Company.
•AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology's operations are located in Bethpage, New York, where AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology consolidates origination and satellite communications functions in a 67,000 square-foot facility designed to keep AMC Networks at the forefront of network origination and distribution technology. AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology has 30 plus years of experience across its network services groups, including network origination, affiliate engineering, network transmission, traffic and scheduling that provide day-to-day delivery of any programming network, in high definition or standard definition.
International and Other
Our International and Other segment includes the operations of AMC Networks International and 25/7 Media.
AMC Networks International
•AMCNI, the international division of the Company, delivers entertaining and acclaimed programming that reaches subscribers in more than 115 countries and territories around the world, through operational centers in London, Madrid, Budapest, Miami and Buenos Aires.
•AMCNI consists of our global brand, AMC, as well as a portfolio of popular, locally recognized brands delivering programming in a wide range of genres, including sports, film, cooking, crime and investigation, science, documentary and kids.
•Our local and regional channels are programmed for local audiences and language, and we develop and license local content that is tailored to individual market tastes.
•AMCNI also operates a number of joint venture partnerships and managed channel services as well as direct to consumer services. A joint venture with ViacomCBS Networks International delivers a portfolio of entertainment channels which is managed from London. Dreamia, a joint venture with NOS in Portugal, delivers channels including Canal Hollywood, Canal Panda, Panda Kids, Biggs and Casa e Cozinha.
•Highlights of the top AMCNI locally recognized channels are detailed below:
•El Gourmet is a “go-to” TV culinary destination for Latin American audiences that connects with its viewers by celebrating local traditions and featuring culinary experiences from all over the world. Its mission is to reunite family and friends around the table to make memorable life experiences.
•Launched 22 years ago, El Gourmet offers 100% of its content in Spanish, with over 90% of original productions and more than 250 premiering hours each year, showcasing some of the greatest celebrity cooks of this region.
•El Gourmet’s original productions have been awarded 14 Martin Fierro Awards (granted by the Association of Argentine Television and Radio Journalists) as well as two Taste Awards in the United States.
• Our UK business operates a joint venture with ViacomCBS Networks International delivering a portfolio of entertainment channels in the UK including CBS Reality, CBS Europa, CBS Justice, CBS Drama and Horror Channel.
•CBS Reality is increasingly airing owned locally produced ‘true crime’ content aimed at women in the 50+ demographic. These documentary style programs re-visit famous crimes predominantly from the UK and the United States and investigate the psychology of a killer.
•Jim Jam is a pre-school kids channel aimed at 2-6 year-olds, focusing on education and teaching English.
•Popular content includes Bob The Builder, Fireman Sam, Thomas and Friends and Chuggington.
•Jim Jam reaches subscribers in over 60 EMEA countries.
•Canal Hollywood is one of the leading pay-TV film channels in Spain and Portugal, offering a wide selection of movies produced by major U.S. studios.
•Genres include comedy, drama, thriller, western, musical, and science fiction and the industry’s biggest stars.
•The channel began broadcasting in 1993 and is distributed on all pay-TV platforms in Spain and Portugal, reaching more than 9 million households.
•Sports 1 & Sports 2 are premium sports channels in our core Central European territories.
•The channels broadcast European football, Formula 1, NBA and Ice Hockey among other live sports events.
•25/7 Media (dba Center Drive Media) owns and operates two leading production companies: Triage Entertainment, founded in 1995, and Lando Entertainment, founded in 2016.
•Together, they have produced over 4,000 hours of premium, prime-time programming, distributed in over 100 countries, and focus on four major genres: multi-cam events, original formats and lifestyle, premium documentary series and scripted.
•Center Drive Media has produced award-winning and culturally distinctive originals across a wide range of networks and platforms, including CBS, NBC, Netflix, Paramount+, Discovery+, Food Network, HGTV, Lifetime, History, MTV, CMT, HBO and Showtime. Upcoming multi-camera events include specials from Sebastian Maniscalco, Taylor Tomlinson and Gabriel Iglesias. Original formats and lifestyle include Tournament of Champions, Food Network’s highest-rated series and Guy Fieri’s Guy’s Grocery Games. Premium documentary series include the Emmy award-winning Remastered and the soon-to-be-relaunched series Sightings in association with CBS Productions. Scripted series include Black Jesus for Comedy Central.
REGULATION
Our businesses are subject to and affected by regulations of U.S. federal, state and local government authorities, and our international operations are subject to laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate, as well as international bodies, such as the European Union. The Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC") regulates U.S. programming networks directly in some respects; other FCC regulations, although imposed on cable television operators and satellite operators, affect programming networks indirectly. The rules, regulations, policies and procedures affecting our businesses are constantly subject to change and increasingly, legislative and regulatory proposals seek to cover all sources of content, including the digital platforms over which we offer content, which may affect our regulatory burdens in the future. The descriptions below are summary in nature and do not purport to describe all present and proposed laws and regulations affecting our businesses.
Closed Captioning
Certain of our networks must provide closed-captioning of programming for the hearing impaired, and comply with other regulations designed to make our content more accessible, and we must provide closed captioning on certain video content that we offer on the Internet or through other Internet Protocol distribution methods.
CALM Act
FCC rules require MVPDs to ensure that all commercials comply with specified volume standards, and our distribution agreements generally require us to certify compliance with such standards.
Emergency Alert Codes or Attention Signals
We may not include emergency alert codes or attention signals, or simulations of them, in our content under any circumstances other than a genuine alert, an authorized test of the emergency alert system, or a permissible public service announcement.
Obscenity Restrictions
Cable operators and other MVPDs are prohibited from transmitting obscene programming, and our distribution agreements generally require us to refrain from including such programming on our networks.
Program Carriage
The FCC's program carriage rules prohibit distributors from favoring their affiliated programming networks over unaffiliated similarly situated programming networks in the rates, terms and conditions of carriage agreements between programming networks and cable operators or other MVPDs. Recent regulatory changes and court decisions make it more difficult for our programming networks to challenge a distributor’s decision to decline to carry one of our programming networks or discriminate against one of our programming networks.
Packaging Programming and Volume Discounts
The FCC from time to time examines whether to adopt rules restricting how programmers package and price their networks, or whether to impose other restrictions on carriage agreements between programmers and MVPDs. We do not currently require distributors to carry more than one of our national programming networks in order to obtain the right to carry a particular national programming network. However, we generally negotiate with a distributor for the carriage of all of our national networks concurrently, and we offer volume discounts to distributors who make our programming available to larger numbers of subscribers or who carry more of our programming networks.
Some states also have sought to regulate the manner in which MVPDs package and offer programming. We generally do not allow our networks or individual programs on those networks today to be offered by distributors on an a la carte basis.
Effect of "Must-Carry" and "Retransmission Consent" Requirements
The FCC's implementation of the statutory "must-carry" obligations requires cable and DBS operators to give certain broadcasters preferential access to channel space and preferential channel positions, and FCC "retransmission consent" rules allow broadcasters to require cable and DBS operators to carry broadcast-affiliated networks as a condition of access to the local broadcast station and to charge substantial fees for both carriage of the local broadcast station and the broadcast-affiliated networks. In contrast, programming networks, such as ours, have no guaranteed right of carriage on cable television or DBS systems nor any guaranteed channel position. These carriage laws may reduce the amount of channel space that is available for carriage of our networks by cable television systems and DBS operators, or the amount of programming funds that cable and DBS operators have available for carriage of our networks.
Website Requirements
We maintain various websites that provide information regarding our businesses and offer content for sale. The operation of these websites may be subject to a range of federal, state and local laws such as privacy, data security, accessibility, child safety, oversight of user-generated content, and consumer protection regulations. For example, most states have enacted laws that impose data security and security breach obligations, and new frameworks regulating consumer privacy have recently been established at the state level and overseas, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or the GDPR, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, or as amended, the CCPA. The GDPR and the CCPA impose, among other things, more stringent operational requirements for processors and controllers of personal data, including expanded disclosures about how personal information is to be used, and increased liability for violations. In addition, the FCC from time to time considers whether some or all websites offering video programming should be considered MVPDs and regulated as such.
Other Regulation
The FCC also imposes rules that may impact us regarding a variety of issues such as advertising in children's television, and telemarketing. Programming businesses are subject to regulation by the country in which they operate, as well as international bodies, such as the European Union. These regulations may include restrictions on types of advertising that can be sold on our networks, programming content requirements, requirements to make programming available on non-discriminatory terms, and local content quotas.
COMPETITION
Our programming services, consisting of linear networks and streaming services, operate in three highly competitive markets. First, our programming services compete with other programming services to obtain distribution on cable television systems and other multichannel video programming distribution systems, and ultimately for viewing by each distributor's subscribers. Second, our programming services compete with other programming services and other sources of video content, to secure desired entertainment programming. Third, our programming services compete with other sellers of advertising time and space, including other cable programming networks, radio, newspapers, outdoor media and, increasingly, internet sites. The success of our businesses depends on our ability to license and produce content for our programming services that is adequate in quantity and quality and will generate satisfactory viewer ratings. In each of these cases, some of our competitors are large publicly held companies that have greater financial resources than we do.
Distribution of Programming Services
The business of distributing programming services to cable television systems and other MVPDs and licensing of original programming for distribution is highly competitive. Our programming services face competition from other programming networks and services for carriage by a particular MVPD, and for the carriage on the service tier that will attract the most subscribers. Once our programming service is selected by a distributor for carriage, that service competes for viewers not only with the other programming services available on the distributor's system, but also with over-the-air broadcast television, Internet-based video and other online services, mobile services, radio, print media, motion picture theaters, DVDs, and other sources of information and entertainment.
Important to our success in each area of competition we face are the prices we charge for our programming services, the quantity, quality and variety of the programming offered on our services, and the effectiveness of our services' marketing efforts. The competition for viewers among advertiser supported networks is directly correlated with the competition for advertising revenues with each of our competitors.
Our ability to successfully compete with other networks and services may be hampered because the cable television systems or other MVPDs through which we seek distribution may be affiliated with other programming networks or services. In addition, because such distributors may have a substantial number of subscribers, the ability of such programming services to obtain distribution on the systems of affiliated distributors may lead to increased distribution and advertising revenue for such programming networks or services because of their increased penetration compared to our programming services. Even if such affiliated distributors carry our programming services, such distributors may place their affiliated programming network on a more desirable tier, thereby giving the affiliated programming network a competitive advantage over our own.
New or existing programming networks that are affiliated with broadcasting networks like ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC may also have a competitive advantage over our programming networks in obtaining distribution through the "bundling" of agreements to carry those programming networks with agreements giving the distributor the right to carry a broadcast station affiliated with the broadcasting network.
Part of our strategy involves exploiting identified segments of the cable television viewing audience that are generally well defined and limited in size. Our networks have faced and will continue to face increasing competition as other programming networks and online or other services seek to serve the same or similar niches.
We also seek to increase our content licensing revenues by expanding the opportunities for licensing our programming through other media platforms and we compete with other programming companies in this market based on the desirability of our programming.
Sources of Programming
We also compete with other programming networks and other distributors including digital distribution platforms to secure desired programming. Most of our original programming and all of our acquired programming is obtained through agreements with other parties that have produced or own the rights to such programming. Competition for this programming will increase as the number of programming networks and other distributors increases. Other programming networks or streaming services that are affiliated with programming sources such as movie or television studios or film libraries may have a competitive advantage over us in this area.
With respect to the acquisition of entertainment programming, such as syndicated programs and movies that are not produced by or specifically for networks, our competitors include national broadcast television networks, local broadcast television stations, other cable programming networks, Internet-based video content distributors, and video-on-demand programs. Some of these competitors have exclusive contracts with motion picture studios or independent motion picture distributors or own film libraries.
Competition for Advertising Revenue
Our programming networks must compete with other sellers of advertising time and space, including other MVPDs, radio, newspapers, outdoor media and increasing shifts in spending toward online and mobile offerings from more traditional media. We compete for advertisers on the basis of rates we charge and also on the number and demographic nature of viewers who watch our programming. Advertisers will often seek to target their advertising content to those demographic categories they consider most likely to purchase the product or service they advertise. Accordingly, the demographic make-up of our viewership can be equally or more important than the number of viewers watching our programming.
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
At AMC Networks, we are passionate about telling authentic stories that connect with audiences in meaningful ways and that entertain with vivid characters and worlds that show a full spectrum of the human experience. We believe the strength of our workforce is one of the significant contributors to our success. Our key human capital management objectives are to invest in and support our employees so that we have the ability to attract, develop and retain a high performing and diverse workforce.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At AMC Networks being diverse, equitable, and inclusive is more than a business imperative that spurs creativity and drives innovation. It is at the heart of who we are and what we believe.
Some examples of our DEI areas of focus are described below:
Fostering Inclusive Communities - We have nine active Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that form communities through shared interests and experiences with 18 chapters across the U.S, the UK, Europe and Latin America. Our ERG
members strive to create a culture of belonging for our employees. They facilitate networking and connections with peers; support the acquisition of diverse talent internally and externally; provide an avenue to facilitate leadership and skill development; and help to increase the organization’s overall cultural competency. They are an important part of driving our business objectives, including curating themed content areas that helps drive streaming subscriber growth and acting as a valuable sounding board for content development and programming.
Develop Talent Pipelines - We strive to create robust pipelines of diverse talent for our workplace to provide employment opportunities that are accessible for underrepresented communities. We do this through partnerships with leading industry diversity advocacy organizations and through our corporate internship program where we source candidates from a broad range of colleges including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
Learning Together - To equip our employees with the tools and knowledge they need to expand awareness and understand what promoting diversity, equity and inclusion really means, our employees participate in a variety of learning opportunities covering topics ranging from building a more equitable workforce to unconscious bias.
Our Content - We have a long track record of championing and supporting independent and diverse voices and using our platforms to bring these storytellers’ vision to life. Encouraging diverse and inclusive voices and points of view - on our screens, on our sets, and in our writer’s rooms - is fundamental to our creative process. It is how we understand, reflect, and speak with insight and authenticity to the wide range of audiences we reach every day. In 2021, over 50% of AMC Networks’ writers’ rooms were staffed with diverse writers.
High Impact Partnerships - We work with leading industry organizations to ensure there is greater inclusion in the stories we tell. In 2021, we signed on to #ChangeHollywood in partnership with Color of Change and others to use inclusion riders on every AMC Studios production. We are proud to be a launch partner of Coded for Inclusion, a new job matching platform for production crews designed to help change the way hiring happens in Hollywood. Through our partnership in Mentorship Matters, we connect showrunners with emerging writers of color for dynamic year-long mentorships. These are just a few examples of our active partnerships and collaborations through which we strive to empower the next generation of storytellers.
Talent
The Company employed 1,739 full-time employees and 287 part-time employees as of December 31, 2021. Our global workforce, as of December 31, 2021, was over 50% women, with 45% of our senior leadership positions (vice president or equivalent and above) held by women, including the Company’s first female Executive Officer, who joined the Company as Chief Financial Officer in January 2021 and who was promoted to a new dual role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer in October 2021. Over 28% of our U.S.-based workforce are people of color.
We aim to attract top talent through our corporate brand and our reputation for innovation and high-quality content, as well as through the many benefits we offer. We aim to retain our talent by emphasizing our competitive rewards; offering opportunities that support employees both personally and professionally; and our commitment to fostering a positive corporate culture.
Our performance management practice includes frequent feedback and conversations between managers and team members, and talent reviews designed to identify potential future leaders and inform succession plans. We value continuous learning and development opportunities for our employees, which include: a robust internal mentorship program; dynamic teams that take a cross disciplinary approach to driving innovation and problem solving; leadership development programs; and tuition assistance.
Our benefit offerings are designed to meet the range of needs of our diverse workforce and include: adoption assistance; backup child/elder care; child care resources; college planning; domestic partner coverage; domestic partner tax equalization; gender reassignment surgery; employee assistance programs; financial planning seminars; and a health advocate offering. These resources are intended to support the health, finance, and well-being of our employees.
