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BASIS OF PRESENTATION
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Preparation of Interim Financial Statements
All references in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to iHeartMedia, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The accompanying consolidated financial statements were prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and, in the opinion of management, include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of the interim periods shown. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such SEC rules and regulations. Management believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. As described below, as a result of the application of fresh start accounting and the effects of the implementation of the Company's Plan of Reorganization (as defined below), the consolidated financial statements after the Effective Date (as defined below), are not comparable with the consolidated financial statements on or before that date. Refer to Note 3, Fresh Start Accounting, for additional information. The financial statements contained herein should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. Also included in the consolidated financial statements are entities for which the Company has a controlling financial interest or is the primary beneficiary. Investments in companies in which the Company owns 20% to 50% of the voting common stock or otherwise exercises significant influence over operating and financial policies of the company are accounted for under the equity method. All significant intercompany transactions are eliminated in the consolidation process.
Unless otherwise indicated, information in these notes to the consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations. Certain of the Company's operations have been presented as discontinued. The Company presents businesses that represent components as discontinued operations when the components meet the criteria for held for sale, are sold, or spun-off and their disposal represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on its operations and financial results. See Note 4, Discontinued Operations.
As part of the Separation and Reorganization (as defined below), the Company reevaluated its segment reporting, resulting in the presentation of two businesses:
Audio, which provides media and entertainment services via broadcast and digital delivery and also includes the Company’s events and national syndication businesses and  
Audio & Media Services, which provides other audio and media services, including the Company’s media representation business, Katz Media Group (“Katz Media”) and the Company's provider of scheduling and broadcast software, Radio Computing Services (“RCS”).
Prior periods have been recast to reflect the Company's current segment presentation. See Note 13, Segment Data.
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2019 presentation.
Voluntary Filing under Chapter 11
On March 14, 2018 (the "Petition Date"), the Company, iHeartCommunications, Inc. ("iHeartCommunications") and certain of the Company's direct and indirect domestic subsidiaries (collectively, the "Debtors") filed voluntary petitions for relief (the "Chapter 11 Cases") under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (the "Bankruptcy Code"), in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (the "Bankruptcy Court"). Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (“CCOH”) and its direct and indirect subsidiaries did not file voluntary petitions for reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code and were not Debtors in the Chapter 11 Cases. On April 28, 2018, the Company and the other Debtors filed a plan of reorganization (as amended, the “Plan of Reorganization”) and a related disclosure statement with the Bankruptcy Court, which we subsequently amended by filing the second, third, fourth and fifth amended Plan of Reorganization and amended versions of the Disclosure Statement. On January 22, 2019, the Plan of Reorganization was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court.
On May 1, 2019 (the “Effective Date”), the conditions to the effectiveness of the Plan of Reorganization were satisfied and the Company emerged from Chapter 11 through (a) a series of transactions (the “Separation”) through which CCOH, its parent Clear Channel Holdings, Inc. (“CCH”) and its subsidiaries (collectively with CCOH and CCH, the “Outdoor Group”) were separated from, and ceased to be controlled by, the Company and its subsidiaries (the “iHeart Group”), and (b) a series of transactions (the “Reorganization”) through which iHeartCommunications’ debt was reduced from approximately $16 billion to approximately $5.8 billion and a global compromise and settlement among holders of claims (“Claimholders”) in connection with the Chapter 11 Cases was effected. The compromise and settlement involved, among others, (i) the restructuring of iHeartCommunications’ indebtedness by (A) replacing its “debtor-in-possession” credit facility with a $450 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility (the “ABL Facility”) and (B) issuing to certain Claimholders, on account of their claims, approximately $3.5 billion aggregate principal amount of new senior secured term loans (the “Term Loan Facility”), approximately $1.45 billion aggregate principal amount of new 8.375% Senior Notes due 2027 (the “Senior Unsecured Notes”) and approximately $800 million aggregate principal amount of new 6.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 (the “6.375% Senior Secured Notes”), (ii) the Company’s issuance of new Class A common stock, new Class B common stock and special warrants to purchase shares of new Class A common stock and Class B common stock (“Special Warrants”) to Claimholders, subject to ownership restrictions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), (iii) the settlement of certain intercompany transactions, and (iv) the sale of the preferred stock (the “iHeart Operations Preferred Stock”) of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary iHeart Operations, Inc. (“iHeart Operations”) in connection with the Separation.
All of the Company's equity existing as of the Effective Date was canceled on such date pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization.
Upon the Company's emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases, the Company adopted fresh start accounting, which resulted in a new basis of accounting and the Company becoming a new entity for financial reporting purposes. As a result of the application of fresh start accounting and the effects of the implementation of the Plan of Reorganization, the consolidated financial statements after the Effective Date, are not comparable with the consolidated financial statements on or before that date. Refer to Note 3, Fresh Start Accounting, for additional information.
References to “Successor” or “Successor Company” relate to the financial position and results of operations of the Company after the Effective Date. References to "Predecessor" or "Predecessor Company" refer to the financial position and results of operations of the Company on or before the Effective Date.
During the Predecessor period, the Company applied Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 852 - Reorganizations (“ASC 852”) in preparing the consolidated financial statements. ASC 852 requires the financial statements, for periods subsequent to the commencement of the Chapter 11 Cases, to distinguish transactions and events that are directly associated with the reorganization from the ongoing operations of the business. Accordingly, certain charges incurred during 2018 and 2019 related to the Chapter 11 Cases, including the write-off of unamortized long-term debt fees and discounts associated with debt classified as liabilities subject to compromise, and professional fees incurred directly as a result of the Chapter 11 Cases are recorded as Reorganization items, net in the Predecessor period.
ASC 852 requires certain additional reporting for financial statements prepared between the bankruptcy filing date and the date of emergence from bankruptcy, including:
Reclassification of Debtor pre-petition liabilities that are unsecured, under-secured or where it cannot be determined that the liabilities are fully secured, to a separate line item in the Consolidated Balance Sheet called, "Liabilities subject to compromise"; and
Segregation of Reorganization items, net as a separate line in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Loss, included within income from continuing operations.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern and contemplate the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. During the Chapter 11 Cases, the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern was contingent upon the Company’s ability to successfully implement the Company’s Plan of Reorganization, among other factors. As a result of the effectiveness and implementation of the Plan of Reorganization, there is no longer substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Restricted Cash 
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets to the total of the amounts reported in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows:
(In thousands)
Successor Company
 
