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COMCAST CORPORATION 2005 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

Employee Benefits Plan Agreement

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Comcast Corporation | Entertainment Television, Inc

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Title: COMCAST CORPORATION 2005 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
Governing Law: Pennsylvania     Date: 7/30/2008
Industry: Broadcasting and Cable TV     Sector: Services

COMCAST CORPORATION 2005 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN, Parties: comcast corporation , entertainment television  inc
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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: G


 
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