In addition, for certain of our productions, the Company, through in-house and third-party production service companies, engages the services of writers, directors, actors and various crew members who are subject to certain specially negotiated collective bargaining agreements. Since these agreements are generally entered into on a per-project basis, negotiations occur on various agreements throughout the year. We believe that our relations with the labor unions and our employees are generally good.
Culture
Our Company has a proud past and a long history of innovation and originality in our storytelling. This legacy informs who we are and is imbued in our corporate culture and in our values. We embrace collaboration, openness, approachability, as well as agility and creativity.
Throughout the year we bring together partners, thought leaders and our creative talent for engaging and eye-opening conversations for our employees about our content, industry trends, and advancing DEI.
Giving and social impact programs and initiatives are an important part of our culture because at AMC Networks we want to be a source for positive change in the communities where we live and work. Through philanthropic efforts, community outreach and strong and lasting partnerships, we support causes aimed at advancing a culture of inclusivity and amplify everyone’s voice. In 2021, we launched a new online giving and volunteering platform for our employees called Give Back at AMCN, dedicated to making an impact in the areas that matter most to our workforce. Employees can research and learn about organizations doing important and difference-making work and make personal charitable donations, which includes an annual company match.
Other initiatives to foster community and social impact include paid time off for full-time employees for Juneteenth, Election Day, Veterans Day and a volunteer day of their choice.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Our corporate website is http://www.amcnetworks.com and the investor relations section of our website is located at http://investor.amcnetworks.com. We make available, free of charge through the investor relations section of our website, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as our proxy statements, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). References to our website in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this "Annual Report") are provided as a convenience and the information contained on, or available through, the website is not part of this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
A wide range of risks may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, now and in the future. We consider the risks described below to be the most significant. There may be other currently unknown or unpredictable economic, business, competitive, regulatory or other factors that could have material adverse effects on our future results.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Our business depends on the appeal of our programming to our U.S. and international viewers and our distributors, which may be unpredictable and volatile.
Our business depends, in part, upon viewer preferences and audience acceptance in the United States and internationally of the programming on our networks. These factors are often unpredictable and volatile, and subject to influences that are beyond our control, such as the quality and appeal of competing programming, general economic conditions and the availability of other entertainment activities. We may not be able to anticipate and react effectively to shifts in viewer preferences and/or interests in our markets. A change in viewer preferences has caused, and could in the future continue to cause, the audience for certain of our programming to decline, which has resulted in, and could in the future continue to result in, a reduction of advertising revenues and jeopardize our bargaining position with distributors. In addition, certain of our competitors may have more flexible programming arrangements, as well as greater amounts of available content, distribution and capital resources, and may react more quickly than we might to shifts in tastes and interests.
To an increasing extent, the success of our business depends on original programming, and our ability to accurately predict how audiences will respond to our original programming is particularly important. Because original programming often involves a greater degree of commitment on our part, as compared to acquired programming that we license from third parties, and because our network branding strategies depend significantly on a relatively small number of original programs such as The Walking Dead, a failure to anticipate viewer preferences for such programs could be especially detrimental to our business. We periodically review the programming usefulness of our program rights based on a series of factors, including ratings, type and quality of program material, standards and practices, and fitness for exhibition. We have incurred write-offs of programming rights in the past, and may incur future programming rights write-offs if it is determined that program rights have limited, or no, future usefulness.
In addition, feature films constitute a significant portion of the programming on our AMC, IFC and SundanceTV programming networks. In general, the popularity of feature-film content on linear television is declining, due in part to the broad availability of such content through an increasing number of distribution platforms. If the popularity of feature-film programming further declines, we may lose viewership, which could increase our costs.
If our programming does not gain the level of audience acceptance we expect, or if we are unable to maintain the popularity of our programming, our ratings may suffer, which will negatively affect advertising revenues, and we may have a diminished bargaining position with distributors, which could reduce our distribution revenues. Ratings for The Walking Dead have declined in recent years, which has had a negative effect on our advertising revenues and our financial results. We cannot
assure you that we will be able to maintain the success of any of our current programming or generate sufficient demand and market acceptance for our new programming.
The failure to develop popular new programming to replace programming that is older or ending can have adverse impacts on our business and results of operations.
Our programming services' success depends upon the availability of programming that is adequate in quantity and quality, and we may be unable to secure or maintain such programming.
The success of our programming services, consisting of linear networks and streaming services, depends upon the availability of quality programming, particularly original programming and films, that is suitable for our target markets. While we produce certain of our original programming through our studio operations, we obtain most of the programming on our services (including original programming, films and other acquired programming) through agreements with third parties that have produced or control the rights to such programming. These agreements expire at varying times and may be terminated by the other parties if we are not in compliance with their terms.
Competition for programming has increased as the number of programming networks and streaming services has increased. Other programming networks and streaming services that are affiliated with programming sources such as movie or television studios or film libraries may have a competitive advantage over us in this area. In addition to other cable programming networks, we also compete for programming with national broadcast television networks, local broadcast television stations, video on demand services and subscription streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Google TV and Amazon Prime. Some of these competitors have exclusive contracts with motion picture studios or independent motion picture distributors or own film libraries.
We cannot assure you that we will ultimately be successful in producing or obtaining the quality programming our networks and streaming services need to be successful.
Increased programming costs may adversely affect our profits.
We produce a significant amount of original programming and other content and continue to invest in this area, the costs of which are significant. We also acquire programming and television series, as well as a variety of digital content and other ancillary rights from other companies, and we pay license fees, royalties or contingent compensation in connection with these acquired rights. Our investments in original and acquired programming are significant and involve complex negotiations with numerous third parties. These costs may not be recouped when the content is broadcast or distributed and higher costs may lead to decreased profitability or potential write-downs. Increased competition from additional entrants into the market for development and production of original programming, such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Google TV and Amazon Prime, increases our programming content costs.
We incur costs for the creative talent, including actors, writers and producers, who create our original programming. Some of our original programming has achieved significant popularity and critical acclaim, which has increased and could continue to increase the costs of such programming in the future. In addition, from time to time we have disputes with writers, producers and other creative talent over the amount of royalty and other payments (See Item 3. - Legal Proceedings for additional information). We believe that disputes of this type are endemic to our business and similar disputes may arise from time to time in the future. An increase in the costs of programming may lead to decreased profitability or otherwise adversely affect our business.
Original programming requires substantial financial commitment. In some cases, the financial commitment may be partially offset by foreign, state or local tax incentives. However, there is a risk that the tax incentives will not remain available for the duration of a series. If tax incentives are no longer available, reduced substantially, or cannot be utilized, we may incur higher costs in order to complete the production or produce additional seasons. If we are unable to produce original programming content on a cost effective basis our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
Our efforts to attract and retain streaming subscribers may not be successful, which may adversely affect our business
Our ability to continue to attract subscribers will depend in part on our ability to consistently provide compelling content choices, effectively market our streaming services, as well as provide a quality experience for subscribers. Furthermore, the relative service levels, content offerings, pricing and related features of competitors to our service may adversely impact our ability to attract and retain subscribers. We incur significant marketing expenditures to attract streaming subscribers, therefore retention of those subscribers is critical to our business model. We must continually add new subscriptions both to replace canceled subscriptions and to grow our streaming services beyond our current subscription base. While we permit multiple users within the same household to share a single account for noncommercial purposes, if account sharing is abused, our ability to add new subscribers may be hindered and our results of operations may be adversely impacted. If we do not grow as expected, given, in particular, that our content costs are largely fixed in nature and contracted over several years, we may not be able to adjust our expenditures or increase our (per subscription) revenues commensurate with the lowered growth rate such that
our margins, liquidity and results of operation may be adversely impacted. If we are unable to successfully compete with current and new competitors in both retaining our existing subscriptions and attracting new subscriptions, our streaming services will be adversely affected. Further, if excessive numbers of subscribers cancel our services, we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenditures than we currently anticipate to replace these subscribers with new subscribers.
We are subject to intense competition, which may have a negative effect on our profitability or on our ability to expand our business.
The programming industry is highly competitive. Our programming networks and streaming services compete with other programming networks and other types of video programming services for marketing and distribution by cable and other multichannel video programming distribution systems and ultimately for viewing by their subscribers. We compete with other providers of programming networks for the right to be carried by a particular cable or other multichannel video programming distribution system and for the right to be carried by such system on a particular "tier" of service. The increasing offerings by virtual MVPDs through alternative distribution methods creates competition for carriage on those platforms. Our programming networks and streaming services compete with other programming networks, streaming services, and other sources of video content to secure desired entertainment programming.
Competition for content, audiences and advertising is intense and comes from broadcast television, other cable networks, distributors, including subscription streaming services and virtual multichannel video programming services, social media content distributors, and other entertainment outlets and platforms, as well as from search, social networks, program guides and "second screen" applications.
Increased competition from additional entrants into the market for development and production of original programming, such as Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu, increases our content costs as creating competing high quality, original content requires significant investment. In addition, as competition with these entrants for the creation and acquisition of quality programming continues to escalate, the complexity of negotiations over acquired rights to the content and the value of the rights we acquire or retain may increase, leading to increased acquisition costs, and our ability to successfully acquire content of the highest quality may face greater uncertainty.
Our ability to compete successfully depends on a number of factors, including our ability to create or acquire high quality and popular programs, adapt to new technologies and distribution platforms, and achieve widespread distribution for our content. More content consumption options increase competition for viewers as well as for programming and creative talent, which can decrease our audience ratings, and therefore potentially our advertising revenues.
Certain programming networks affiliated with broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, Fox or NBC or other key free-to-air programming networks in countries where our networks are distributed may have a competitive advantage over our programming networks in obtaining distribution through the "bundling" of carriage agreements for such programming networks with a distributor's right to carry the affiliated broadcasting network. In addition, our ability to compete with certain programming networks for distribution may be hampered because the cable television or other MVPDs through which we seek distribution may be affiliated with these programming networks. Because such distributors may have a substantial number of subscribers, the ability of such programming networks to obtain distribution on the systems of affiliated distributors may lead to increased distribution and advertising revenue for such programming networks because of their increased penetration compared to our programming networks. Even if the affiliated distributors carry our programming networks, they may place their affiliated programming network on a more desirable tier, thereby giving their affiliated programming network a competitive advantage over our own. Our competitors could also have preferential access to important technologies, customer data or other competitive information. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in the future against existing or potential competitors, or that competition will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
In addition, our competitors include market participants with interests in multiple media businesses that are often vertically integrated, whereas our businesses generally rely on distribution relationships with third parties. As more cable and satellite operators, Internet service providers, subscription streaming services, other content distributors, aggregators and search providers create or acquire their own content, they may have significant competitive advantages, which could adversely affect our ability to negotiate favorable terms and distribution or otherwise compete effectively in the delivery marketplace. Our competitors could also have preferential access to important technologies, customer data or other competitive information.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully in the future against existing or new competitors, or that competition will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Changes in the operating environment of multichannel distributors, including declines in the number of subscribers, could have a material negative effect on our business and results of operations.
Our business derives a substantial portion of its revenues and income from cable television providers and other MVPDs. Subscription streaming services and virtual MVPDs are changing when, where and how audiences consume video content. These changes pose risks to the traditional U.S. television industry, including (i) the disruption of the traditional television content distribution model by subscription streaming services and virtual multichannel video programming services, which are increasing in number and some of which have a significant and growing subscriber base, and (ii) the disruption of the advertising supported television model resulting from increased video consumption through subscription streaming services and virtual multichannel video programming services with no advertising or less advertising than on television networks, and time shifted viewing of television programming. In part as a result of these changes, over the past few years, the number of subscribers to traditional MVPDs in the United States has declined and the U.S. television industry has experienced declines in ratings for programming, which has negatively affected subscription and advertising revenues. Developments in technology and new content delivery products and services have also led to an increasing amount of video content, as well as changes in consumers' expectations regarding the availability of video content, their willingness to pay for access to or ownership of such content, their perception of what quality entertainment is and their tolerance for commercial interruptions. We are engaged in efforts to respond to and mitigate the risks from these changes, but the success of some of these initiatives depends in part on the cooperation of measurement companies, advertisers and affiliates and, therefore, is not within our control. We have incurred significant costs to implement our strategy and initiatives, and if they are not successful, our competitive position, businesses and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Because a limited number of distributors account for a large portion of our business, failure to renew our programming networks' distribution agreements, renewal on less favorable terms, or the termination of those agreements, both in the United States and internationally, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our programming networks depend upon agreements with a limited number of cable television system operators and other MVPDs. The loss of any significant distributor could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations.
Currently our programming networks have distribution agreements with staggered expiration dates through 2028. Failure to renew distribution agreements, or renewal on less favorable terms (including with respect to price, packaging, positioning and other marketing opportunities), or the termination of distribution agreements could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. A reduced distribution of our programming networks would adversely affect our distribution revenues, and impact our ability to sell advertising or the rates we charge for such advertising. Even if distribution agreements are renewed, there is no assurance that the renewal rates will equal or exceed the rates that we currently charge these distributors.
In addition, we have, in some instances, made upfront payments to distributors in exchange for additional subscribers or have agreed to waive or accept lower subscription fees if certain numbers of additional subscribers are provided. We also may help fund our distributors' efforts to market our programming networks or we may permit distributors to offer promotional periods without payment of subscriber fees. As we continue our efforts to add viewing subscribers, our net revenues may be negatively affected by these deferred carriage fee arrangements, discounted subscriber fees or other payments.
Consolidation among cable, satellite and telecommunications service providers has had, and could continue to have, an adverse effect on our revenue and profitability.
Consolidation among cable and satellite distributors and telecommunications service providers has given the largest operators considerable leverage and market power in their relationships with programmers. We currently have agreements in place with the major U.S. cable and satellite operators and telecommunications service providers and this consolidation has affected, and could continue to affect, our ability to maximize the value of our content through those distributors. In addition, many of the countries and territories in which we distribute our networks also have a small number of dominant distributors.
In connection with consolidation in the industry, in some cases, if a distributor is acquired, the agreement of the acquiring distributor will govern following the acquisition. In those circumstances, the acquisition of a distributor that is party to one or more distribution agreements with our programming networks on terms that are more favorable to us could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. Continued consolidation within the industry could reduce the number of distributors that carry our programming and further increase the negotiating leverage of the cable and satellite television system operators, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Advertising market conditions in specific markets could cause our revenues and operating results to decline significantly in any given period.
We derive substantial revenues from the sale of advertising on a variety of platforms, and a decline in advertising expenditures could have a significant adverse effect on our revenues and operating results in any given period. The strength of the advertising market can fluctuate in response to the economic prospects of specific advertisers or industries, advertisers'
current spending priorities and the economy in general, and this may adversely affect the growth rate of our advertising revenues.
In addition, the pricing and volume of advertising may be affected by shifts in spending toward online and mobile offerings from more traditional media, or toward new ways of purchasing advertising, such as through automated purchasing, dynamic advertising insertion, third parties selling local advertising spots and advertising exchanges, some or all of which may not be as advantageous to us as current advertising methods. The increasing number of entertainment choices available to consumers has intensified audience fragmentation and reduced the viewing of content through traditional and virtual multichannel video programming providers, which has caused, and may continue to cause, audience ratings declines for our programming networks and may adversely affect the pricing and volume of advertising
Advertising sales are dependent on audience measurement, and the results of audience measurement techniques can vary independent of the size of the audience for a variety of reasons, including variations in the employed statistical sampling methods. While Nielsen's statistical sampling method is the primary measurement technique used in our television advertising sales, we measure and monetize our campaign reach and frequency on and across digital platforms based on other third-party data using a variety of methods including the number of impressions served and demographics. In addition, multi-platform campaign verification is in its infancy, and viewership on tablets and smartphones, which is growing rapidly, is presently not measured by any one consistently applied method. These variations and changes could have a significant effect on advertising revenues.
