SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (Block)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments Abstract

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Text Block

9. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Under the Entercom Equity Compensation Plan (the “Plan”), the Company is authorized to issue share-based compensation awards to key employees, directors and consultants.

Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) Activity

The following is a summary of the changes in RSUs under the Plan during the current period:

			Number			Weighted	Aggregate
			of	Weighted		Average	Intrinsic
			Restricted	Average		Remaining	Value as of
			Stock	Purchase		Contractual	March 31,
	Period Ended		Units	Price		Term (Years)	2019
	(amounts in thousands)
RSUs outstanding as of:	December 31, 2018		3,685
RSUs awarded			1,489
RSUs released			(636)
RSUs forfeited			(83)
RSUs outstanding as of:	March 31, 2019		4,455	$	-	1.6	$	23,350
RSUs vested and expected
to vest as of:	March 31, 2019		4,455	$	-	1.6	$	23,347
RSUs exercisable (vested and
deferred) as of:	March 31, 2019		41	$	-	-	$	217
Weighted average remaining
recognition period in years			2.5
Unamortized compensation
expense		$	27,619

RSUs With Service and Market Conditions

The Company issued RSUs with service and market conditions that are included in the table above. These shares vest if: (i) the Company’s stock achieves certain shareholder performance targets over a defined measurement period; and (ii) the employee fulfills a minimum service period. The compensation expense is recognized even if the market conditions are not satisfied and are only reversed in the event the service period is not met,as all of the conditions need to be satisfied. These RSUs are amortized over the longest of the explicit, implicit or derived service periods, which range from approximately one to three years.

		Three Months		Year
		Ended		Ended
		March 31,		December 31,
		2019		2018
		(amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Reconciliation of RSUs with Service And Market Conditions
	Beginning of period balance		226		650
	Number of RSUs granted		-		-
	Number of RSUs forfeited		(6)		(110)
	Number of RSUs vested		-		(314)
	End of period balance		220		226
	Weighted average fair value of RSUs granted
	with market conditions	$	-	$	-

The fair value of RSUs with service conditions is estimated using the Company’s closing stock price on the date of the grant. To determine the fair value of RSUs with service and market conditions, the Company used the Monte Carlo simulation lattice model. The Company’s determination of the fair value was based on the number of shares granted, the Company’s stock price on the date of grant and certain assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. If other reasonable assumptions were used, the results could differ.

Option Activity

The following table provides summary information related to the exercise of stock options:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
Option Exercise Data	2019		2018
	(amounts in thousands)
Intrinsic value of options exercised	$	1,272	$	101
Tax benefit from options exercised (1)	$	73	$	27
Cash received from exercise price of options exercised	$	242	$	13

The following table presents the option activity during the current period under the Plan:

						Weighted	Intrinsic
				Weighted		Average	Value
				Average		Remaining	as of
		Number of		Exercise		Contractual	March 31,
	Period Ended	Options		Price		Term (Years)	2019
Options outstanding as of:	December 31, 2018		755,210	$	9.42
Options granted			-		-
Options exercised			(180,300)		1.34
Options forfeited			-		-
Options expired			(24,828)		11.69
Options outstanding as of:	March 31, 2019		550,082	$	11.97	1.6	$	2,450
Options vested and expected to
vest as of:	March 31, 2019		550,082	$	11.97	1.6	$	2,450
Options vested and exercisable as of:	March 31, 2019		550,082	$	11.97	1.6	$	2,450
Weighted average remaining
recognition period in years			-
Unamortized compensation expense		$	-

The following table summarizes significant ranges of outstanding and exercisable options as of the current period:

				Options Outstanding				Options Exercisable
				Number of	Weighted			Number of
				Options	Average	Weighted		Options	Weighted
Range of				Outstanding	Remaining	Average		Exercisable	Average
Exercise Prices				March 31,	Contractual	Exercise		March 31,	Exercise
From		To		2019	Life	Price		2019	Price
$	4.76	$	9.66	209,375	1.6	$	9.50	209,375	$	9.50
$	13.11	$	13.98	340,707	1.6	$	13.48	340,707	$	13.48
$	4.76	$	13.98	550,082	1.6	$	11.97	550,082	$	11.97

Recognized Non-Cash Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The following non-cash stock-based compensation expense, which is related primarily to RSUs, is included in each of the respective line items in the Company’s statement of operations:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2019		2018
		(amounts in thousands)
Station operating expenses	$	1,416	$	1,958
Corporate general and administrative expenses		2,157		1,955
Stock-based compensation expense included in operating expenses		3,573		3,913
Income tax benefit (1)		748		816
After-tax stock-based compensation expense	$	2,825	$	3,097