Exhibit 10.1
COMCAST
CORPORATION
2005 DEFERRED COMPENSATION
PLAN
ARTICLE 1 – BACKGROUND AND
COVERAGE OF PLAN
1.1. Background and Adoption of
Plan .
1.1.1. Amendment and Restatement
of the Plan . In recognition of the services provided by
certain key employees and in order to make additional retirement
benefits and increased financial security available on a
tax-favored basis to those individuals, the Board of Directors of
Comcast Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation (the
“Board”), hereby amends and restates the Comcast
Corporation 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan (the
“Plan”), on December 12, 2007 in light of the
enactment of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”) as part of the American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004, and the issuance of various Notices,
Announcements, Proposed Regulations and Final Regulations
thereunder (collectively, “Section 409A”), the rules of
the Plan as amended and restated generally apply as of
January 1, 2008, except as otherwise specifically
stated.
1.1.2. Prior Plan . Prior to
the Effective Date, the Comcast Corporation 2002 Deferred
Compensation Plan (the “Prior Plan”) was in effect. In
order to preserve the favorable tax treatment available to
deferrals under the Prior Plan in light of the enactment of
Section 409A, the Board has prohibited future deferrals under
the Prior Plan of amounts earned and vested on and after
January 1, 2005. Amounts earned and vested prior to
January 1, 2005 are and will remain subject to the terms of
the Prior Plan. Amounts earned and vested on and after the
Effective Date will be available to be deferred pursuant to the
Plan, subject to its terms and conditions.
1.1.3. Merger of E! Grandfathered
Plan with Prior Plan . The Company’s controlled
subsidiary, E! Entertainment Television, Inc., (“E!”)
has maintained the E! Entertainment Television, Inc. 2002 Deferred
Compensation Plan (the “E! Plan”), a non-qualified
deferred compensation plan pursuant to which eligible employees
have been credited with certain account balances that are credited
with earnings at the same rate as the earnings rate for active
participants in the Plan. Under the E! Plan, to the extent
participants’ account balances are treated as earned and
vested as of December 31, 2004 under IRS Notice 2005-1
(the “E! Grandfathered Accounts”), the rules of the E!
Plan, as amended and restated, effective May 26, 2004 apply.
Effective as of January 1, 2008, that portion of the E! Plan
that includes the E! Grandfathered Accounts (the “E!
Grandfathered Plan”) is merged with and into the Prior Plan
and the separate existence of the E! Grandfathered Plan shall
cease, and all undistributed participants’ accounts that had
previously been administered pursuant to the E! Grandfathered Plan
shall be held under the Prior Plan.
1.1.4. Merger of E!
Non-Grandfathered Plan into Plan . Effective as of
January 1, 2008, that portion of the E! Plan that includes all
participants’ account balances other than the E!
Grandfathered Accounts (the “E! Non-Grandfathered
Plan”) is merged with and into the Plan, and the separate
existence of the E! Non-Grandfathered Plan shall cease, and all
undistributed participants’ accounts that had previously been
administered pursuant to the E! Non-Grandfathered Plan shall be
held under the Plan. Participants’ accounts previously
held
under the E! Non-Grandfathered Plan shall be
subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan. An individual
whose E! Non-Grandfathered Plan Account is held under the Plan as a
result of the merger of the E! Non-Grandfathered Plan with and into
this Plan shall be a participant in this Plan only for purposes of
the such Account, unless such individual is otherwise eligible to
participate in the Plan and an Account under the Plan has been
established for such individual’s benefit.
1.2. Reservation of Right to
Amend to Comply with Section 409A . In addition to the
powers reserved to the Board and the Committee under Article 10 of
the Plan, the Board and the Committee reserve the right to amend
the Plan, either retroactively or prospectively, in whatever
respect is required to achieve and maintain compliance with the
requirements of the Section 409A.
1.3. Plan Unfunded and Limited to
Outside Directors and Select Group of Management or Highly
Compensated Employees . The Plan is unfunded and is maintained
primarily for the purpose of providing outside directors and a
select group of management or highly compensated employees the
opportunity to defer the receipt of compensation otherwise payable
to such outside directors and eligible employees in accordance with
the terms of the Plan.