Theft of our content, including digital copyright theft and other unauthorized exhibitions of our content, may decrease revenue received from our programming and adversely affect our businesses and profitability.
The success of our businesses depends in part on our ability to maintain and monetize our intellectual property rights to our entertainment content. We are fundamentally a content company and theft of our brands, programming, digital content and other intellectual property has the potential to significantly affect us and the value of our content. Copyright theft is particularly prevalent in many parts of the world that lack effective copyright and technical protective measures similar to those existing in the United States or that lack effective enforcement of such measures, including some of the jurisdictions in which we operate. The interpretation of copyright, privacy and other laws as applied to our content, and piracy detection and enforcement efforts, remain in flux. The failure to strengthen, or the weakening of, existing intellectual property laws could make it more difficult for us to adequately protect our intellectual property and negatively affect its value and our results of operations.
Content theft has been made easier by the wide availability of higher bandwidth and reduced storage costs, as well as tools that undermine security features such as encryption and the ability of pirates to cloak their identities online. In addition, we and our numerous production and distribution partners operate various technology systems in connection with the production and distribution of our programming, and intentional, or unintentional, acts could result in unauthorized access to our content, a disruption of our services, or improper disclosure of confidential information. The increasing use of digital formats and technologies heightens this risk. Unauthorized access to our content could result in the premature release of our programming, which may have a significant adverse effect on the value of the affected programming.
Copyright theft has an adverse effect on our business because it reduces the revenue that we are able to receive from the legitimate sale and distribution of our content, undermines lawful distribution channels and inhibits our ability to recoup or profit from the costs incurred to create such content. A change in the laws of one jurisdiction may also have an impact on our ability to protect our intellectual property rights across other jurisdictions. In addition, many parts of the world where piracy is prevalent lack effective copyright and other legal protections or enforcement measures. Efforts to prevent the unauthorized distribution, performance and copying of our content may affect our profitability and may not be successful in preventing harm to our business.
Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights, protect trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights claimed by others. Any litigation of this nature, regardless of outcome or merit, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management and technical resources, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our failure to protect our intellectual property rights, particularly our brand, in a meaningful manner or challenges to related contractual rights could result in erosion of our brand and limit our ability to control marketing of our networks, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to adapt to new content distribution platforms and to changes in consumer behavior resulting from these new technologies, which may adversely affect our business.
We must successfully adapt to technological advances in our industry, including alternative distribution platforms. Our ability to exploit new distribution platforms and viewing technologies will affect our ability to maintain or grow our business. New forms of content distribution may provide different economic models and compete with current distribution methods in ways that are not entirely predictable. Such competition has reduced and could continue to reduce demand for our traditional
television offerings or for the offerings of digital platforms and, in turn, reduce our revenue from these sources. Accordingly, we must adapt to changing consumer behavior driven by advances such as virtual MVPDs, video on demand, subscription streaming services, including services such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV, Google TV and Amazon Prime and mobile devices. Gaming and other consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox and Roku are establishing themselves as alternative providers of video services. Such changes may impact the revenues we are able to generate from our traditional distribution methods, either by decreasing the viewership of our programming networks on cable and other multichannel video programming distribution systems which are almost entirely directed at television video delivery or by making advertising on our programming networks less valuable to advertisers. If we fail to adapt our distribution methods and content to new technologies, our appeal to our targeted audiences might decline and there could be a negative effect on our business. In addition, advertising revenues could be significantly impacted by new technologies, since advertising sales are dependent on audience measurement provided by third parties, and the results of audience measurement techniques can vary independent of the size of the audience for a variety of reasons, including difficulties related to the employed statistical sampling methods, new distribution platforms and viewing technologies, and the shifting of the marketplace to the use of measurement of different viewer behaviors, such as delayed viewing. Moreover, devices that allow users to fast forward or skip programming, including commercials, are causing changes in consumer behavior that may affect the desirability of our programming services to advertisers.
Economic and Operational Risks
We face risks from doing business internationally.
We have operations through which we distribute programming outside the United States. As a result, our business is subject to certain risks inherent in international business, many of which are beyond our control. These risks include:
•laws and policies affecting trade and taxes, including laws and policies relating to the repatriation of funds and withholding taxes, and changes in these laws;
•changes in local regulatory requirements, including restrictions on content, imposition of local content quotas and restrictions on foreign ownership;
•exchange controls, tariffs and other trade barriers;
•differing degrees of protection for intellectual property and varying attitudes towards the piracy of intellectual property;
•foreign privacy and data protection laws and regulations, as well as data localization requirements, and changes in these laws and requirements;
•the instability of foreign economies and governments;
•war and acts of terrorism; and
•anti-corruption laws and regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act that impose stringent requirements on how we conduct our foreign operations and changes in these laws and regulations.
Events or developments related to the risks described above as well as other risks associated with international trade could adversely affect our revenues from non-U.S. sources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.
Economic problems in the United States or in other parts of the world could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our business is affected by prevailing economic and financial conditions in the United States and other countries. We derive substantial revenues from advertisers, and these expenditures are sensitive to general economic conditions and consumer buying patterns. Financial instability or a general decline in economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions to financial markets, inflation, recession, high unemployment or geopolitical events in the United States and other countries where our networks are distributed, have in the past adversely affected advertising rates and volume, which has resulted in a decrease in our advertising revenues.
Decreases in consumer discretionary spending in the U.S and other countries where our networks are distributed may affect cable television and other video service subscriptions, in particular with respect to digital service tiers on which certain of our programming networks are carried. This could lead to a decrease in the number of subscribers receiving our programming from MVPDs, which could, in turn, have a negative impact on our viewing subscribers and subscription fee revenues. Similarly, a decrease in viewing subscribers could have a negative impact on the number of viewers actually watching the programs on our programming networks, thereby impacting the rates we are able to charge advertisers.
Economic conditions affect a number of aspects of our businesses worldwide and impact the businesses of advertisers on our networks. Adverse economic conditions have resulted in and could in the future result in advertisers reducing their spending on advertising and negatively affect the ability of those with whom we do business to satisfy their obligations to us. The
worsening of current global economic conditions could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, and worsening of economic conditions in certain specific parts of the world could impact the expansion and success of our businesses in such areas. Furthermore, some foreign markets in which we operate may be more adversely affected by worsening economic conditions than the United States or other countries.
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We have significant operations in a number of foreign jurisdictions and certain of our operations are conducted in foreign currencies. The value of these currencies fluctuates relative to the U.S. dollar. As a result, we are exposed to exchange rate fluctuations, which have had, and may in the future have, an adverse effect on our results of operations in a given period.
Specifically, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk to the extent that we enter into transactions denominated in currencies other than ours or our subsidiaries' respective functional currencies, such as trade receivables, programming contracts, notes payable and notes receivable (including intercompany amounts) that are denominated in a currency other than the applicable functional currency. Changes in exchange rates with respect to amounts recorded in our consolidated balance sheets related to these items will result in unrealized or realized (based upon period-end exchange rates) foreign currency transaction gains or losses upon settlement of the transactions. Moreover, to the extent that our revenue, costs and expenses are denominated in currencies other than our or our subsidiaries' respective functional currencies, we will experience fluctuations in our revenue, costs and expenses solely as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
We also are exposed to unfavorable and potentially volatile fluctuations of the U.S. dollar (our reporting currency) against the currencies of our non-U.S. dollar functional currency operating subsidiaries when their respective financial statements are translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. Cumulative translation adjustments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of equity. Any increase (decrease) in the value of the U.S. dollar against any foreign currency that is the functional currency of one of our operating subsidiaries will cause us to experience unrealized foreign currency translation losses (gains) with respect to amounts already invested in such foreign currencies. Accordingly, we may experience a negative impact on our comprehensive income (loss) and equity with respect to our holdings solely as a result of foreign currency translation. Our primary exposure to foreign currency risk from a foreign currency translation perspective is to the euro, British pound and, to a lesser extent, other local currencies in Europe. We generally do not hedge against the risk that we may incur non-cash losses upon the translation of the financial statements of our non-U.S. dollar functional currency operating subsidiaries and affiliates into U.S. dollars.
Our business is limited by United States regulatory constraints which may adversely impact our operations.
Although most aspects of our business generally are not directly regulated by the FCC, there are certain FCC regulations that govern our business either directly or indirectly. See Item 1, "Business-Regulation" in this Annual Report. Furthermore, to the extent that regulations and laws, either presently in force or proposed, hinder or stimulate the growth of the cable television, satellite or other MVPDs, our business could be affected.
The United States Congress and the FCC currently have under consideration, and may in the future adopt, new laws, regulations and policies regarding a wide variety of matters that could, directly or indirectly, affect our operations.
The regulation of cable television services, satellite carriers, and other video programming distributors is subject to the political process and has been in constant flux over the past two decades. Further changes in the law and regulatory requirements, including material ones, may be proposed or adopted in the future. We cannot assure you that our business will not be adversely affected by future legislation, new regulation or deregulation.
Our businesses are subject to risks of adverse regulation by foreign governments.
Programming businesses are subject to the regulations of the countries in which they operate as well as international bodies, such as the European Union ("E.U."). These regulations may include restrictions on the types of advertisements that can be sold on our networks, programming content requirements, requirements to make programming available on non-discriminatory terms, local levies or taxes applied to our networks and local content quotas. Consequently, our businesses must adapt their ownership and organizational structures as well as their pricing and service offerings to satisfy the rules and regulations to which they are subject. A failure to comply with applicable rules and regulations could result in penalties, restrictions on our business or loss of required licenses or other adverse conditions.
Existing or proposed legislation and regulations could also significantly affect our business. For example, the E.U. adopted GDPR, which expands the regulation of personal data processing throughout the E.U. and significantly increases penalties for non-compliance. Complying with these laws and regulations could be costly, require us to change our business practices, or limit or restrict aspects of our business in a manner adverse to our business operations. In particular, data privacy laws may require monitoring of, and changes to, our practices related to the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information. Many of these laws and regulations continue to evolve, and sometimes conflict among the countries in which we operate, and substantial uncertainty surrounds their scope and application. Our failure to comply with these law and regulations
could result in exposure to enforcement actions by foreign governments, as well as significant negative publicity and reputational damage.
Adverse changes in rules and regulations could have a significant adverse impact on our profitability.
We face continually evolving cybersecurity risks, which could result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, disruption of our programming, damage to our brands and reputation, legal exposure and financial losses.
We maintain information, including confidential and proprietary information regarding our content, distributors, advertisers, viewers and employees, in digital form as necessary to conduct our business. We also rely on third-party vendors to provide certain services in connection with the storage, processing and transmission of digital information. Data maintained in digital form is subject to the risk of cybersecurity attacks, tampering and theft. We develop and maintain systems to monitor and prevent this from occurring, but the development and maintenance of these systems is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Despite our efforts, the risks of a data breach cannot be entirely eliminated and our third-party vendors' information technology and other systems that maintain and transmit consumer, distributor, advertiser, company, employee and other confidential information may be compromised by a malicious penetration of our network security, or that of a third party provider due to employee error, computer malware or ransomware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, or otherwise. Remote work arrangements, such as those implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, may increase the risk of cyber incidents, including data breaches. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees or users to disclose sensitive or confidential information in order to gain access to data. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. If our or our third-party providers' data systems are compromised, our ability to conduct our business may be impaired, we may lose profitable opportunities or the value of those opportunities may be diminished and, as described above, we may lose revenue as a result of unlicensed use of our intellectual property. Further, a penetration of our or our third-party providers' network security or other misappropriation or misuse of personal consumer or employee information could subject us to business, regulatory, litigation and reputation risk, which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely upon cloud computing services to operate certain aspects of our business and any disruption of or interference with our use of these services would impact our operations and our business would be adversely impacted.
Cloud computing services provide a distributed computing infrastructure platform for business operations (for example Amazon Web Services or AWS). We have architected our software and computer systems so as to utilize data processing, storage capabilities and other services provided by AWS or other third party provides. Currently, we run the vast majority of our computing on AWS. Given this, along with the fact that we cannot easily switch our AWS operations to another cloud provider, any disruption of or interference with our use of AWS would impact our operations and our business would be adversely impacted.
If our technology facilities fail or their operations are disrupted, or if we lose access to third party satellites, our performance could be hindered.
Our programming is transmitted using technology facilities at certain of our subsidiaries. These technology facilities are used for a variety of purposes, including signal processing, program editing, promotions, creation of programming segments to fill short gaps between featured programs, quality control, and live and recorded playback. These facilities are subject to interruption from fire, lightning, adverse weather conditions and other natural causes. Equipment failure, employee misconduct or outside interference could also disrupt the facilities' services. We maintain a full time disaster recovery site in Chandler, Arizona, which is capable of providing simultaneous playout of AMC, BBCA, SundanceTV, IFC and WEtv in the event of a disruption of operations at our main facility in Bethpage, NY. In the event of a catastrophic failure of the Bethpage facility, the disaster recovery site can be operational on the satellite within one to two hours.
In addition, we rely on third-party satellites in order to transmit our programming signals to our distributors. As with all satellites, there is a risk that the satellites we use will be damaged as a result of natural or man-made causes, or will otherwise fail to operate properly. Although we maintain in-orbit protection providing us with back-up satellite transmission facilities should our primary satellites fail, there can be no assurance that such back-up transmission facilities will be effective or will not themselves fail. Further, there are a limited number of communications satellites available for the transmission of programming, and, in the event of a disruption, we may not be able to secure an alternate distribution source in a timely manner.
Any significant interruption at any of our technology facilities affecting the distribution of our programming, or any failure in satellite transmission of our programming signals, could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.
The loss of any of our key personnel and artistic talent could adversely affect our business.
We believe that our success depends to a significant extent upon the performance of our senior executives and other key employees and on our ability to identify, attract, hire train and retain such personnel. We generally do not maintain "key man" insurance, and there is no assurance of the continued services of our senior executives or other key employees. In addition, we depend on the availability of third-party production companies to create some of our original programming. For certain of our productions, through in-house and third party production service companies, we engage the services of writers, directors, actors and various crew members who are subject to certain specially negotiated collective bargaining agreements. Any labor disputes or a strike by one or more unions representing any of these parties who are essential to our original programming could have a material adverse effect on our original programming, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenues. The loss of any significant personnel or artistic talent, or our artistic talent losing their audience base, could also have a material adverse effect on our business.
The coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic has significantly impacted worldwide economic conditions and could have a material adverse effect on our operations and business.
During 2020, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuously evolving responses to combat it have had a negative impact on the global economy. Many of those impacts continued in 2021 despite the availability of vaccines as new variants of COVID-19, including the Delta and Omicron variants, have continued to impact the global economy.
The impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread have affected and may, in the future, affect our businesses in a number of ways. Beginning in mid-March 2020, we experienced adverse advertising sales impacts and suspended content production, which led to delays in the creation and availability of substantially all of our programming. Although we have recommenced production activities, we cannot guarantee that we will not have to suspend them in the future, temporarily or over a longer term, as a result of the pandemic. In addition, substantially all Company employees continue to work remotely, and the Company continues to restrict business travel. If significant portions of our workforce, including key personnel, are unable to work effectively because of illness, government actions or other restrictions in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the pandemic on our businesses could be exacerbated. In addition, remote work arrangements heighten the operational risks, including cybersecurity risks, to which we are subject. Lack of widespread public acceptance of vaccines has led to the continued spread of COVID-19 variants which has perpetuated the adverse effects of COVID-19 on economic conditions into 2022. Further, even if vaccines become widely used, there can be no assurance that vaccines will ultimately be successful in limiting or stopping the spread of new COVID-19 variants or mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on economic conditions.
