Revenues are recognized when control of the promised services is transferred to the Company’s customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services.

Broadcast Advertising. Television and radio revenue related to the sale of advertising is recognized at the time of broadcast. Broadcast advertising rates are fixed based on each medium’s ability to attract audiences in demographic groups targeted by advertisers and rates can vary based on the time of day and ratings of the programming airing in that day part.

Digital Advertising. Revenue from digital advertising primarily consists of two types: (1) display advertisements on websites and mobile applications that are sold based on a cost-per-thousand impressions delivered. These impressions are delivered through the Company’s websites and through third party publishers either through direct relationships with the publishers or through digital advertising exchanges. (2) performance driven advertising whereby the customer engages the Company to drive consumers to perform an action such as the download of a mobile application, the installation of an application, or the first use of an application (typically referred to cost per action or cost per installation).

Broadcast and digital advertising revenue is recognized over time in a series as a single performance obligation as the ad, impression or performance advertising is delivered per the insertion order. The Company applies the practical expedient to recognize revenue for each distinct advertising service delivered at the amount the Company has the right to invoice, which corresponds directly to the value a customer has received relative to the Company’s performance. Contracts with customers are short term in nature and billing occurs on a monthly basis with payment due in 30 days. Value added taxes collected concurrent with advertising revenue producing activities are excluded from revenue. Cash payments received prior to services rendered result in deferred revenue, which is then recognized as revenue when the advertising time or space is actually provided.

Retransmission Consent. The Company generates revenue from retransmission consent agreements that are entered into with MVPDs. The Company grants the MVPDs access to its television station signals so that they may rebroadcast the signals and charge their subscribers for this programming. Payments are received on a monthly basis based on the number of monthly subscribers.

Retransmission consent revenues are considered licenses of functional intellectual property and are recognized over time utilizing the sale-based or usage-based royalty exception. The Company’s performance obligation is to provide the licensee access to our intellectual property. MVPD subscribers receive and consume the content monthly as the television signal is delivered.

Spectrum Usage Rights. The Company generates revenue from agreements associated with its television stations’ spectrum usage rights from a variety of sources, including but not limited to agreements with third parties to utilize excess spectrum for the broadcast of their multicast networks; charging fees to accommodate the operations of third parties, including moving channel positions or accepting interference with broadcasting operations; and modifying and/or relinquishing spectrum usage rights while continuing to broadcast through channel sharing or other arrangements.

Revenue generated by spectrum usage rights agreements are recognized over the period of the lease or when we have relinquished all or a portion of our spectrum usage rights for a station or have relinquished our rights to operate a station on the existing channel free from interference.

Other Revenue. The Company generates other revenues that are related to its broadcast operations, which primarily consist of representation fees earned by the Company’s radio national representation firm, talent fees for the Company’s on air personalities, ticket and concession sales for radio events, rent from tenants of the Company’s owned facilities, barter revenue, and revenue generated under joint sales agreements.

In the case of representation fees, the Company does not control the distinct service, the commercial advertisement, prior to delivery and therefore recognizes revenue on a net basis. Similarly for joint service agreements, the Company does not own the station providing the airtime and therefore recognizes revenue on a net basis. In the case of talent fees, the on air personality is an employee of the Company and therefore the Company controls the service provided and recognizes revenue gross with an expense for fees paid to the employee.

The Company does not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations when (i) contracts have an original expected length of one year or less, which applies to effectively all advertising contracts, and (ii) variable consideration is a sales-based or usage-based royalty promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property, which applies to retransmission consent revenue.

The Company applies the practical expedient to expense contract acquisition costs, such as sales commissions generated either by internal direct sales employees or through third party advertising agency intermediaries, when incurred because the amortization period is one year or less. These costs are recorded within direct operating expenses.

The following table presents our revenues disaggregated by major source (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Broadcast advertising	$	148,082	$	169,009	$	171,715
Digital advertising		68,908		80,982		57,098
Spectrum usage rights		13,061		2,976		263,943
Retransmission consent		35,362		35,066		31,413
Other		8,162		9,782		11,865
Total revenue	$	273,575	$	297,815	$	536,034

Contracts are entered into directly with customers or through an advertising agency that represents the customer. Sales of advertising to customers or agencies within a station’s designated market area (“DMA”) are referred to as local revenue, whereas sales from outside the DMA are referred to as national revenue. The following table further disaggregates the Company’s broadcast advertising revenue by sales channel (in thousands):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Local direct	$	25,972	$	27,522	$	30,343
Local agency		58,425		61,226		64,724
National agency		63,685		80,261		76,648
Total revenue	$	148,082	$	169,009	$	171,715

The Company records deferred revenues when cash payments are received or due in advance of its performance, including amounts which are refundable. The change in the deferred revenue balance for the year ended December 31, 2019 is primarily driven by cash payments received or due in advance of satisfying the Company’s performance obligations, offset by revenues recognized that were included in the deferred revenue balance as of December 31, 2018.

The Company’s payment terms vary by the type and location of customer and the products or services offered. The term between invoicing and when payment is due is not significant, typically 30 days. For certain customer types, the Company requires payment before the services are delivered to the customer.

(in thousands)

December 31,

2018

Increase

Decrease *

December 31,

2019

Deferred revenue

2,759

2,390

(2,759

)

2,390

*	The amount disclosed in the decrease column reflects revenue that has been recorded during the year ended December 31, 2019.

(in thousands)

December 31,

2017

Increase

Decrease *

December 31,

2018

Deferred revenue

2,957

2,759

(2,957

)

2,759

*	The amount disclosed in the decrease column reflects revenue that has been recorded during the year ended December 31, 2018.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized revenue of $263.9 million related to its participation in the FCC auction for broadcast spectrum. This revenue reflects the relinquishment of the Company’s permanent spectrum usage rights related to four television stations: WMDO-CD serving the Washington, D.C. market, WJAL-TV serving the Hagerstown, Maryland market, KSMS-TV serving the Monterey-Salinas, California market, and WUVN-TV serving the Hartford, Connecticut market. The proceeds of the auction were deposited into the account of a qualified intermediary to comply with Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 requirements to execute a like-kind exchange. The Company also recorded an expense of $12.3 million during year ended December 31, 2017 to account for the write-off of the carrying value of spectrum usage rights surrendered. This expense is classified as “Cost of revenue – television (spectrum usage rights)” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The FCC has allowed auction participants up to six months after the relinquishment of their permanent spectrum usage rights to cease broadcasting. The Company has treated this usage period as a sale-leaseback transaction in accordance with ASC 840-40 and recorded lease expense based on the fair market value.