SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies) |
12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2021 | |
Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |
Use of Estimates | Use of Estimates The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes including, but not limited to, legal, tax and insurance accruals. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
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Principles of Consolidation | Principles of Consolidation 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 using the equity method of accounting. All significant intercompany accounts have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company is the beneficiary of two trusts created to comply with Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) ownership rules. The radio stations owned by the trusts are managed by independent trustees. The trustees are marketing these stations for sale, and the stations will have to be sold unless any stations may be owned by the Company under then-current FCC rules, in which case the trusts will be terminated with respect to such stations. The trust agreements stipulate that the Company must fund any operating shortfalls of the trust activities, and any excess cash flow generated by the trusts is distributed to the Company. The Company is also the beneficiary of proceeds from the sale of stations held in the trusts. The Company consolidates the trusts in accordance with ASC 810-10, Consolidation, which requires an enterprise involved with variable interest entities to perform an analysis to determine whether the enterprise’s variable interest or interests give it a controlling financial interest in the variable interest entity, as the trusts were determined to be a variable interest entity and the Company is the primary beneficiary under the trusts.
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Cash and Cash Equivalents | Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less.
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Accounts Receivable | Accounts Receivable Accounts receivable are recorded when the Company has an unconditional right to payment, either because it has satisfied a performance obligation prior to receiving payment from the customer or has a non-cancelable contract that has been billed in advance in accordance with the Company’s normal billing terms. Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount, net of reserves for sales allowances and allowances for doubtful accounts. The Company evaluates the collectability of its accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where it is aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations, it records a specific reserve to reduce the amounts recorded to what it believes will be collected. For all other customers, it recognizes reserves for bad debt based on historical experience of bad debts as a percent of accounts receivable for each business unit, adjusted for relative improvements or deteriorations in the agings and changes in current economic conditions. The Company believes its concentration of credit risk is limited due to the large number of its customers.
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Business Combinations | Business Combinations The Company accounts for its business combinations under the acquisition method of accounting. The total cost of an acquisition is allocated to the underlying identifiable net assets, based on their respective estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires management's judgment and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions, including assumptions with respect to future cash inflows and outflows, discount rates, asset lives and market multiples, among other items. Various acquisition agreements may include contingent purchase consideration based on performance requirements of the investee. The Company accounts for these payments in conformity with the provisions of ASC 805-20-30, Business Combinations, which establish the requirements related to recognition of certain assets and liabilities arising from contingencies.
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Property, Plant and Equipment | Property, Plant and Equipment Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method at rates that, in the opinion of management, are adequate to allocate the cost of such assets over their estimated useful lives, which are as follows: Buildings and improvements – 10 to 39 years Towers, transmitters and studio equipment – 5 to 40 years Computer equipment and software - 3 years Furniture and other equipment – 5 to 7 years Leasehold improvements – shorter of economic life or lease term assuming renewal periods, if appropriate For assets associated with a lease or contract, the assets are depreciated at the shorter of the economic life or the lease or contract term, assuming renewal periods, if appropriate. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred, whereas expenditures for renewal and betterments are capitalized. The Company tests for possible impairment of property, plant, and equipment whenever events and circumstances indicate that depreciable assets might be impaired and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than the carrying amounts of those assets. When specific assets are determined to be unrecoverable, the cost basis of the asset is reduced to reflect the current fair market value. Assets and businesses are classified as held for sale if their carrying amount will be recovered or settled principally through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use. The asset or business must be available for immediate sale and the sale must be highly probable within one year.