The Company has evaluated and continues to evaluate the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its consolidated financial statements, including the impairment of goodwill (see Note 9) and indefinite-lived intangible assets and the fair value and collectability of receivables. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the Company's operations since mid-March 2020. The Company cannot reasonably predict the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent of any adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition, which will depend on, among other things, the duration and spread of the pandemic, the impact of governmental regulations that have been, and may continue to be, imposed in response to the pandemic, the effectiveness of actions taken to contain or mitigate the outbreak, the availability, safety and efficacy of vaccines against new variants of COVID-19, and global economic conditions. The Company does not expect the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic impact to affect its liquidity position or its ongoing ability to meet the covenants in its debt instruments.
In addition to the risks described above, to the extent that COVID-19 adversely affects our operations and financial condition, it may also heighten other risks described in this section.
Our inability to successfully make investments in, and/or acquire and integrate, other businesses, assets, products or technologies could harm our business, financial condition or operating results.
Our success may depend on opportunities to buy other businesses or technologies that could complement, enhance or expand our current business or products or that might otherwise offer us growth opportunities. We have acquired, and have made strategic investments in, a number of companies (including through joint ventures) in the past, and we expect to make additional acquisitions and strategic investments in the future. Such transactions may result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, use of our cash resources, and incurrence of debt and amortization expenses related to intangible assets. Any acquisitions and strategic investments that we are able to identify and complete may be accompanied by a number of risks, including:
•the difficulty of assimilating the operations and personnel of acquired companies into our operations;
•the potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management;
•the incurrence of additional operating losses and operating expenses of the businesses we acquired or in which we invested;
•the difficulty of integrating acquired technology and rights into our services and unanticipated expenses related to such integration;
•the failure to successfully further develop an acquired business or technology and any resulting impairment of amounts currently capitalized as intangible assets;
•the failure of strategic investments to perform as expected or to meet financial projections;
•the potential for patent and trademark infringement and data privacy and security claims against the acquired companies, or companies in which we have invested;
•litigation or other claims in connection with acquisitions, acquired companies, or companies in which we have invested;
•the impairment or loss of relationships with customers and partners of the companies we acquired or in which we invested or with our customers and partners as a result of the integration of acquired operations;
•the impairment of relationships with, or failure to retain, employees of acquired companies or our existing employees as a result of integration of new personnel;
•the difficulty of integrating operations, systems, and controls as a result of cultural, regulatory, systems, and operational differences;
•the performance of management of companies in which we invest but do not control;
•in the case of foreign acquisitions and investments, the impact of particular economic, tax, currency, political, legal and regulatory risks associated with specific countries; and
•the impact of known potential liabilities or liabilities that may be unknown, including as a result of inadequate internal controls, associated with the companies we acquired or in which we invested.
Our failure to be successful in addressing these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or future acquisitions and strategic investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or investments, incur unanticipated liabilities, and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may have exposure to additional tax liabilities.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in both the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. We are regularly under audit by tax authorities in both the United States and various foreign jurisdictions. Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable, (1) there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our historical income tax provisions, expense amounts for non-income based taxes and accruals and (2) any material differences could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period or periods for which determination is made.
Although a portion of our revenue and operating income is generated outside the United States, we are subject to potential current U.S. income tax on this income due to our being a U.S. corporation, resulting in potentially higher effective tax rate for the Company. This includes (i) what is referred to as "Subpart F Income," which generally includes, but is not limited to, such items as interest, dividends, royalties, gains from the disposition of certain property, certain currency exchange gains in excess of currency exchange losses, and certain related party sales and services income and (ii) what is referred to as “global intangible low-taxed income,” which generally equals certain foreign earnings in excess of 10 percent of the foreign subsidiaries’ tangible business assets. While we may mitigate any potential negative impacts of the aforementioned regimes through claiming a foreign tax credit against our U.S. federal income taxes or potentially have foreign or U.S. taxes reduced under applicable income tax treaties, we are subject to various limitations on claiming foreign tax credits or we may lack treaty protections in certain jurisdictions that will potentially limit any reduction of the increased effective tax rate. A higher effective tax rate may also result to the extent that losses are incurred in non-U.S. subsidiaries that do not reduce our U.S. taxable income.
We are subject to changing tax laws, treaties and regulations in and between countries in which we operate, including treaties between the United States and other nations. A change in these tax laws, treaties or regulations, including those in and involving the United States, or in the interpretation thereof, could result in a materially higher or lower income or non-income tax expenses. Also, various income tax proposals in the countries in which we operate, such as those relating to fundamental U.S. international tax reform and measures in response to the economic uncertainty in certain European jurisdictions in which we operate, could result in changes to the existing tax laws under which our taxes are calculated. We are unable to predict whether any of these or other proposals in the United States or foreign jurisdictions will ultimately be enacted. Any such changes could negatively impact our business.
A significant amount of our book value consists of intangible assets that may not generate cash in the event of a voluntary or involuntary sale.
At December 31, 2021, our consolidated financial statements included approximately $5.7 billion of consolidated total assets, of which approximately $1.1 billion were classified as intangible assets. Intangible assets primarily include affiliation agreements and affiliate relationships, advertiser relationships, trademarks and goodwill. While we believe that the carrying values of our intangible assets are recoverable, there is no assurance that we would receive any cash from the voluntary or involuntary sale of these intangible assets, particularly if we were not continuing as an operating business.
Risks Relating to Our Debt
Our substantial long-term debt and high leverage could adversely affect our business.
We have a significant amount of long-term debt. As of December 31, 2021, we had $2.9 billion principal amount of total long-term debt (excluding finance leases), $675.0 million of which is senior secured debt under our Credit Facility and $2.2 billion of which is senior unsecured debt.
Our ability to make payments on, or repay or refinance, our debt, and to fund planned distributions and capital expenditures, will depend largely upon our future operating performance. Our future performance, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. In addition, our ability to borrow funds in the future to make payments on our debt will depend on the satisfaction of the covenants in the Credit Facility and our other debt agreements, including the indentures governing our notes and other agreements we may enter into in the future.
Our substantial amount of debt could have important consequences. For example, it could:
•increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;
•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make interest and principal payments on our debt, thereby limiting the availability of our cash flow to fund future programming investments, capital expenditures, working capital, business activities and other general corporate requirements;
•limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;
•place us at a competitive disadvantage compared with our competitors; and
•limit our ability to borrow additional funds, even when necessary to maintain adequate liquidity.
In the long-term, we do not expect to generate sufficient cash from operations to repay at maturity our outstanding debt obligations. As a result, we will be dependent upon our ability to access the capital and credit markets. Failure to raise significant amounts of funding to repay these obligations at maturity could adversely affect our business. If we are unable to raise such amounts, we would need to take other actions including selling assets, seeking strategic investments from third parties or reducing other discretionary uses of cash. The Credit Facility and indentures governing our notes restrict, and market or business conditions may limit, our ability to do some of these things.
A significant portion of our debt bears interest at variable rates. While we have entered into hedging agreements limiting our exposure to higher interest rates, such agreements do not offer complete protection from this risk.
The agreements governing our debt contain various covenants that impose restrictions on us that may affect our ability to operate our business.
The agreements governing the Credit Facility and the indentures governing our notes contain covenants that, among other things, limit our ability to:
•borrow money or guarantee debt;
•create liens;
•pay dividends on or redeem or repurchase stock;
•make specified types of investments;
•enter into transactions with affiliates; and
•sell assets or merge with other companies.
The Credit Facility requires us to comply with a Cash Flow Ratio and an Interest Coverage Ratio, each as defined in the Credit Facility. Compliance with these covenants may limit our ability to take actions that might be to our advantage or to the advantage of our stockholders.
Various risks, uncertainties and events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with these covenants and maintain these financial ratios. Failure to comply with any of the covenants in our existing or future financing agreements could result in a default under those agreements and under other agreements containing cross-default provisions. A default would
permit lenders to accelerate the maturity for the debt under these agreements and to foreclose upon any collateral securing the debt. Under these circumstances, we might not have sufficient funds or other resources to satisfy all of our obligations. In addition, the limitations imposed by financing agreements on our ability to incur additional debt and to take other actions might significantly impair our ability to obtain other financing.
Despite our current levels of debt, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial debt.
We may be able to incur additional debt in the future. The terms of the Credit Facility and indentures governing our notes allow us to incur substantial amounts of additional debt, subject to certain limitations. In addition, as we have in the past, we may in the future refinance all or a portion of our debt, including borrowings under the Credit Facility, and obtain the ability to incur more debt as a result. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks we could face would be magnified.
A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings assigned to our debt securities by rating agencies may increase our future debt issuance costs and reduce our access to capital.
The debt ratings for our notes are below the "investment grade" category, which results in higher interest costs as well as a reduced pool of potential purchasers of our debt as some investors will not purchase debt securities that are not rated "investment grade". In addition, there can be no assurance that any rating assigned will remain for any given period of time or that a rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency, if in that rating agency's judgment, future circumstances, such as adverse changes to economic conditions that could impact an issuer's ability to meet its financial commitments, so warrant. A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings assigned to our debt securities may further increase our future debt issuance costs and reduce our access to capital.
Risks Relating to Our Controlled Ownership
We are controlled by the Dolan family and trusts for their benefit, which may create certain conflicts of interest. In addition, as a result of their control, the Dolan family has the ability to prevent or cause a change in control or approve, prevent or influence certain actions by the Company.
We have two classes of common stock:
•Class A Common Stock, which is entitled to one vote per share and is entitled collectively to elect 25% of our Board of Directors.
•Class B Common Stock, which is generally entitled to ten votes per share and is entitled collectively to elect the remaining 75% of our Board of Directors.
As of December 31, 2021, the Dolan family, including trusts for the benefit of members of the Dolan family (collectively "the Dolan Family Group"), own all of our Class B Common Stock, approximately 3% of our outstanding Class A Common Stock and approximately 79% of the total voting power of all our outstanding common stock. The members of the Dolan Family Group have executed a voting agreement (the "Stockholders Agreement") that has the effect of causing the voting power of the holders of our Class B Common Stock to be cast as provided therein with respect to all matters to be voted on by holders of Class B Common Stock. Under the Stockholders Agreement, the shares of Class B Common Stock owned by members of the Dolan Family Group are to be voted on all matters in accordance with the determination of the Dolan Family Committee, except that the decisions of the Dolan Family Committee are non-binding with respect to the Class B Common Stock owned by certain Dolan family trusts (the "Excluded Trusts") that collectively own 48% of the outstanding Class B Common Stock. The Dolan Family Committee consists of Charles F. Dolan and his six children, James L. Dolan, Thomas C. Dolan, Patrick F. Dolan, Kathleen M. Dolan, Marianne E. Dolan and Deborah A. Dolan-Sweeney (collectively, the "Dolan Siblings"). The Dolan Family Committee generally acts by vote of a majority of the Dolan Siblings, except that a vote on a going-private transaction must be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Dolan Siblings and a vote on a change-in-control transaction must be approved by not less than all but one of the Dolan Siblings. The Dolan Family Group is able to prevent a change in control of our Company and no person interested in acquiring us would be able to do so without obtaining the consent of the Dolan Family Group.
Shares of Class B Common Stock owned by Excluded Trusts are to be voted on all matters in accordance with the determination of the Excluded Trusts holding a majority of the Class B Common Stock held by all Excluded Trusts, except in the case of a vote on a going-private transaction or a change in control transaction, in which case a vote of trusts holding two-thirds of the Class B Common Stock owned by Excluded Trusts is required.
The Dolan Family Group by virtue of their stock ownership, have the power to elect all of our directors subject to election by holders of Class B Common Stock and are able collectively to control stockholder decisions on matters on which holders of all classes of our common stock vote together as a single class. These matters could include the amendment of some provisions of our certificate of incorporation and the approval of fundamental corporate transactions.
In addition, the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding shares of the Class B Common Stock, voting separately as a class, is required to approve:
•the authorization or issuance of any additional shares of Class B Common Stock, and
•any amendment, alteration or repeal of any of the provisions of our certificate of incorporation that adversely affects the powers, preferences or rights of the Class B Common Stock.
As a result, the Dolan Family Group has the power to prevent such issuance or amendment.
We have adopted a written policy whereby an independent committee of our Board of Directors will review and approve or take such other action as it may deem appropriate with respect to certain transactions involving the Company and its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and certain related parties, including Charles F. Dolan and certain of his family members and related entities on the other hand. This policy does not address all possible conflicts which may arise, and there can be no assurance that this policy will be effective in dealing with conflict scenarios.
We are a "controlled company" for the purposes of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ"), which allows us not to comply with certain of the corporate governance rules of NASDAQ.
Members of the Dolan Family Group have entered into the Stockholders Agreement, which relates to, among other things, the voting and transfer of their shares of our Class B Common Stock. As a result, we are a "controlled company" under the corporate governance rules of NASDAQ. As a controlled company, we have the right to elect not to comply with the corporate governance rules of NASDAQ requiring: (i) a majority of independent directors on our Board of Directors, (ii) an independent compensation committee and (iii) an independent corporate governance and nominating committee. Our Board of Directors has elected for the Company to be treated as a "controlled company" under NASDAQ corporate governance rules and not to comply with the NASDAQ requirement for a majority independent board of directors and an independent corporate governance and nominating committee because of our status as a controlled company.
Future stock sales, including as a result of the exercise of registration rights by certain of our shareholders, could adversely affect the trading price of our Class A Common Stock.
Certain parties have registration rights covering a portion of our shares. We have entered into registration rights agreements with Charles F. Dolan, members of his family, certain Dolan family interests and the Dolan Family Foundation that provide them with "demand" and "piggyback" registration rights with respect to approximately 12.3 million shares of Class A Common Stock, including shares issuable upon conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock. Sales of a substantial number of shares of Class A Common Stock, including sales pursuant to these registration rights agreements, could adversely affect the market price of the Class A Common Stock and could impair our future ability to raise capital through an offering of our equity securities.
We share certain executives and directors with Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. ("MSGS") and Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. ("MSGE"), which may give rise to conflicts.
One of our executives, Gregg G. Seibert, serves as a Vice Chairman of the Company and as a Vice Chairman of MSGS and MSGE (each, an "Other Entity" and, collectively the "Other Entities"). Each of the Other Entities and the Company are affiliates by virtue of being under common control of the Dolan family. As a result, he will not be devoting his full time and attention to the Company's affairs. Five members of our Board of Directors, including our Chairman, are directors of MSGS and six members of our Board of Directors, including our Chairman, are directors of MSGE. These directors may have actual or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to matters involving or affecting each company. For example, the potential for a conflict of interest exists when we, on one hand, and an Other Entity, on the other hand, consider acquisitions and other corporate opportunities that may be suitable for us and for the Other Entity. Also, conflicts may arise if there are issues or disputes under the commercial arrangements that exist between the Other Entities and us. In addition, certain of our directors and officers own stock, restricted stock units and options to purchase stock in one or more of the Other Entities, as well as cash performance awards with any payout based on the performance of one or more of the Other Entities. These ownership interests could create actual, apparent or potential conflicts of interest when these individuals are faced with decisions that could have different implications for our Company and one or more of the Other Entities. See "Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions-Certain Relationships and Potential Conflicts of Interest" in our proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 30, 2021 for a description of our related party transaction approval policy that we have adopted to help address such potential conflicts that may arise.
Our overlapping directors and executives with the Other Entities may result in the diversion of corporate opportunities to and other conflicts with the Other Entities and provisions in our governance documents may provide us no remedy in that circumstance.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation acknowledges that directors and officers of the Company may also be serving as directors, officers, employees, consultants or agents of MSGS, MSGE, and its subsidiaries and that we may engage in material business transactions with such entities (the applicable provisions of the amended and restated certificate of
incorporation, the "Overlap Provisions"). The Company has renounced its rights to certain business opportunities and the Overlap Provisions provide that no director or officer of the Company who is also serving as a director, officer, employee, consultant or agent of an Other Entity or any subsidiary of an Other Entity will be liable to the Company or its stockholders for breach of any fiduciary duty that would otherwise exist by reason of the fact that such individual directs a corporate opportunity (other than certain limited types of opportunities set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation) to the Other Entity or any of its subsidiaries, or does not refer or communicate information regarding such corporate opportunities to the Company. The Overlap Provisions also expressly validate certain contracts, agreements, assignments and transactions (and amendments, modifications or terminations thereof) between the Company and the Other Entities and their subsidiaries and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, provide that the actions of the overlapping directors or officers in connection therewith are not breaches of fiduciary duties owed to the Company, any of its subsidiaries or their respective stockholders.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties.