ARTICLE 2 –
DEFINITIONS
2.1. “ Account ”
means the bookkeeping accounts established pursuant to
Section 5.1 and maintained by the Administrator in the names
of the respective Participants, to which all amounts deferred and
earnings allocated under the Plan shall be credited, and from which
all amounts distributed pursuant to the Plan shall be
debited.
2.2. “ Active
Participant ” means:
(a) Each Participant who is in
active service as an Outside Director; and
(b) Each Participant who is actively
employed by a Participating Company as an Eligible
Employee.
2.3. “ Administrator
” means the Committee.
2.4. “ Affiliate
” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person that,
directly or indirectly, is in control of, is controlled by, or is
under common control with, such Person. For purposes of this
definition, the term “control,” including its
correlative terms “controlled by” and “under
common control with,” mean, with respect to any Person, the
possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause
the direction of the management and policies of such Person,
whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or
otherwise.
2.5. “ Annual Rate of
Pay ” means, as of any date, an employee’s
annualized base pay rate. An employee’s Annual Rate of Pay
shall not include sales commissions or other similar payments or
awards.
2.6. “ Applicable Interest
Rate ” means:
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in
Sections 2.6(b), the Applicable Interest Rate means the interest
rate that, when compounded daily pursuant to rules established by
the Administrator from time to time, is mathematically equivalent
to 12% per annum, compounded annually.
(b) Effective for the period
beginning as soon as administratively practicable following a
Participant’s employment termination date to the date the
Participant’s Account is distributed in full, the
Administrator, in its sole discretion, may designate the term
“Applicable Interest Rate” for such Participant’s
Account to mean the lesser of (i) the rate in effect under
Section 2.6(a) or (ii) the Prime Rate plus one percent.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrator may delegate its
authority to determine the Applicable Interest Rate under this
Section 2.6(b) to an officer of the Company or committee of
two or more officers of the Company.
2.7. “ Beneficiary
” means such person or persons or legal entity or entities,
including, but not limited to, an organization exempt from federal
income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Code, designated by a
Participant or Beneficiary to receive benefits pursuant to the
terms of the Plan after such Participant’s or
Beneficiary’s death. If no Beneficiary is designated by the
Participant or Beneficiary, or if no Beneficiary survives the
Participant or Beneficiary (as the case may be), the
Participant’s Beneficiary shall be the Participant’s
Surviving Spouse if the Participant has a Surviving Spouse and
otherwise the Participant’s estate, and the Beneficiary of a
Beneficiary shall be the Beneficiary’s Surviving Spouse if
the Beneficiary has a Surviving Spouse and otherwise the
Beneficiary’s estate.
2.8. “ Board ”
means the Board of Directors of the Company.
2.9. “ Change of
Control ” means any transaction or series of transactions
that constitutes a change in the ownership or effective control or
a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of
the Company, within the meaning of Section 409A.
2.10. “ Code ”
means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
2.11. “ Committee
” means the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors
of the Company.
2.12. “ Company ”
means Comcast Corporation, a Pennsylvania corporation, including
any successor thereto by merger, consolidation, acquisition of all
or substantially all the assets thereof, or otherwise.
2.13. “ Company Stock
” means with respect to amounts credited to the Company Stock
Fund pursuant to deferral elections by Outside Directors made
pursuant to Section 3.1(a), Comcast Corporation Class A
Common Stock, par value $0.01, including a fractional share, and
such other securities issued by Comcast Corporation as may be
subject to adjustment in the event that shares of either class of
Company Stock are changed into, or exchanged for, a different
number or kind of shares of stock or other securities of the
Company, whether through merger, consolidation, reorganization,
recapitalization, stock dividend, stock split-up or other
substitution of securities of the Company. In such event, the
Committee shall make appropriate equitable
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anti-dilution adjustments to the number and
class of hypothetical shares of Company Stock credited to
Participants’ Accounts under the Company Stock Fund. Any
reference to the term “Company Stock” in the Plan shall
be a reference to the appropriate number and class of shares of
stock as adjusted pursuant to this Section 2.13. The
Committee’s adjustment shall be effective and binding for all
purposes of the Plan.
