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Leases
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]  
Leases

7. LEASES

The Company’s leases are considered operating leases and primarily consist of real estate such as office space, broadcasting towers, land and land easements. ROU asset and lease liability is recognized as of lease commencement date based on the present value of the future minimum lease payments over the lease term.  As the implicit rate for operating leases is not readily determinable, the future minimum lease payments were discounted using an incremental borrowing rate.  Due to the Company’s having a centralized treasury function, the Company applied a portfolio approach to discount its domestic lease obligations using its secured publicly traded U.S. dollar denominated debt instruments interpolating the duration of the debt to the remaining lease term.  The incremental borrowing rate for international leases is the interest rate that the Company would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.

The Company’s operating leases are reflected within the consolidated balance sheet as right-of-use assets with the related liability presented as lease liability, current and lease liability, net of current portion. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Generally, lease terms include options to renew or extend the lease.  Unless the renewal option is considered reasonably certain, the exercise of any such options have been excluded from the calculation of lease liabilities.  In addition, as permitted within the guidance, ROU assets and lease liabilities are not recorded for leases within an initial term of one year or less.  The Company’s existing leases have remaining terms of less than one year up to 32 years.  Certain of the Company’s lease agreements include rental payments based on changes in the consumer price index (“CPI”). Lease liabilities are not remeasured as a result of changes in the CPI; instead, changes in the CPI are treated as variable lease payments and recognized in the period in which the related obligation was incurred. Lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

Certain real estate leases include additional costs such as common area maintenance (non-lease component), as well as property insurance and property taxes. These costs were excluded from future minimum lease payments as they are variable payments. As such, these costs were not part of the calculation of ROU assets and lease liabilities associated with operating leases upon transition.

The Company leases facilities and broadcast equipment under various non-cancelable operating lease agreements with various terms and conditions, expiring at various dates through February 2051.

The Company’s corporate headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. The Company leases approximately 16,000 square feet of space in the building housing its corporate headquarters under a lease expiring in 2021. The Company also leases approximately 41,000 square feet of space in the building housing its radio network in Los Angeles, California, under a lease expiring in 2026.

The types of properties required to support each of the Company’s television and radio stations typically include offices, broadcasting studios and antenna towers where broadcasting transmitters and antenna equipment are located. The majority of the Company’s office, studio and tower facilities are leased pursuant to non-cancelable long-term leases. The Company also owns the buildings and/or land used for office, studio and tower facilities at certain of its television and/or radio properties. The Company owns substantially all of the equipment used in its television and radio broadcasting business.

 

The following table summarizes the expected future payments related to lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019:

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

2020

 

$

 

10,975

 

2021

 

 

 

9,293

 

2022

 

 

 

7,992

 

2023

 

 

 

6,422

 

2024

 

 

 

5,392

 

2025 and thereafter

 

 

 

30,724

 

Total minimum payments

 

$

 

70,798

 

Less amounts representing interest

 

 

 

(20,355

)

Present value of minimum lease payments

 

 

 

50,443

 

Less current operating lease liabilities

 

 

 

(9,056

)

Long-term operating lease liabilities

 

$

 

41,387

 

 

The weighted average remaining lease term and the weighted average discount rate used to calculate the Company’s lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019 were 11.4 years and 6.2%, respectively.

The following table summarizes lease payments and supplemental non-cash disclosures for the year ended December 31, 2019:

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

Cash paid for amounts included in lease liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating cash flows from operating leases

 

$

10,582

 

Non-cash additions to operating lease assets

 

$

4,797

 

 

The following table summarizes the components of lease expense for the year ended December 31, 2019:

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

Operating lease cost

 

$

10,232

 

Variable lease cost

 

1978

 

Short-term lease cost

 

668

 

Total lease cost

 

$

12,878

 

 

For the year ended December 31, 2019, lease cost of $6.1 million, $6.0 million and $0.8 million, were recorded to direct operating expenses, selling, general and administrative expenses and corporate expenses, respectively.

 

The approximate future minimum lease payments under these non-cancelable operating leases at December 31, 2018 are as follows (in millions):

 

 

 

Amount

 

2019

 

$

10.4

 

2020

 

 

10.7

 

2021

 

 

8.5

 

2022

 

 

7.6

 

2023

 

 

6.1

 

Thereafter

 

 

38.5

 

 

 

$

81.8

 

 

Total rent expense under operating leases, including rent under month-to-month arrangements, was approximately $12.0 million and $10.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.