We lease approximately 578,000 square feet of space in the United States, including approximately 326,000 square feet of office space that we lease at 11 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001, under lease arrangements with remaining terms through 2027. We use this space as our corporate headquarters and as the principal business location of our Company. We also lease approximately 67,000 square-feet of space for our broadcasting and technology center in Bethpage, New York under a lease arrangement with a term through 2029, from which AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology conducts its operations. In addition, we lease other properties in New York, California, Florida, Maryland and Illinois.
We lease approximately 181,000 square feet of space outside of the U.S., including in Spain, Hungary and the United Kingdom that support our international operations.
We believe our properties are adequate for our use.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
On December 17, 2013, Frank Darabont ("Darabont"), Ferenc, Inc., Darkwoods Productions, Inc., and Creative Artists Agency, LLC (together, the "Plaintiffs"), filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court in connection with Darabont's rendering services as a writer, director and producer of the television series entitled The Walking Dead and the agreement between the parties related thereto. Plaintiffs asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, for an accounting and for declaratory relief.
On January 18, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a second action in New York Supreme Court in connection with Darabont’s services on The Walking Dead television series and agreements between the parties related thereto. Plaintiffs asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and declaratory relief. The two actions were consolidated for a joint trial, which was scheduled to begin on April 4, 2022.
On July 16, 2021, the parties entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) to resolve the consolidated actions. The Settlement Agreement provides for a cash payment of $200 million (the “Settlement Payment”) to Plaintiffs and future revenue sharing related to certain future streaming exhibition of The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead. With regard to the Settlement Payment, the Company recorded charge of approximately $143 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2021 in consideration for the extinguishment of Plaintiffs’ rights to any compensation in connection with The Walking Dead and any related programs and the dismissal of the actions with prejudice, which amount is net of approximately $57 million of ordinary course accrued participations. The Settlement Agreement also includes customary provisions included in such agreements, including providing for mutual releases, covenants not to sue, waivers, confidentiality, non-disparagement and indemnification for third party claims. On July 21, 2021, the Plaintiffs filed a stipulation to discontinue the consolidated actions, with prejudice.
On August 14, 2017, Robert Kirkman, Robert Kirkman, LLC, Glen Mazzara, 44 Strong Productions, Inc., David Alpert, Circle of Confusion Productions, LLC, New Circle of Confusion Productions, Inc., Gale Anne Hurd, and Valhalla Entertainment, Inc. f/k/a Valhalla Motion Pictures, Inc. (together, the "California Plaintiffs") filed a complaint in California Superior Court in connection with California Plaintiffs’ rendering of services as writers and producers of the television series entitled The Walking Dead, as well as Fear the Walking Dead and/or Talking Dead, and the agreements between the parties related thereto (the "California Walking Dead Litigation"). The California Plaintiffs asserted that the Company had been improperly underpaying the California Plaintiffs under their contracts with the Company and they asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, inducing breach of contract, and liability for violation of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. The California Plaintiffs sought compensatory and punitive damages and restitution. On August 8, 2019, the judge in the California Walking Dead Litigation ordered a trial to resolve certain issues of contract interpretation only. Following eight days of trial in February and March 2020, on July 22, 2020, the judge issued a Statement of Decision finding in
the Company's favor on all seven matters of contract interpretation before the court in this first phase trial. On January 20, 2021, the California Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint, eliminating eight named defendants and their claims under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. On May 5, 2021, the California Plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint, repleading in part their claims for alleged breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, inducing breach of contract, and certain breach of contract claims. On June 2, 2021, the Company filed a demurrer and motion to strike seeking to dismiss the claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and certain tort and breach of contract claims asserted in the third amended complaint. On July 27, 2021, the court granted in part and denied in part the Company's motion. A May 2, 2022 trial date has been set with regard to claims not addressed in the first phase trial. The parties have resumed discovery in preparation for the May 2, 2022 trial. On January 12, 2022, the Company filed a motion for summary adjudication of many of the remaining claims. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for April 1, 2022. The Company believes that the remaining asserted claims are without merit and will vigorously defend against them. At this time, no determination can be made as to the ultimate outcome of this litigation or the potential liability, if any, on the part of the Company.
The Company is party to various lawsuits and claims in the ordinary course of business, including the matters described above. Although the outcome of these matters cannot be predicted with certainty and while the impact of these matters on the Company's results of operations in any particular subsequent reporting period could be material, management does not believe that the resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on the financial position of the Company or the ability of the Company to meet its financial obligations as they become due.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
Part II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Our Class A Common Stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "AMCX." Our Class B Common Stock is not listed on any exchange. Our Class A Common Stock began trading on NASDAQ on July 1, 2011.
Performance Graph
The following graph compares the performance of the Company's Class A Common Stock with the performance of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index and a peer group (the "Peer Group Index") by measuring the changes in our Class A Common Stock prices from December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2021. Because no published index of comparable media companies currently reports values on a dividends-reinvested basis, the Company has created a Peer Group Index for purposes of this graph in accordance with the requirements of the SEC. The Peer Group Index is made up of companies that engage in cable television programming as a significant element of their business, although not all of the companies included in the Peer Group Index participate in all of the lines of business in which the Company is engaged, and some of the companies included in the Peer Group Index also engage in lines of business in which the Company does not participate. Additionally, the market capitalizations of many of the companies included in the Peer Group are quite different from that of the Company. The common stocks of the following companies have been included in the Peer Group Index: Discovery Inc., the Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation (included from March 19, 2019, when trading began), Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, and ViacomCBS Inc. The chart assumes $100 was invested on December 31, 2016 in each of: i) Company's Class A Common Stock, ii) the S&P Mid-Cap 400 Index, and iii) in this Peer Group weighted by market capitalization.
INDEXED RETURNS
Period Ended
Company Name / Index Base Period 12/31/16 12/31/17 12/31/18 12/31/19 12/31/20 12/31/21
AMC Networks Inc. 100 103.32 104.85 75.47 68.34 65.80
S&P MidCap 400 Index 100 116.24 103.36 130.44 148.26 184.97
Peer Group 100 101.79 100.80 126.36 148.21 129.30
This performance graph shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") or incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
As of February 9, 2022 there were 570 holders of record of our Class A Common Stock and 34 holders of record of our Class B Common Stock.
Stock Repurchase Program
The Company's Board of Directors has authorized a program to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock (the "Stock Repurchase Program"). The authorization of up to $500 million was announced on March 7, 2016, an additional authorization of $500 million was announced on June 7, 2017, and an additional authorization of $500 million was announced on June 13, 2018. The Stock Repurchase Program has no pre-established closing date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its Class A common stock during the year ended December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has $135.3 million available for repurchase under the Stock Repurchase Program.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations, or MD&A, is a supplement to and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes. Our MD&A is provided to enhance the understanding of our financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of our operations and is organized as follows:
Business Overview. This section provides a general description of our business and our operating segments, as well as other matters that we believe are important in understanding our results of operations and financial condition and in anticipating future trends.
Consolidated Results of Operations. This section provides an analysis of our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Our discussion is presented on both a consolidated and segment basis. Our two segments are: (i) Domestic Operations and (ii) International and Other.
Liquidity and Capital Resources. This section provides a discussion of our financial condition as of December 31, 2021 as well as an analysis of our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019. The discussion of our financial condition and liquidity also includes a summary of our primary sources of liquidity.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates. This section provides a discussion of our accounting policies considered to be important to an understanding of our financial condition and results of operations, and which require significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in their application.
Business Overview
Financial Highlights
Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts Year Ended December 31, Change
2021 2020 2019 2021 vs. 2020 2020 vs. 2019
Revenues, net
Domestic Operations $ 2,580,616 $ 2,381,401 $ 2,563,250 8.4 % (7.1) %
International and Other 511,317 453,230 527,916 12.8 % (14.1) %
Inter-segment Eliminations (14,325) (19,675) (30,845) (27.2) % (36.2) %
$ 3,077,608 $ 2,814,956 $ 3,060,321 9.3 % (8.0) %
Operating Income (Loss)
Domestic Operations $ 617,875 $ 734,871 $ 884,054 (15.9) % (16.9) %
International and Other 37,167 (109,365) (83,948) (134.0) % 30.3 %
Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations (165,120) (182,862) (174,829) (9.7) % 4.6 %
$ 489,922 $ 442,644 $ 625,277 10.7 % (29.2) %
Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) (1)
Domestic Operations $ 845,441 $ 827,954 $ 986,331 2.1 % (16.1) %
International and Other 83,294 48,725 67,336 70.9 % (27.6) %
Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations (112,665) (110,068) (109,677) 2.4 % 0.4 %
$ 816,070 $ 766,611 $ 943,990 6.5 % (18.8) %
(1) Adjusted Operating Income (Loss), is a non-GAAP financial measures. See the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section on page 47 for additional information, including our definition and our use of this non-GAAP financial measure, and for a reconciliation to its most comparable GAAP financial measure.
Segment Reporting Changes
In the first quarter of 2021, we changed our presentation of operating segments, reflecting a reorganized operating structure focused on a multi-platform distribution approach to content monetization. Our streaming services and IFC Films, previously included in the International and Other segment, are now included within Domestic Operations (formerly referred to as the National Networks segment). In addition, certain corporate overhead costs are no longer allocated to the operating segments. Operating segment information for the prior years has been recast to reflect these changes. The new reporting structure consists of the following two operating segments:
•Domestic Operations: Includes our programming services and AMC Broadcasting & Technology. Our programming services consist of our five national programming networks, our streaming services, our AMC Studios operation and IFC Films. Our national programming networks are AMC, WE tv, BBC AMERICA, IFC, and SundanceTV. Our streaming services consist of our targeted subscription streaming services (Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and HIDIVE), AMC+ and other streaming initiatives. Our AMC Studios operation produces original programming for our programming services and also licenses such programming worldwide, and IFC Films is our film distribution business. AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology, our technical services business, primarily services most of the national programming networks.
•International and Other: Includes AMC Networks International ("AMCNI"), our international programming businesses consisting of a portfolio of channels around the world, and 25/7 Media (formerly Levity), our production services business. See Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information relating to the spin-off of the Levity comedy venues business.
Domestic Operations
In our Domestic Operations segment, we earn revenue principally from: (i) the distribution of our programming through our programming services, (ii) the sale of advertising, and (iii) the licensing of our original programming to distributors, including the distribution of programming of IFC Films. Distribution revenue primarily includes subscription fees paid by distributors to carry our programming services, and content licensing revenue from the licensing of original programming for digital, foreign and home video distribution. Subscription fees paid by distributors represent the largest component of distribution revenue. Our subscription fee revenues for our programming networks are based on a per subscriber fee, and, to a lesser extent, fixed fees under multi-year contracts, commonly referred to as "affiliation agreements," which generally provide for annual rate increases. The specific subscription fee revenues we earn vary from period to period, distributor to distributor and also vary among our programming services, but are generally based upon the number of each distributor's subscribers who receive our programming, referred to as viewing subscribers. Subscription fees for our streaming services are paid on a monthly basis. Content licensing revenue from the licensing of original programming for digital and foreign distribution is recognized upon availability or distribution by the licensee.
Under affiliation agreements with our distributors, we have the right to sell a specified amount of national advertising time on our programming networks. Our advertising revenues are more variable than subscription fee revenues because the majority of our advertising is sold on a short-term basis, not under long-term contracts. Our arrangements with advertisers provide for a set number of advertising units to air over a specific period of time at a negotiated price per unit. Additionally, in these advertising sales arrangements, our programming networks generally guarantee specified viewer ratings for their programming. If these guaranteed viewer ratings are not met, we are generally required to provide additional advertising units to the advertiser at no charge. For these types of arrangements, a portion of the related revenue is deferred if the guaranteed ratings are not met and is subsequently recognized either when we provide the required additional advertising time or the guarantee obligation contractually expires. Most of our advertising revenues vary based upon the popularity of our programming as measured by Nielsen. Our national programming networks have advertisers representing companies in a broad range of sectors, including the automotive, restaurants/food, health, and telecommunications industries.
Changes in revenue are primarily derived from changes in the contractual subscription rates charged for our services; the number of subscribers; the prices and number of advertising spots on our networks; and the availability, amount and timing of licensing fees earned from the distribution of our original programming. Our revenues may increase over time through contractual rate increases stipulated in our affiliation agreements. In negotiating for additional subscribers or extended carriage, we have agreed, in some instances, to make upfront payments to a distributor which we record as deferred carriage fees and are amortized as a reduction to revenue over the period of the related affiliation agreement. We also may help fund the distributors' efforts to market our networks. We believe that these transactions generate a positive return on investment over the contract period. We seek to increase our advertising revenues by increasing the rates we charge for such advertising, which is directly related to the overall distribution of our programming, penetration of our services on various digital platforms such as Advertising Video-on-Demand ("AVOD") services and the popularity (including within desirable demographic groups) of our services as measured by Nielsen.
Our principal goal is to increase our revenues by increasing distribution and penetration of our services, and increasing our ratings. To do this, we must continue to contract for and produce high-quality, attractive programming. As competition for programming increases and alternative distribution technologies continue to emerge and develop in the industry, costs for content acquisition and original programming may increase. There is a concentration of subscribers in the hands of a few distributors, which could create disparate bargaining power between the largest distributors and us by giving those distributors greater leverage in negotiating the price and other terms of affiliation agreements. We also seek to increase our content licensing revenues by expanding the opportunities for licensing our programming through digital distribution platforms, foreign distribution and home video services. Content licensing revenues in each quarter may vary based on the timing of availability of our programming to distributors.
Programming expenses, included in technical and operating expenses, represent the largest expense of the Domestic Operations segment and primarily consists of amortization and write-offs of programming rights, such as those for original programming, feature films and licensed series, as well as participation and residual costs. The other components of technical and operating expenses primarily include distribution and production related costs and program operating costs including cost of delivery, such as origination, transmission, uplinking and encryption.
The success of our business depends on original programming, both scripted and unscripted, across all of our programming services. These original series generally result in higher ratings for our networks. Among other things, higher audience ratings drive increased revenues through higher advertising revenues. The timing of exhibition and distribution of original programming varies from period to period, which results in greater variability in our revenues, earnings and cash flows from operating activities. We will continue to increase our investment in programming services. There may be significant changes in the level of our technical and operating expenses due to the amortization of content acquisition and/or original programming costs and/or the impact of management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness. Such costs will also fluctuate with the level of revenues derived from owned original programming in each period as program rights that are monetized individually are amortized based on the individual-film-forecast-computation method, while program rights that are monetized as a group are amortized based on projected usage, typically resulting in an accelerated amortization pattern.
Most original series require us to make up-front investments, which are often significant amounts. Not all of our programming efforts are commercially successful, which could result in a write-off of program rights. If it is determined that programming rights have limited, or no, future programming usefulness based on actual demand or market conditions, a write-off of the unamortized cost is recorded in technical and operating expenses. Program rights write-offs of $11.1 million, $97.5 million and $38.6 million were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively (see further discussion below).
See "Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates" for a discussion of the amortization and write-off of program rights.
International and Other
Our International and Other segment primarily includes the operations of AMCNI and 25/7 Media (formerly Levity).