2.14. “ Company Stock
Fund ” means a hypothetical investment fund pursuant to
which income, gains and losses are credited to a
Participant’s Account as if the Account, to the extent deemed
invested in the Company Stock Fund, were invested in hypothetical
shares of Company Stock, and all dividends and other distributions
paid with respect to Company Stock were held uninvested in cash,
and reinvested in additional hypothetical shares of Company Stock
as of the next succeeding December 31, based on the Fair
Market Value of the Company Stock for such December 31,
provided that dividends and other distributions paid with respect
to Company Stock after December 31, 2007 shall be deemed to be
reinvested in additional hypothetical shares of Company Stock as of
the payment date for such dividends and other distributions, based
on the Fair Market Value of Company Stock as of such payment
date.
2.15. “ Compensation
” means:
(a) In the case of an Outside
Director, the total remuneration payable in cash or payable in
Company Stock (as elected by the Outside Director pursuant to the
Comcast Corporation 2002 Director Compensation Plan) for services
as a member of the Board and as a member of any Committee of the
Board; and
(b) In the case of an Eligible
Employee, the total cash remuneration for services payable by a
Participating Company, excluding (i) Severance Pay and
(ii) sales commissions or other similar payments or
awards.
2.16. “ Death Tax Clearance
Date ” means the date upon which a Deceased
Participant’s or a deceased Beneficiary’s Personal
Representative certifies to the Administrator that (i) such
Deceased Participant’s or deceased Beneficiary’s Death
Taxes have been finally determined, (ii) all of such Deceased
Participant’s or deceased Beneficiary’s Death Taxes
apportioned against the Deceased Participant’s or deceased
Beneficiary’s Account have been paid in full and
(iii) all potential liability for Death Taxes with respect to
the Deceased Participant’s or deceased Beneficiary’s
Account has been satisfied.
2.17. “ Death Taxes
” means any and all estate, inheritance, generation-skipping
transfer, and other death taxes as well as any interest and
penalties thereon imposed by any governmental entity (a
“taxing authority”) as a result of the death of the
Participant or the Participant’s Beneficiary.
2.18. “ Deceased
Participant ” means a Participant whose employment, or,
in the case of a Participant who was an Outside Director, a
Participant whose service as an Outside Director, is terminated by
death.
2.19. “ Disability
” means:
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(a) an individual’s inability
to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any
medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be
expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than 12 months; or
(b) circumstances under which, by
reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment
which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last
for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, an individual
is receiving income replacement benefits for a period of not less
than three months under an accident or health plan covering
employees of the individual’s employer.
2.20. “ Disabled
Participant ” means:
(a) A Participant whose employment
or, in the case of a Participant who is an Outside Director, a
Participant whose service as an Outside Director, is terminated by
reason of Disability;
(b) The duly-appointed legal
guardian of an individual described in Section 2.20(a) acting
on behalf of such individual.
2.21. “ Eligible
Employee ” means:
(a) Each Grandfathered
Employee;
(b) Each employee of a Participating
Company whose Annual Rate of Pay is $200,000 or more as of both
(i) the date on which an Initial Election is filed with the
Administrator and (ii) the first day of the calendar year in
which such Initial Election is filed;
(c) Each New Key Employee;
and
(d) Each other employee of a
Participating Company who is designated by the Committee, in its
discretion, as an Eligible Employee;
provided, in each case, that such
individual’s Compensation is administered under the
Company’s common payroll system.
2.22. “ Fair Market
Value ”
(a) If shares of Company Stock are
listed on a stock exchange, Fair Market Value shall be determined
based on the last reported sale price of a share on the principal
exchange on which shares are listed on the date of determination,
or if such date is not a trading day, the next trading
date.
(b) If shares of Company Stock are
not so listed, but trades of shares are reported on the Nasdaq
National Market, Fair Market Value shall be determined based on the
last quoted sale price of a share on the Nasdaq National Market on
the date of determination, or if such date is not a trading day,
the next trading date.
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(c) If shares of Company Stock are
not so listed nor trades of shares so reported, Fair Market Value
shall be determined by the Committee in good faith.
