EMPLOYEE SAVINGS AND BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Deferred Compensation Plans

The Company provides certain of its employees and the Board of Directors with an opportunity to defer a portion of their compensation on a tax-favored basis. The obligations by the Company to pay these benefits under the deferred compensation plans represent unsecured general obligations that rank equally with the Company’s other unsecured indebtedness. Amounts deferred under these plans were included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Any change in the deferred compensation liability for each period is recorded to corporate general and administrative expenses and to station operating expenses in the statement of operations. Further contributions under these plans have been frozen.


	Years Ended December 31,
Benefit Plan Disclosures	2020		2019		2018
	(amounts in thousands)
Deferred compensation
Beginning of period balance	$	33,229	$	30,928	$	40,995

Employee compensation deferrals	—		15		384
Employee compensation payments	(3,333)		(3,826)		(8,709)
Increase (decrease) in plan fair value	3,578		6,112		(1,742)
End of period balance	$	33,474	$	33,229	$	30,928

401(k) Savings PlanThe Company has a savings plan which is intended to be qualified under Section 401(k) of the Code. The plan is a defined contribution plan, available to all eligible employees, and allows participants to contribute up to the legal maximum of their eligible compensation, not to exceed the maximum tax-deferred amount allowed by the Internal Revenue Service. The Company’s discretionary matching contribution is subject to certain conditions. The Company’s contributions for 2020, 2019 and 2018 were $2.2 million, $5.6 million and $6.1 million, respectively. As discussed above, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company temporarily suspended its 401(k) matching program in 2020.