In our International and Other segment, we earn revenue principally from the international distribution of programming and, to a lesser extent, the sale of advertising from our AMCNI programming networks. We also earn revenue through production services from 25/7 Media. For the year ended December 31, 2021, distribution revenues represented 79% of the revenues of the International and Other segment. Distribution revenue primarily includes subscription fees paid by distributors or consumers to carry our programming networks and production services revenue generated from 25/7 Media. Our subscription revenues are generally based on either a per-subscriber fee or a fixed contractual annual fee, under multi-year affiliation agreements, which may provide for annual rate increases. Our production services revenues are based on master production agreements whereby a third-party engages us to produce content on its behalf. Production services revenues are recognized based on the percentage of cost incurred to total estimated cost of the contract. Distribution revenues are derived from the distribution of our programming networks primarily in Europe and to a lesser extent, Latin America.
Programming expenses, program operating costs and production costs incurred to produce content for third parties are included in technical and operating expenses, and represent the largest expense of the International and Other segment. Programming expenses primarily consists of amortization of acquired content, costs of dubbing and sub-titling of programs, production costs, participation and residual costs. Program operating costs include costs such as origination, transmission, uplinking and encryption of our linear AMCNI channels as well as content hosting and delivery costs at our various on-line content distribution initiatives. Not all of our programming efforts are commercially successful, which could result in a write-off of program rights. If it is determined that programming rights have limited, or no, future programming usefulness based on actual demand or market conditions, a write-off of the unamortized cost is recorded in technical and operating expenses.
Similar to our Domestic Operations businesses, the most significant business challenges we expect to encounter in our International and Other businesses include programming competition (from both foreign and domestic programmers), limited channel capacity on distributors' platforms, the number of subscribers on those platforms and economic pressures on
subscription fees. Other significant business challenges unique to our international operations include increased programming costs for international rights and translation (i.e. dubbing and subtitling), a lack of availability of international rights for a portion of our domestic programming content, increased distribution costs for cable, satellite or fiber feeds, a limited physical presence in certain territories, and our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk. See also the risk factors described under Item 1A, "Risk Factors - We face risks from doing business internationally." in this Annual Report.
Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations
Corporate operations primarily consist of executive management and administrative support services, such as executive salaries and benefits costs, costs of maintaining corporate headquarters, facilities and common support functions (such as human resources, legal, finance, strategic planning and information technology). The segment financial information set forth below, including the discussion related to individual line items, does not reflect inter-segment eliminations unless specifically indicated.
Impact of COVID-19 on Our Business
The Company continues to monitor the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of its business. The Company cannot reasonably predict the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the extent of any adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition, which will depend on, among other things, the duration and spread of the pandemic, the impact of governmental regulations that have been, and may continue to be, imposed in response to the pandemic, the effectiveness of actions taken to contain or mitigate the outbreak, the acceptance, safety and efficacy of vaccines, and global economic conditions. The Company does not expect the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic impact to affect its liquidity position or its ongoing ability to meet the covenants in its debt instruments.
Impact of Economic Conditions
Our future performance is dependent, to a large extent, on general economic conditions including the impact of direct competition, our ability to manage our businesses effectively, and our relative strength and leverage in the marketplace, both with suppliers and customers.
Capital and credit market disruptions, as well as other events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, international conflict and recession, could cause economic downturns, which may lead to lower demand for our products, such as lower demand for television advertising and a decrease in the number of subscribers receiving our programming services from our distributors. Events such as these may adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial position.
Consolidated Results of Operations
The amounts presented and discussed below represent 100% of each operating segment's revenues, net and expenses. Where we have management control of an entity, we consolidate 100% of such entity in our consolidated statements of operations notwithstanding that a third-party owns an interest, which may be significant, in such entity. The noncontrolling owner's interest in the operating results of consolidated subsidiaries are reflected in net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in our consolidated statements of operations.
Years Ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019
The following table sets forth our consolidated results of operations for the periods indicated.
Years Ended December 31, Change
(In thousands) 2021 2020 2019 2021 vs. 2020 2020 vs. 2019
Revenues, net:
Subscription $ 1,568,576 $ 1,385,115 $ 1,388,542 13.2 % (0.2) %
Content licensing and other 558,378 554,025 677,946 0.8 % (18.3)
Distribution and other 2,126,954 1,939,140 2,066,488 9.7 % (6.2)
Advertising 950,654 875,816 993,833 8.5 % (11.9)
Total revenues, net 3,077,608 2,814,956 3,060,321 9.3 % (8.0)
Operating expenses:
Technical and operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)
1,432,083 1,401,591 1,506,985 2.2 % (7.0)
Selling, general and administrative 891,734 708,820 679,444 25.8 % 4.3
Depreciation and amortization 93,881 104,606 101,098 (10.3) % 3.5
Impairment and other charges 159,610 122,227 106,603 30.6 % 14.7
Restructuring and other related charges 10,378 35,068 40,914 (70.4) % (14.3)
Total operating expenses 2,587,686 2,372,312 2,435,044 9.1 % (2.6)
Operating income 489,922 442,644 625,277 10.7 % (29.2)
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net (118,830) (108,578) (133,091) 9.4 % (18.4)
Loss on extinguishment of debt (22,074) (2,908) - 659.1 % n/m
Miscellaneous, net 25,214 71,221 (6,000) (64.6) % n/m
Total other income (expense) (115,690) (40,265) (139,091) 187.3 % (71.1)
Net income from operations before income taxes
374,232 402,379 486,186 (7.0) % (17.2)
Income tax expense (94,393) (145,391) (78,470) (35.1) % 85.3
Net income including noncontrolling interests
279,839 256,988 407,716 8.9 % (37.0)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
(29,243) (17,009) (27,230) 71.9 % (37.5)
Net income attributable to AMC Networks' stockholders
$ 250,596 $ 239,979 $ 380,486 4.4 % (36.9) %
Revenues
2021 vs. 2020
Subscription revenues increased in our Domestic Operations segment by 15.1% primarily due to an increase in streaming revenues, and in our International and Other segment by 4.5% primarily due to the favorable impact of foreign currency fluctuations at AMCNI.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased in our Domestic Operations segment by 3.9% primarily related to the number of distributed original programs as compared to the prior comparable period. Content licensing and other revenues increased in our International and Other segment by 11.5% primarily due to the resumption of production activities at 25/7 Media, which were previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subscription revenues may vary based on the impact of renewals of affiliation agreements and content licensing revenues vary based on the timing of availability of our programming to distributors. Because of these factors, we expect distribution revenues to vary from quarter to quarter.
Advertising revenues increased in our Domestic Operations segment and our International and Other segment by 5.4% and 42.1%, respectively, primarily due to higher pricing.
Most of our advertising revenues vary based on the timing of our original programming series and the popularity of our programming as measured by Nielsen. Due to these factors, we expect advertising revenues to vary from quarter to quarter.
2020 vs. 2019
Subscription revenues increased in our Domestic Operations segment by 0.8% primarily due to an increase in subscribers to our streaming services, which was offset by a decrease in subscribers to our programming networks. Subscription revenues decreased in our International and Other segment by 4.8% primarily at AMCNI due to the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased in our Domestic Operations segment by 16.8% primarily due to reduction in the number of original programs we distributed related to production delays, and in our International and Other segment by 25.3% primarily at 25/7 Media due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.
Advertising revenues decreased in our Domestic Operations segment and our International and Other segment by 11.4% and 17.1%, respectively, primarily due to lower ratings and a reduction in the number of episodes of our original programming primarily related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
The components of technical and operating expenses primarily include the amortization and write-offs of program rights, such as those for original programming, feature films and licensed series, participation and residual costs, distribution and production related costs and program delivery costs, such as transmission, encryption, hosting, and formatting.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2021 compared to 2020 increased in our Domestic Operations segment by 1.8% primarily due to an increase in other direct program costs, and in our International and Other segment by 0.8% primarily due to an increase at 25/7 Media related to the resumption of production activities.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2020 compared to 2019 decreased in our Domestic Operations segment by 5.8% primarily due to a decrease in program rights amortization and in our International and Other segment by 9.5% primarily at 25/7 Media, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations.
Program rights amortization expense includes write-offs of $12.8 million, $108.3 million and $40.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Programming write-offs are based on management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness.
There may be significant changes in the level of our technical and operating expenses from quarter to quarter and year to year due to original programming costs and/or content acquisition costs and/or the impact of management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness. Such costs will also fluctuate with the level of revenues derived from owned original programming in each period as these costs are amortized based on the film-forecast-computation method. As additional competition for programming increases and alternate distribution technologies continue to develop in the industry, costs for content acquisition and original programming may increase.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
The components of selling, general and administrative expenses primarily include sales, marketing and advertising expenses, administrative costs and costs of non-production facilities.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (including share-based compensation expenses) for 2021 compared to 2020 increased in our Domestic Operations segment by 39.7% primarily due to higher advertising and subscriber acquisition expenses, and in our International and other segment by 20.4% primarily due increased selling expenses, including commissions at AMCNI, partially offset by a decrease of 9.2% in corporate due to lower stock-based compensation expenses.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (including share-based compensation expenses) for 2020 compared to 2019 increased in our Domestic Operations segment by 8.0% primarily due to increased advertising and subscriber acquisition expenses and decreased in our International and other segment by 19.6% primarily at 25/7 Media primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Corporate selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 16.4% primarily related to higher administrative costs.
Depreciation and amortization expenses
Depreciation and amortization expenses include depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of finite-lived intangible assets.
Depreciation and amortization for 2021 compared to 2020 decreased primarily in the International and Other segment due to the lower carrying values of long-lived assets resulting from the impairment charge recognized in June 2020.
Depreciation and amortization for 2020 compared to 2019 increased primarily in our Domestic Operations segment due to depreciation of equipment at our AMC Networks Broadcasting and Technology facilities, which was partially offset in our International and Other segment from lower depreciation and amortization expenses due to the lower carrying values of long-lived assets resulting from the impairment charge recognized in June 2020.
Impairment and other charges
On July 16, 2021, the Company entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Frank Darabont, Ferenc, Inc., Darkwoods Productions, Inc., and Creative Artists Agency, LLC (together, the "Plaintiffs") in actions brought in connection with Frank Darabont’s rendering services as a writer, director and producer of the television series entitled The Walking Dead. The consolidated cases were initially brought in 2013 and 2018 and the trial of the consolidated cases was scheduled to commence on April 4, 2022. The Settlement Agreement provides for a cash payment of $200 million (the “Settlement Payment”) to the Plaintiffs and future revenue sharing related to certain future streaming exhibition of The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead. With regard to the Settlement Payment, the Company recorded a charge of $143.0 million, included in Impairment and other charges, in consideration for the extinguishment of Plaintiffs’ rights to any compensation in connection with The Walking Dead and any related programs and the dismissal of the actions with prejudice, which amount is net of $57.0 million of ordinary course accrued participations.
In March 2021, the Company completed a spin-off of the live comedy venue and talent management businesses ("LiveCo") of Levity Entertainment Group, LLC. In connection with the transaction, the Company effectively exchanged all of its rights and interests in LiveCo for the release of its obligations, principally related to leases. As a result of this divestiture, the Company recognized a loss on the disposal of $16.6 million reflecting the net assets transferred (consisting of property and equipment, lease right-of-use assets and intangibles, partially offset by lease and other obligations), which is included in Impairment and other charges. The Company retained its interest in the production services business of Levity Entertainment Group, LLC, which was renamed 25/7 Media Holdings LLC following the spin-off.
During 2020, as a result of the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we qualitatively assessed whether it was more likely than not that goodwill and long-lived assets were impaired. Based on our then current projections and updated forecasts, we determined that sufficient indicators of potential impairment of long-lived assets existed and, in connection with the preparation of the Company's second quarter financial information, the Company performed a recoverability test of certain long-lived asset groups within the AMCNI reporting unit. This resulted in an impairment charge of $97.1 million primarily related to certain identifiable intangible assets, as well as property and equipment, and operating lease right-of-use assets. The Company then performed a goodwill impairment test and determined that the carrying value of the AMCNI reporting unit exceeded its fair value, resulting in an impairment charge of $25.1 million.
In December 2019, in connection with the preparation of our fourth quarter financial information, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test and concluded that the estimated fair value of our AMCNI reporting unit declined to less than its carrying amount. The decrease in the estimated fair value was in response to current and expected trends across the International television broadcasting markets, as well as a decrease in the financial multiples used to estimate the fair value using the market approach. As a result, we recognized an impairment charge of $98.0 million in 2019, reflecting a partial write-down of the goodwill associated with the AMCNI reporting unit. Additionally, during 2019, in connection with the dispositions of certain businesses, AMCNI recognized impairment charges of $8.6 million.
Restructuring and other related charges
For 2021, restructuring and other related charges consisted of (i) $6.1 million at AMCNI related to severance costs and the termination of distribution in certain international territories and (ii) $4.3 million of severance costs associated with the restructuring plan announced in November 2020.
In November 2020, management commenced a restructuring plan (the “2020 Plan”) designed to streamline the Company’s operations through a reduction of its domestic workforce. The 2020 Plan was intended to improve the organizational design of the Company through the elimination of certain roles and centralization of certain functional areas of the Company. In connection with the 2020 Plan, the Company incurred severance costs of $21.2 million. Additionally during 2020, the Company incurred restructuring charges of $13.9 million related to costs associated with the termination of distribution in certain territories, as well as severance and other personnel related costs associated with previously disclosed restructuring activities.
Restructuring and other related charges of $40.9 million for 2019 primarily related to the management re-organization commenced in September 2019. In connection with this re-organization, a number of roles were eliminated to improve the effectiveness of management while reducing the cost structure of the Company. As a result, we incurred restructuring charges of $26.0 million. In addition, charges associated with the our streaming services re-organization consisted of severance and other personnel related costs of $1.9 million and programming write-offs of $13.0 million related to a change in programming strategy.
Operating income
The increase in operating income for 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues of $262.7 million partially offset by increases in selling, general and administrative expenses of $182.9 million and in technical and operating expenses of $30.5 million.
The decrease in operating income for 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues of $245.4 million and an increase in selling, general and administrative expense of $29.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in technical and operating expense of $105.4 million.
Interest expense, net
The increase in interest expense, net for 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily due to lower interest income, partially offset by lower average interest rates on our outstanding senior notes and credit facility.
The decrease in interest expense, net for 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to lower interest rates on our credit facility and lower average outstanding long-term debt balances.
Loss on extinguishment of debt
In February 2021, we redeemed (i) the remaining $400 million principal amount of our 4.75% senior notes due December 2022 and (ii) $600 million principal amount of our 5.00% senior notes due April 2024. In connection with the redemptions, we incurred a loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $22.1 million representing a redemption premium on the 5.00% senior notes due 2024, and the write-off of a portion of the unamortized discount and deferred financing costs related to both issuances.
In March 2020, we redeemed $200 million principal amount of the then-outstanding $600 million principal amount of our 4.75% Notes due December 2022. The loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2020 of $2.9 million represents the redemption premium, the write-off of a portion of the unamortized discount and deferred financing costs.
Miscellaneous, net
The decrease in miscellaneous, net of $46.0 million in 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily related to a decrease of $64.1 million in net realized and unrealized gains from certain marketable equity securities, partially offset by a $16.1 million favorable variance in the foreign currency remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities (principally intercompany loans) that are denominated in currencies other than the underlying functional currency of the applicable entity.
The increase in miscellaneous, net of $77.2 million in 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily related to an increase in net realized and unrealized gains of $92.0 million from certain marketable equity securities, partially offset by an unfavorable variance of $15.0 million in the foreign currency remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities (principally intercompany loans) that are denominated in currencies other than the underlying functional currency of the applicable entity.
Income tax expense
Income tax expense was $94.4 million for 2021, representing an effective tax rate of 25%. The effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to state and local income tax expense of $11.7 million, tax expense of $9.6 million resulting from a net increase in valuation allowances for foreign deferred tax assets, tax expense of $8.3 million related to non-deductible compensation expense, partially offset by $5.5 million of tax benefit related to nontaxable income attributable to noncontrolling interests and tax benefit of $4.7 million for excess tax benefits related to share-based compensation.