2.23. “ Grandfathered
Employee ” means:
(a) Each employee of a Participating
Company who, as of December 31, 1989, was eligible to
participate in the Prior Plan and who has been in continuous
service to the Company or an Affiliate since December 31,
1989.
(b) Each employee of a Participating
Company who was, at any time before January 1, 1995, eligible
to participate in the Comcast Corporation Deferred Compensation
Plan and whose Annual Rate of Pay is $90,000 or more as of both
(i) the date on which an Initial Election is filed with the
Administrator and (ii) the first day of each calendar year
beginning after December 31, 1994.
(c) Each individual who was an
employee of an entity that was a Participating Company in the Prior
Plan as of June 30, 2002 and who has an Annual Rate of Pay of
$125,000 as of each of (i) June 30, 2002; (ii) the
date on which an Initial Election is filed with the Administrator
and (iii) the first day of each calendar year beginning after
December 31, 2002.
(d) Each employee of a Participating
Company who (i) as of December 31, 2002, was an
“Eligible Employee” within the meaning of
Section 2.34 of the AT&T Broadband Deferred Compensation
Plan (as amended and restated, effective November 18, 2002)
with respect to whom an account was maintained, and (ii) for
the period beginning on December 31, 2002 and extending
through any date of determination, has been actively and
continuously in service to the Company or an Affiliate.
2.24. “ Hardship
” means “ Hardship ” means an
“unforeseeable emergency,” as defined in
Section 409A. The Committee shall determine whether the
circumstances of the Participant constitute an unforeseeable
emergency and thus a Hardship within the meaning of this Paragraph
2.24. Following a uniform procedure, the Committee’s
determination shall consider any facts or conditions deemed
necessary or advisable by the Committee, and the Participant shall
be required to submit any evidence of the Participant’s
circumstances that the Committee requires. The determination as to
whether the Participant’s circumstances are a case of
Hardship shall be based on the facts of each case; provided
however, that all determinations as to Hardship shall be uniformly
and consistently made according to the provisions of this Paragraph
2.24 for all Participants in similar circumstances.
2.25. “ Inactive
Participant ” means each Participant (other than a
Retired Participant, Deceased Participant or Disabled Participant)
who is not in active service as an Outside Director and is not
actively employed by a Participating Company.
2.26. “ Income Fund
” means a hypothetical investment fund pursuant to which
income, gains and losses are credited to a Participant’s
Account as if the Account, to the extent deemed invested in the
Income Fund, were credited with interest at the Applicable Interest
Rate.
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2.27. “ Initial
Election ” means a written election on a form provided by
the Administrator, filed with the Administrator in accordance with
Article 3, pursuant to which an Outside Director or an Eligible
Employee may:
(a) Elect to defer all or any
portion of the Compensation payable for the performance of services
as an Outside Director or as an Eligible Employee following the
time that such election is filed; and
(b) Designate the time of payment of
the amount of deferred Compensation to which the Initial Election
relates.
2.28. “ New Key
Employee ” means each employee of a Participating
Company:
(a) who becomes an employee of a
Participating Company and has an Annual Rate of Pay of $200,000 or
more as of his employment commencement date, or
(b) who has an Annual Rate of Pay
that is increased to $200,000 or more and who, immediately
preceding such increase, was not an Eligible Employee.
2.29. “ Normal
Retirement ” means:
(a) For a Participant who is an
employee of a Participating Company immediately preceding his
termination of employment, a termination of employment that is
treated by the Participating Company as a retirement under its
employment policies and practices as in effect from time to time;
and
(b) For a Participant who is an
Outside Director immediately preceding his termination of service,
his normal retirement from the Board.
2.30. “ Outside
Director ” means a member of the Board, who is not an
employee of a Participating Company.
2.31. “ Participant
” means each individual who has made an Initial Election, or
for whom an Account is established pursuant to Section 5.1,
and who has an undistributed amount credited to an Account under
the Plan, including an Active Participant, a Deceased Participant
and an Inactive Participant.