 
Predecessor Company
 
September 30,
2019
 
 
December 31,
2018
Cash and cash equivalents
$
277,050

 
 
$
224,037

Restricted cash included in:
 
 
 
 
  Other current assets
11,287

 
 
3,428

Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the Statement of Cash Flows(1)
$
288,337

 
 
$
227,465

(1) The Predecessor Company's Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as of December 31, 2018 in the table above exclude $202.8 million classified as current and long-term assets of discontinued operations.
New Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted
Leases
The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02, which created ASC 842, Leases, and all subsequent ASUs relating to this Topic, as of January 1, 2019 (collectively, "ASC 842"). This new lease accounting standard, which supersedes previous lease accounting guidance under U.S. GAAP, results in significant changes to the balance sheets of lessees, most significantly by requiring the recognition of a right-of-use ("ROU") asset and lease liability by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases. Lessor accounting is also updated to align with certain changes in the lessee model and the revenue recognition standard ("ASC Topic 606"), which was adopted in 2018.
The Company applied the transition provisions of this standard at January 1, 2019 following the optional transition method provided by ASU No. 2018-11; consequently, the consolidated financial statements and notes to the consolidated financial statements for periods before the date of adoption continue to be presented in accordance with ASC Topic 840. In addition, the Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which allowed us to not reassess whether expired or existing contracts are or contain leases and to carry forward the historical lease classification for those leases that commenced prior to the date of adoption.
Upon adoption of ASC 842, prepaid and deferred rent balances, which were historically presented separately, were combined and presented net within the ROU asset. Additionally, deferred gains related to previous transactions that were historically accounted for as sale and operating leasebacks in accordance with ASC Topic 840 were eliminated and recognized as a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity, resulting in an increase to equity, net of tax, of $128.9 million. Under ASC Topic 840, such gains were recognized ratably over the lease term as a credit to operating lease expense, and operating lease expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 included credits of $1.3 million and $3.9 million, respectively, for the amortization of these gains, which were not recognized in any period after January 1, 2019.
Adoption of the new standard had a material impact on our consolidated balance sheets, but it did not have a material impact on our other consolidated financial statements. Additionally, the standard requires disclosures to meet the objective of enabling users of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. Refer to Note 5, Revenue, and Note 6, Leases, for more information.
Intangible Assets and Goodwill
During the first quarter of 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). This update eliminated the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill to measure a goodwill impairment charge. Entities are required to record an impairment charge based on the excess of a reporting unit's carrying amount over its fair value. The standard is effective for annual and any interim impairment tests performed for periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company early adopted the proposed guidance under ASU 2017-04 beginning on January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis. The implementation of ASU 2017-04 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
During the third quarter of 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40), Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract. This update requires that a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract follow the internal use software guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 350-402 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as assets. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company early adopted the proposed guidance under ASU 2018-15 beginning on January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis. The implementation of ASU 2018-15 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.