Income tax expense was $145.4 million for 2020, representing an effective tax rate of 36%. The effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to tax expense of $41.7 million resulting from a net increase in valuation allowances for foreign deferred tax assets; state and local income tax expense of $14.7 million, tax expense of $8.4 million for excess tax deficiencies related to share-based compensation and tax expense from foreign operations of $6.8 million partially offset by tax benefit of $5.3 million relating to uncertain tax positions (including accrued interest).
Income tax expense was $78.5 million for 2019, representing an effective tax rate of 16%. The effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to tax benefit of $21.0 million resulting from a net decrease in valuation allowances for foreign deferred tax assets, tax benefit of $11.5 million from a deferred tax adjustment to record the impact of an investment tax credit under the deferral method of accounting, partially offset by state and local income tax expense of $12.2 million and $9.0 of tax expense from foreign operations.
Segment Results of Operations
Our segment operating results are presented based on how we assess operating performance and internally report financial information. We use Segment adjusted operating income as the measure of profit or loss for our operating segments. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures section below for our definition of Adjusted Operating Income and a reconciliation from Operating Income to Adjusted Operating Income on a segment and consolidated basis.
Domestic Operations
The following table sets forth our Domestic Operations segment results for the periods indicated.
Years Ended December 31, Change
(In thousands) 2021 2020 2019 2021 vs. 2020 2020 vs. 2019
Revenues, net:
Subscription $ 1,318,732 $ 1,145,970 $ 1,137,358 15.1 % 0.8 %
Content licensing and other 416,898 433,954 521,639 (3.9) % (16.8) %
Distribution and other 1,735,630 1,579,924 1,658,997 9.9 % (4.8) %
Advertising 844,986 801,477 904,253 5.4 % (11.4) %
Total revenues, net 2,580,616 2,381,401 2,563,250 8.4 % (7.1) %
Technical and operating (excluding depreciation and amortization) (1,150,564) (1,130,166) (1,199,159) 1.8 % (5.8) %
Selling, general and administrative(1)
(596,559) (432,239) (383,725) 38.0 % 12.6 %
Majority owned equity investees AOI 11,948 8,958 5,965 33.4 % 50.2 %
Segment adjusted operating income $ 845,441 $ 827,954 $ 986,331 2.1 % (16.1) %
(1) Selling, general and administrative excludes share-based compensation expenses
Revenues
2021 vs. 2020
Subscription revenues increased primarily related to a 99.7% increase in streaming revenues driven by an increase in subscribers to our streaming services, partially offset by a low single-digit decline in affiliate revenue.
Subscription revenues include revenues related to the Company's streaming services of approximately $370.8 million, $185.6 million and $95.9 million for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Aggregate paid subscribers to our streaming services were 9.04 million, 6.1 million and 2.4 million at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased primarily related to the number of distributed original programs as compared to the prior comparable period.
Advertising revenues increased primarily attributable to higher pricing and ad-supported streaming growth, partially offset by lower ratings.
2020 vs. 2019
Subscription revenues increased primarily due to an increase in subscribers to our streaming services, which was mostly offset by a decrease in subscribers to our programming networks.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased due to reduction in the number of original programs we distributed related to production delays.
Advertising revenues decreased primarily attributable to lower ratings and a reduction in the number of episodes of our original programming primarily related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following table presents certain subscriber information for our domestic programming networks at December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019:
Estimated Domestic Subscribers (1)
December 31,
2021 December 31,
2020 December 31,
Domestic Programming Networks:
AMC 78,300 83,600 85,100
WE tv 75,500 77,600 78,200
BBC AMERICA 73,000 76,100 77,000
IFC 68,000 70,700 71,400
SundanceTV 65,900 66,100 66,800
(1) Estimated U.S. subscribers as measured by Nielsen.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2021 compared to 2020 increased primarily due to an increase in other direct program costs, partially offset by a decrease in program rights amortization primarily attributable to the mix of original programming as compared to the prior comparable period.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2020 compared to 2019 decreased primarily due to a decrease in program rights amortization primarily attributable to a decrease in the amount of original programming for our programming networks as compared to the prior comparable period, which was impacted by the production delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This decrease was partially offset by increased program rights amortization related to our streaming services. In addition, other direct programming costs decreased.
Program rights amortization expense includes write-offs of $11.1 million, $97.5 million and $38.6 million for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Programming write-offs are based on management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding share-based compensation expenses) for 2021 compared to 2020 increased primarily due to higher advertising and subscriber acquisition expenses related to our streaming services partially offset by a decrease in advertising and marketing expenses related to the mix of original programming at our networks.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (excluding share-based compensation expenses) for 2020 compared to 2019 increased principally due to increased advertising and subscriber acquisition expenses for our streaming services partially offset by a decrease in advertising and marketing expenses related to the mix of original programming at our networks, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, general and administrative costs were lower across substantially all expense categories.
Segment adjusted operating income
The increase in segment adjusted operating income for 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues of $199.2 million, partially offset by increases in selling, general and administrative expenses of $164.3 million and in technical and operating expenses of $20.4 million.
The decrease in segment adjusted operating income for 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues of $181.8 million, an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $48.5 million, partially offset by a decrease in technical and operating expenses of $69.0 million.
International and Other
The following table sets forth our International and Other segment results for the periods indicated.
Years Ended December 31, Change
(In thousands) 2021 2020 2019 2021 vs. 2020 2020 vs. 2019
Revenues, net:
Subscription $ 249,844 $ 239,145 $ 251,184 4.5 % (4.8) %
Content licensing and other 155,805 139,746 187,073 11.5 % (25.3) %
Distribution and other 405,649 378,891 438,257 7.1 % (13.5) %
Advertising 105,668 74,339 89,659 42.1 % (17.1) %
Total revenues, net 511,317 453,230 527,916 12.8 % (14.1) %
Technical and operating (excluding depreciation and amortization) (303,045) (300,681) (332,241) 0.8 % (9.5) %
Selling, general and administrative(1)
(124,978) (103,824) (128,339) 20.4 % (19.1) %
Segment adjusted operating income $ 83,294 $ 48,725 $ 67,336 70.9 % (27.6) %
(1) Selling, general and administrative excludes share-based compensation expenses
Revenues
2021 vs. 2020
Subscription revenues increased primarily due to the favorable impact of foreign currency fluctuations at AMCNI.
Content licensing and other revenues increased primarily due to the resumption of production activities at 25/7 Media, which were previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertising revenues increased primarily related to higher pricing and an increase in ratings, as well as the favorable impact of foreign currency translation.
2020 vs. 2019
Subscription revenues decreased primarily due to the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased primarily at 25/7 Media, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations, which resulted in the temporary closure of the comedy venues (which were spun off in March 2021).
Advertising revenues decreased primarily related to pricing and lower demand resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2021 compared to 2020 increased primarily due to an increase at 25/7 Media related to the resumption of production activities, partially offset by lower program rights amortization at AMCNI.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) for 2020 compared to 2019 decreased primarily at 25/7 Media due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations, which resulted in production stoppages and temporary closure of comedy venues.
Program rights amortization expense includes write-offs of $1.7 million, $10.8 million and $2.3 million for 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Programming write-offs are based on management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2021 compared to 2020 increased primarily related to increased selling expenses, including commissions at AMCNI, partially offset by a decrease in administrative expenses at 25/7 Media related to the spin off of the comedy venues in March 2021.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the 2020 compared to 2019 decreased mainly at 25/7 Media primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as at AMCNI.
Segment adjusted operating income
The increase in segment adjusted operating income for 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in revenues of $58.1 million, partially offset by increases in selling, general and administrative expenses of $21.2 million.
The decrease in segment adjusted operating income for 2020 compared to 2019 was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenue of 74.7 million, partially offset by lower technical and operating expense of $31.6 million, and lower selling, general and administrative expense of $24.5 million.
Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations
The following table sets forth our Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations results for the periods indicated.
Years Ended December 31, Change
(In thousands) 2021 2020 2019 2021 vs. 2020 2020 vs. 2019
Revenues, net (14,325) (19,675) (30,845) (27.2) % (36.2) %
Technical and operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)
21,526 29,256 24,415 (26.4) % 19.8 %
Selling, general and administrative(1)
(119,866) (119,649) (103,247) 0.2 % 15.9 %
Segment adjusted operating income $ (112,665) $ (110,068) $ (109,677) 2.4 % 0.4 %
(1) Selling, general and administrative excludes share-based compensation expenses and cloud computing amortization
Revenues, net
Revenue eliminations are primarily related to inter-segment licensing revenues recognized between the Domestic Operations and International and Other segments.
Technical and Operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating eliminations are primarily related to inter-segment programming amortization recognized between the Domestic Operations and International and Other segments.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Corporate overhead costs not allocated to the segments include such costs as executive salaries and benefits, costs of maintaining corporate headquarters, facilities and common support functions (such as human resources, legal, finance, strategic planning and information technology).
Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2021 compared to 2020 increased primarily due to higher employee related costs, offset by lower administrative costs.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2020 compared to 2019 increased primarily related to higher administrative costs.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We evaluate segment performance based on several factors, of which the primary financial measure is operating segment AOI. We define AOI, which is a financial measure that is not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), as operating income (loss) before share-based compensation expenses or benefit, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other charges (including gains or losses on sales or dispositions of businesses), restructuring and other related charges, cloud computing amortization and including the Company’s proportionate share of adjusted operating income (loss) from majority-owned equity method investees. From time to time, we may exclude the impact of certain events, gains, losses or other charges (such as significant legal settlements) from AOI that affect our operating performance.
We believe that AOI is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operating performance on both an operating segment and consolidated basis. AOI and similar measures with similar titles are common performance measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in the industry.
Internally, we use revenues, net and AOI measures as the most important indicators of our business performance, and evaluate management's effectiveness with specific reference to these indicators. AOI should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), cash flows from operating activities and other measures of
performance and/or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. Since AOI is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures with similar titles used by other companies.
The following is a reconciliation of operating income (loss) to AOI for the periods indicated:
Year Ended December 31, 2021
(In thousands) Domestic Operations International and Other Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations Consolidated
Operating income (loss) $ 617,875 $ 37,167 $ (165,120) $ 489,922
Share-based compensation expenses 22,077 3,627 22,221 47,925
Depreciation and amortization 48,025 19,807 26,049 93,881
Impairment and other charges 143,000 16,610 - 159,610
Restructuring and other related charges 2,516 6,083 1,779 10,378
Cloud computing amortization - - 2,406 2,406
Majority owned equity investees AOI 11,948 - - 11,948
Adjusted operating income (loss) $ 845,441 $ 83,294 $ (112,665) $ 816,070
Year Ended December 31, 2020
(In thousands) Domestic Operations International and Other Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations Consolidated
Operating income (loss) $ 734,871 $ (109,365) $ (182,862) $ 442,644
Share-based compensation expenses 10,605 2,988 39,315 52,908
Depreciation and amortization 50,574 26,465 27,567 104,606
Impairment and other charges - 122,227 - 122,227
Restructuring and other related charges 22,946 6,410 5,712 35,068
Cloud computing amortization - - 200 200
Majority owned equity investees AOI 8,958 - - 8,958
Adjusted operating income (loss) $ 827,954 $ 48,725 $ (110,068) $ 766,611
Year Ended December 31, 2019
(In thousands) Domestic Operations International and Other Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations Consolidated
Operating income (loss) $ 884,054 $ (83,948) $ (174,829) $ 625,277
Share-based compensation expenses 26,153 4,545 33,435 64,133
Depreciation and amortization 41,299 34,983 24,816 101,098
Impairment and other charges - 106,603 - 106,603
Restructuring and other related charges 28,860 5,153 6,901 40,914
Cloud computing amortization - - - -
Majority owned equity investees AOI 5,965 - - 5,965
Adjusted operating income (loss) $ 986,331 $ 67,336 $ (109,677) $ 943,990
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Our operations have historically generated positive net cash flow from operating activities. However, each of our programming businesses has substantial programming acquisition and production expenditure requirements.
Sources of cash primarily include cash flow from operations, amounts available under our revolving credit facility and access to capital markets. Although we currently believe that amounts available under our revolving credit facility will be available when and if needed, we can provide no assurance that access to such funds will not be impacted by adverse conditions in the financial markets. The obligations of the financial institutions under our revolving credit facility are several and not joint and, as a result, a funding default by one or more institutions does not need to be made up by the others. As a public company, we may have access to capital and credit markets.
On February 8, 2021, the Company issued $1.0 billion in aggregate principal amount of 4.25% senior notes due 2029 (the “4.25% Notes due 2029”) and received net proceeds of $982.3 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses. The Company used such proceeds to redeem (i) the remaining $400 million principal amount of the Company’s 4.75% senior notes due 2022 and (ii) $600 million principal amount of the Company’s 5.00% senior notes due 2024 on February 26, 2021 (the "Redemption Date"). The 4.75% senior notes due 2022 were redeemed at a redemption price of 100.000% of the principal amount of such notes and the 5.00% senior notes due 2024 were redeemed at a redemption price of 102.500% of the principal amount of such notes, in each case, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the Redemption Date.
On February 8, 2021, the Company entered into Amendment No. 1 (“Amendment No. 1”) to its existing credit agreement (the "Credit Agreement"). Amendment No. 1 extends the maturity dates of the $675 million term loan A facility and $500 million revolving credit facility under the Credit Agreement to February 8, 2026, and makes certain other amendments to the covenants and other provisions of the Credit Agreement.
Our Board of Directors has authorized a program to repurchase up to $1.5 billion of its outstanding shares of common stock (the "Stock Repurchase Program"). The Stock Repurchase Program has no pre-established closing date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The Company did not repurchase any shares of its Class A common stock during 2021. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $135.3 million available for repurchase under the Stock Repurchase Program.
Our principal uses of cash include the acquisition and production of programming, investments and acquisitions, repurchases of outstanding debt and common stock, debt service, and payments for income taxes. Although impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to increase our investment in original programming, the funding of which generally occurs six to nine months in advance of a program's airing.
As of December 31, 2021, our consolidated cash and cash equivalents balance of $892.2 million includes approximately $255.0 million held by foreign subsidiaries. Most or all of the earnings of our foreign subsidiaries will continue to be permanently reinvested in foreign operations and we do not expect to incur any significant, additional taxes related to such amounts, nor have any been provided for in the current period.
We believe that a combination of cash-on-hand, cash generated from operating activities and availability under our revolving credit facility will provide sufficient liquidity to service the principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, along with our other funding and investment requirements over the next twelve months and over the longer term. However, we do not expect to generate sufficient cash from operations to repay at maturity the entirety of the then outstanding balances of our debt. As a result, we will then be dependent upon our ability to access the capital and credit markets in order to repay or refinance the outstanding balances of our indebtedness. Failure to raise significant amounts of funding to repay these obligations at maturity would adversely affect our business. In such a circumstance, we would need to take other actions including selling assets, seeking strategic investments from third parties or reducing other discretionary uses of cash. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Debt" in this Annual Report.
Cash Flow Discussion
The following table is a summary of cash flows provided by (used in) operations for the periods indicated:
Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands) 2021 2020 2019
Cash provided by operating activities $ 143,474 $ 748,736 $ 483,748
Cash used in investing activities (26,582) (35,163) (89,707)
Cash used in financing activities (84,103) (647,998) (131,126)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents $ 32,789 $ 65,575 $ 262,915
Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2021, 2020 and 2019 amounted to $143.5 million, $748.7 million, and $483.7 million, respectively. In 2021, net cash provided by operating activities resulted primarily from $1.4 billion of net income before amortization of program rights, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation and other non-cash items, a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $183.9 million, and an increase in accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities of $129.4 million. Partially offsetting these increases were payments for program rights of $1,297.8 million. Changes in all other assets and liabilities during the year resulted in a decrease in cash of $70.2 million.