2.32. “ Participating
Company ” means:
(a) the Company;
(b) Comcast Business Communications,
Inc.;
(c) Comcast Cable Communications
Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries;
(d) Comcast Cable Communications,
LLC, and its subsidiaries;
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(e) Comcast Capital
Corporation;
(f) Comcast Holdings
Corporation;
(g) Comcast International Holdings,
Inc.;
(h) Comcast Shared Services
Corporation (“CSSC”), to the extent individual
employees of CSSC or groups of CSSC employees, categorized by their
secondment, are designated as eligible to participate by the
Committee or its delegate;
(i) Comcast Sports Management
Services, LLC;
(j) Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
GP, LLC and its subsidiaries;
(k) E! Entertainment, Inc. and its
subsidiaries;
(l) SportsChannel Pacific
Associates; and
(m) Any other entities that are
subsidiaries of the Company as designated by the Committee or its
delegate.
2.33. “ Performance-Based
Compensation ” means “Performance-Based
Compensation” within the meaning of
Section 409A.
2.34. “ Performance
Period ” means a period of at least 12 months during
which a Participant may earn Performance-Based
Compensation.
2.35. “ Person ”
means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association,
a trust or any other entity or organization.
2.36. “ Plan ”
means the Comcast Corporation 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan, as
set forth herein, and as amended from time to time.
2.37. “ Prime Rate
” means, for any calendar year, the interest rate that, when
compounded daily pursuant to rules established by the Administrator
from time to time, is mathematically equivalent to the prime rate
of interest (compounded annually) as published in the Eastern
Edition of The Wall Street Journal on the last business day
preceding the first day of such calendar year, and as adjusted as
of the last business day preceding the first day of each calendar
year beginning thereafter.
2.38. “ Prior Plan
” means the Comcast Corporation 2002 Deferred Compensation
Plan.
2.39. “ Retired
Participant ” means a Participant who has terminated
service pursuant to a Normal Retirement.
2.40. “ Severance Pay
” means any amount that is payable in cash and is identified
by a Participating Company as severance pay, or any amount which is
payable on account of
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periods beginning after the last date on which
an employee (or former employee) is required to report for work for
a Participating Company.
2.41. “ Subsequent
Election ” means a written election on a form provided by
the Administrator, filed with the Administrator in accordance with
Article 3, pursuant to which a Participant or Beneficiary may elect
to defer the time of payment of amounts previously deferred in
accordance with the terms of a previously made Initial Election or
Subsequent Election.
2.42. “ Surviving
Spouse ” means the widow or widower, as the case may be,
of a Deceased Participant or a Deceased Beneficiary (as
applicable).
2.43. “ Third Party
” means any Person, together with such Person’s
Affiliates, provided that the term “Third Party” shall
not include the Company or an Affiliate of the Company.
ARTICLE 3 – INITIAL AND
SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS
3.1. Elections.
(a) Initial Elections . Each
Outside Director and Eligible Employee shall have the right to
defer all or any portion of the Compensation that he would
otherwise be entitled to receive for a calendar year (net of
applicable withholdings) by filing an Initial Election at the time
and in the manner described in this Article 3. The Compensation of
such Outside Director or Eligible Employee for a calendar year
shall be reduced in an amount equal to the portion of the
Compensation deferred by such Outside Director or Eligible Employee
for such calendar year pursuant to such Outside Director’s or
Eligible Employee’s Initial Election. Such reduction shall be
effected on a pro rata basis from each periodic installment payment
of such Outside Director’s or Eligible Employee’s
Compensation for the calendar year (in accordance with the general
pay practices of the Participating Company), and credited, as a
bookkeeping entry, to such Outside Director’s or Eligible
Employee’s Account in accordance with Section 5.1.
Amounts credited to the Accounts of Outside Directors in the form
of Company Stock shall be credited to the Company Stock Fund and
credited with income, gains and losses in accordance with
Section 5.2(c).
(b) Subsequent Elections .
Each Participant or Beneficiary shall have the right to elect to
defer the time of payment or to change the manner of payment of
amounts previously deferred in accordance with the terms of a
previously made Initial Election pursuant to the terms of the Plan
by filing a Subsequent Election at the time, to the extent, and in
the manner described in this Article 3.
3.2. Filing of Initial Election:
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