In 2020, net cash provided by operating activities resulted primarily from $1.5 billion of net income before amortization of program rights, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation and other non-cash items, a decrease in accounts receivable, trade of $63.3 million due to the timing of cash receipts, a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $64.1 million, and an increase in accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities of $16.0 million. Partially offsetting these increases were payments for program rights of $850.0 million. Changes in all other assets and liabilities during the year resulted in an increase in cash of $5.1 million.
In 2019, net cash provided by operating activities resulted from $1.7 billion of net income before amortization of program rights, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation and other non-cash items, which was partially offset by payments for program rights of $969.9 million, an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $142.3 million primarily related to an increase in production tax credits and taxes receivable, an increase in accounts receivable, trade of $43.3 million due to the timing of cash receipts, and a decrease in accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities of $28.4 million primarily as a result of lower employee related liabilities. Changes in all other assets and liabilities during the year resulted in a decrease in cash of $5.1 million.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $26.6 million, $35.2 million and $89.7 million, respectively. In 2021, net cash used in investing activities was primarily related to the acquisition of investments of $30.3 million, payments for the acquisition of a business of $62.1 million, and capital expenditures of $42.6 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales of investments of $95.4 million and the collection of a loan for $20.0 million. All other changes in investing activities resulted in an decrease of $7.0 million.
In 2020, net cash used in investing activities was primarily related to capital expenditures of $46.6 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales of investments of $10.0 million.
In 2019, net cash used in investing activities was primarily related to capital expenditures of $91.6 million, primarily related to leasehold improvements, and the purchase of investments of $3.5 million, partially offset by a return of capital from investees of $5.4 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $84.1 million, $648.0 million, and $131.1 million, respectively. In 2021, financing activities primarily consisted of principal payments, net of proceeds, on long-term debt (including the redemption of $400 million of 4.75% Notes due December 2022 and $600 million of 5.00% Notes due April 2024) of $30.5 million, taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for equity-based compensation of $32.9 million, and distributions to noncontrolling interests of $29.4 million and payments on finance leases of $3.8 million, partially offset by proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $12.1 million and contributions from noncontrolling interests of $2.7 million.
In 2020, financing activities primarily consisted of purchases of Class A Common Stock of $356.7 million under our Stock Repurchase Program, principal payments on long-term debt of $262.3 million, taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for equity-based compensation of $16.0 million, and distributions to noncontrolling members of $15.8 million.
In 2019, financing activities primarily consisted of purchases of Class A Common Stock of $70.6 million under our Stock Repurchase Program, principal payments on long-term debt of $23.0 million, taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for equity-based compensation of $23.0 million, and distributions to noncontrolling members of $15.6 million.
Debt Financing Agreements
The Company's principal amount of long-term debt consists of:
(In thousands) December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Senior Secured Credit Facility:(a)
Term Loan A Facility $ 675,000 $ 675,000
Senior Notes:
4.75% Notes due December 2022 - 400,000
5.00% Notes due April 2024 400,000 1,000,000
4.75% Notes due August 2025 800,000 800,000
4.25% Notes due February 2029 1,000,000 -
Principal amount of debt $ 2,875,000 $ 2,875,000
(a) The Company's $500 million revolving credit facility remains undrawn at December 31, 2021. Total undrawn revolver commitments are available to be drawn for general corporate purposes of the Company.
On February 8, 2021, we issued $1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 4.25% senior notes due February 15, 2029 (the “4.25% Notes due 2029”) in a registered public offering and received net proceeds of $982.3 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses. We used such proceeds to redeem (i) the remaining $400 million principal amount of our 4.75% senior notes due 2022 and (ii) $600 million principal amount of our 5.00% senior notes due 2024 on February 26, 2021 (the "Redemption Date"). The 4.75% senior notes due 2022 were redeemed at a redemption price of 100.000% of the principal amount of such notes and the 5.00% senior notes due 2024 were redeemed at a redemption price of 102.500% of the principal amount of such notes, in each case, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. In connection with the redemptions, we incurred a loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2021 of $22.1 million representing the redemption premium and the write-off of a portion of the unamortized discount and deferred financing costs.
In March 2020 we redeemed $200 million principal amount of the outstanding $600 million principal amount of our 4.75% Notes due 2022. In connection with the redemption, we incurred a loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2020 of $2.9 million representing the redemption premium and the write-off of a portion of the unamortized discount and deferred financing costs.
Additional information regarding our outstanding indebtedness and the significant terms and provisions of our Senior Secured Credit Facility and our Senior Notes is discussed in Note 11 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information
The following is a description of the terms and conditions of the guarantees with respect to the outstanding notes for which AMC Networks is the issuer.
Note Guarantees
Debt of AMC Networks as of December 31, 2021 included $400.0 million of 5.00% Notes due April 2024, $800.0 million of 4.75% Notes due August 2025, and $1.0 billion of 4.25% Notes due February 2029 (collectively, the “notes”). The notes were issued by AMC Networks and are unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, on an unsecured basis, by each of AMC Networks’ existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries, subject to certain exceptions (each, a “Guarantor Subsidiary,” and collectively, the “Guarantor Subsidiaries”). The obligations of each Guarantor Subsidiary under its note guarantee are limited as necessary to prevent such note guarantee from constituting a fraudulent conveyance under applicable law. A guarantee of the notes by a Guarantor Subsidiary is subject to release in the following circumstances: (i) any sale or other disposition of all of the capital stock of a Guarantor Subsidiary to a person that is not (either before or after giving effect to such transaction) a restricted subsidiary, in compliance with the terms of the applicable indenture; (ii) the designation of a restricted subsidiary as an “Unrestricted Subsidiary” under the applicable indenture; or (iii) the release or discharge of the guarantee (including the guarantee under the AMC Networks’ credit agreement) which resulted in the creation of the note
guarantee (provided that such Guarantor Subsidiary does not have any preferred stock outstanding at such time that is not held by AMC Networks or another Guarantor Subsidiary).
Foreign subsidiaries of AMC Networks do not and will not guarantee the notes.
The following tables present the summarized financial information specified in Rule 1-02(bb)(1) of Regulation S-X for AMC Networks and each Guarantor Subsidiary. The summarized financial information has been prepared in accordance with Rule 13-01 of Regulation S-X.
Summarized Financial Information
Income Statement
(In thousands) Year Ended December 31, 2021 Year Ended December 31, 2020
Parent Company Guarantor Subsidiaries Parent Company Guarantor Subsidiaries
Revenues $ - $ 2,137,263 $ - $ 1,947,893
Operating expenses - 1,713,682 - 1,441,889
Operating income $ - $ 423,581 $ - $ 506,004
Income before income taxes $ 314,283 $ 472,985 $ 337,810 $ 486,092
Net income $ 250,596 $ 463,637 239,979 476,881
Balance Sheet December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
(In thousands) Parent Company Guarantor Subsidiaries Parent Company Guarantor Subsidiaries
Assets
Amounts due from subsidiaries $ - $ - $ 25,749 $ 74,649
Current assets 9,991 1,242,724 35,424 1,291,630
Non-current assets 4,010,028 3,633,383 3,729.996 3,151,581
Liabilities and equity:
Amounts due to subsidiaries $ 12,797 $ 5,324 $ - $ 27,091
Current liabilities 100,969 671,041 124,886 545,105
Non-current liabilities 3,067,962 331,860 3,023,726 300,449
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. These estimates and assumptions can be subjective and complex and, consequently, actual results could differ materially from our estimates and assumptions. We base our estimates on historical experience, known or expected trends and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances.
We believe the following critical accounting policies comprise the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:
Program Rights
Licensed rights to programming, including feature films and episodic series, are stated at the lower of amortized cost or fair value. Such licensed rights along with the related obligations are recorded at the contract value when a license agreement is executed, unless there is uncertainty with respect to either cost, acceptability or availability. If such uncertainty exists, those rights and obligations are recorded at the earlier of when the uncertainty is resolved or when the license period begins. Costs are amortized to technical and operating expense on a straight-line or accelerated basis, based on the expected exploitation strategy of the rights, over a period not to exceed the respective license periods. We periodically review the remaining useful lives of our licensed program rights based on several factors, including expected future revenue generation from airings on our networks
and other exploitation opportunities, ratings, type and quality of program material, standards and practices and fitness for exhibition through various forms of distribution. If it is determined that film or other program rights have limited, or no, future programming usefulness, the remaining useful life of such rights is adjusted accordingly, which may result in the accelerated amortization or write-off of such costs to technical and operating expense.
Owned original programming costs, including estimated participation and residual costs qualifying for capitalization, are recorded as program rights on the consolidated balance sheet. Program rights that are predominantly monetized individually are amortized to technical and operating expense over their estimated useful lives, commencing upon the first airing, based on attributable revenue for airings to date as a percentage of total projected attributable revenue ("ultimate revenue") under the individual-film-forecast-computation method. Program rights that are monetized as a group are amortized based on projected usage, typically resulting in an accelerated amortization pattern. We base our estimates of ultimate revenue primarily on distribution and advertising revenues historically generated from similar content in comparable markets, and projected program usage. Projected program usage is based on our current expectation of future exhibitions. We periodically review ultimate revenue estimates and projected program usage and revise our assumptions if necessary, which could either accelerate or delay the timing of amortization expense or result in a write-down of unamortized costs to fair value. For example, a program's strong performance could result in increased usage and increased attributable revenues in a particular period, resulting in accelerated amortization of costs in that period. Poor ratings may result in the reduction of attributable revenue from planned usage or the abandonment of a program, which would require a write-off of any unamortized costs. Actual attributable revenue and exhibitions may vary from our projections due to factors such as market acceptance, levels of distribution and advertising revenue, resulting in changes to our decisions regarding planned program usage. A failure to adjust for a downward change in estimates of ultimate revenue could result in the understatement of program rights amortization expense for the period. Any capitalized development costs for programs that we determine will not be produced are also written off. Historically, other than instances of write-offs associated with our decisions to abandon programming, actual ultimate revenue amounts have not significantly differed from our estimates of ultimate revenue.
Program rights write-offs of $12.8 million, $108.3 million and $40.9 million were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Useful Lives of Affiliate Intangible Assets
The carrying amount of our intangible assets as of December 31, 2021 is $399.4 million, of which $294.9 million is comprised of affiliate relationships acquired in business combinations. Useful lives of affiliate relationships (ranging from 6 to 25 years) are initially determined based upon weighted average remaining terms of agreements in place with major distributors when purchase accounting is applied, plus an assumption for expected renewals. We periodically update our assumption for expected renewals based on recent experience and known or expected trends. We have historically been successful in renewing our major affiliation agreements and expect to renew such agreements in the future. However, if renewal trends deteriorate in the future (e.g., failure to renew, or renewals with significantly shorter terms), we may revise the remaining useful lives of affiliate intangible assets, resulting in higher amortization expenses in future periods. In June 2020, we recognized impairment charges associated with certain intangible assets. See Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Goodwill
Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually as of December 1, or more frequently upon the occurrence of certain events or substantive changes in circumstances. The annual goodwill impairment test allows for the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If it is determined, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of a reporting unit is, more likely than not, less than its carrying value, the quantitative impairment test is required. In accordance with Accounting Standards Update 2017-04 Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, the Company recognizes goodwill impairment as the difference between the carrying amount of a reporting unit and its fair value, but not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.
The carrying amount of goodwill, by operating segment is as follows:
(In thousands) December 31, 2021
Domestic Operations $ 353,470
International and Other 355,874
$ 709,344
Based on our annual and interim impairment tests for goodwill during 2021 and 2020, we recognized no impairment charges for the year ended December 31, 2021 and $25.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. See Note 9 to the
accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
The information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements is discussed in Note 2 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
Fair Value of Debt
Based on the level of interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2021, the fair value of our fixed rate debt of $2.22 billion was higher than its carrying value of $2.17 billion by $45.1 million. The fair value of these financial instruments is estimated based on reference to quoted market prices for these or comparable securities. A hypothetical 100 basis point decrease in interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2021 would increase the estimated fair value of our fixed rate debt by approximately $69.0 million to approximately $2.29 billion.
Managing our Interest Rate Risk
To manage interest rate risk, we may enter into interest rate swap contracts from time to time to adjust the amount of total debt that is subject to variable interest rates. Such contracts effectively fix the borrowing rates on floating rate debt to limit the exposure against the risk of rising rates. We do not enter into interest rate swap contracts for speculative or trading purposes and we only enter into interest rate swap contracts with financial institutions that we believe are creditworthy counterparties. We monitor the financial institutions that are counterparties to our interest rate swap contracts and to the extent possible diversify our swap contracts among various counterparties to mitigate exposure to any single financial institution.
As of December 31, 2021, we have $2.9 billion principal amount of debt outstanding (excluding finance leases), of which $675.0 million principal amount outstanding under the Credit Facility is subject to variable interest rates. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2021 would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $6.6 million. The interest rate paid on approximately 77% of our debt (excluding finance leases) as of December 31, 2021 is fixed.
Managing our Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
We are exposed to foreign currency risk to the extent that we enter into transactions denominated in currencies other than our subsidiaries' respective functional currencies (non-functional currency risk), such as affiliation agreements, programming contracts, certain trade receivables and accounts payable (including intercompany amounts) that are denominated in a currency other than the applicable functional currency. Changes in exchange rates with respect to amounts recorded in our consolidated balance sheets related to these items will result in unrealized (based upon period-end exchange rates) or realized foreign currency transaction gains and losses upon settlement of the transactions. Moreover, to the extent that our revenue, costs and expenses are denominated in currencies other than our respective functional currencies, we will experience fluctuations in our revenue, costs and expenses solely as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
As a result of our international expansion in recent years, we expect the exposure to foreign currency fluctuations will have a more significant impact on our financial position and results of operations.
To manage foreign currency exchange rate risk, we enter into foreign currency contracts from time to time with financial institutions to limit our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We do not enter into foreign currency contracts for speculative or trading purposes.
The Company recognized foreign currency transaction gains (losses) of $12.2 million, $(4.0) million and $11.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, resulting from the translation of monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than the underlying functional currency of the applicable entity. Unrealized foreign currency transaction gains or losses are computed based on period-end exchange rates and are non-cash in nature until such time as the amounts are settled. Such amount is included in miscellaneous, net in the consolidated statements of income.
We also are exposed to fluctuations of the U.S. dollar (our reporting currency) against the currencies of our operating subsidiaries when their respective financial statements are translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. Cumulative translation adjustments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of equity. Any increase (decrease) in the value of the U.S. dollar against any foreign currency that is the functional currency of one of our operating subsidiaries will cause us to experience unrealized foreign currency translation losses (gains) with respect to amounts already invested in such foreign currencies. Accordingly, we may experience a negative impact on our comprehensive income (loss) and equity with respect to our holdings solely as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The Financial Statements required by this Item 8 appear beginning on page 63 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
An evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company's management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Based upon that evaluation as of December 31, 2021, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
(b) Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(f). The Company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements prepared for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013 Framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2021.
(c) Attestation Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their attestation report appearing on page.
(d) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the three months ended December 31, 2021, there were no changes in the Company's internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Information relating to our directors, executive officers and corporate governance will be included in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed within 120 days of the year ended December 31, 2021 (the "2022 Proxy Statement"), which is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
Information relating to executive compensation will be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
Information relating to the beneficial ownership of our common stock and related stockholder matters will be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Information relating to certain relationships and related transactions and director independence will be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
Information relating to principal accountant fees and services will be included in the 2022 Proxy Statement, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Part IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Documents filed as part of the Form 10-K:
The following items are filed as part of this Annual Report:
(1)The financial statements as indicated in the index set forth on page 63.
(2)Financial statement schedule:
Schedule II-Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
Schedules other than that listed above have been omitted, since they are either not applicable, not required or the information is included elsewhere herein.
(1)Exhibits:
The exhibits listed in the accompanying Exhibit Index are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report.