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Leases | Leases The Company enters into operating lease contracts for land, buildings, structures and other equipment. Arrangements are evaluated at inception to determine whether such arrangements contain a lease. Operating leases primarily include land and building lease contracts and leases of radio towers. Arrangements to lease building space consist primarily of the rental of office space, but may also include leases of other equipment, including automobiles and copiers. Operating leases are reflected on the Company's balance sheet within Operating lease right-of-use ("ROU') assets and the related short-term and long-term liabilities are included within Current and Noncurrent operating lease liabilities, respectively. The Company's finance leases are included within Property, plant and equipment with the related liabilities included within Long-term debt or within Liabilities subject to compromise (see Note 15, Fresh Start Accounting). ROU assets represent the right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities represent the obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the respective lease term. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Certain of the Company's operating lease agreements include rental payments that are adjusted periodically for inflationary changes. Payments due to changes in inflationary adjustments are included within variable rent expense, which is accounted for separately from periodic straight-line lease expense. Amounts related to insurance and property taxes in lease arrangements when billed on a pass-through basis are allocated to the lease and non-lease components of the lease based on their relative standalone selling prices. Certain of the Company's leases provide options to extend the terms of the agreements. Generally, renewal periods are excluded from minimum lease payments when calculating the lease liabilities as, for most leases, the Company does not consider exercise of such options to be reasonably certain. As a result, unless a renewal option is considered reasonably assured, the optional terms and related payments are not included within the lease liability. For those leases for which renewal periods are included in calculating minimum lease liabilities, any adjustments resulting from changes in circumstances which result in the renewal options no longer being reasonably certain are accounted for as changes in estimates. The Company's lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. The implicit rate within the Company's lease agreements is generally not determinable. As such, the Company uses the incremental borrowing rate ("IBR") to determine the present value of lease payments at the commencement of the lease. The IBR, as defined in ASC 842, Leases, is "the rate of interest that a lessee 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." In connection with the Company's emergence from bankruptcy and in accordance with ASC 852, Reorganizations, the Company applied the provisions of fresh start accounting to its Consolidated Financial Statements on the Effective Date. As a result, the Company adjusted the IBR used to value the Company's ROU assets and operating lease liabilities at the Effective Date (see Note 15, Fresh Start Accounting). Upon adoption of ASC 842 in the first quarter of 2019, the Company did not elect the practical expedient to combine non-lease components with the associated lease components. Upon application of fresh start accounting on the Effective Date, the Company elected to use the practical expedient to not separate non-lease components from the associated lease component for all classes of the Company's assets. When the Company decides to abandon a leased property before the expiration of the lease term, management assesses whether such property will be subleased. If it is determined that subleasing the property for the remaining lease term is reasonable, management estimates the fair value of the sublease payments to be received and compares the estimated fair value to the ROU asset. To the extent the estimated fair value is less than the net book value of the ROU asset, the Company records a non-cash impairment charge for the difference, and the remaining ROU asset is recorded ratably over the remaining lease term. If it is determined that subleasing the property for the remaining lease term is not reasonable (e.g. the remaining lease term is too short to reasonably expect the property to be subleased), amortization of the net book value of the ROU asset is accelerated and recognized as expense ratably from the decision date to the date the Company ceases use of the property.
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Intangible Assets | Intangible Assets The Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of FCC broadcast licenses in its Multiplatform Group segment. The Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets are not subject to amortization, but are tested for impairment at least annually. The Company tests for possible impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances, such as a significant reduction in operating cash flow or a dramatic change in the manner for which the asset is intended to be used indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. In connection with the Company's emergence from bankruptcy and in accordance with ASC 852, the Company applied the provisions of fresh start accounting to its Consolidated Financial Statements on the Effective Date. As a result, the Company adjusted its FCC licenses to their respective estimated fair values as of the Effective Date of $2,281.7 million (see Note 15, Fresh Start Accounting). The Company normally performs its annual impairment test for its FCC licenses using a direct valuation technique as prescribed in ASC 805-20-S99, Business Combinations. The Company engages a third-party valuation firm to assist the Company in the development of these assumptions and the Company’s determination of the fair value of its FCC licenses. As discussed above, as a result of uncertainty related to COVID-19 and its negative impact on the Company's business and the public trading values of its debt and equity, the Company performed interim impairment tests on its indefinite-lived intangible assets as of March 31, 2020. The interim impairment tests resulted in a non-cash impairment of the Company's FCC licenses of $502.7 million. The Company performed its annual impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets as of July 1, 2021 and 2020 and no additional impairment charges were recorded. See Note 4, Property, Plant and Equipment, Intangible Assets and Goodwill. Other intangible assets include definite-lived intangible assets. The Company’s definite-lived intangible assets primarily include customer and advertiser relationships, talent and representation contracts, trademarks and tradenames and other contractual rights, all of which are amortized over the shorter of either the respective lives of the agreements or over the period of time the assets are expected to contribute directly or indirectly to the Company’s future cash flows. The Company periodically reviews the appropriateness of the amortization periods related to its definite-lived intangible assets. These assets are recorded at amortized cost. In connection with the Company's emergence from bankruptcy and in accordance with ASC 852, the Company applied the provisions of fresh start accounting to its Consolidated Financial Statements on the Effective Date. As a result, the Company adjusted Other intangible assets to their respective fair values at the Effective Date (see Note 15, Fresh Start Accounting). The Company tests for possible impairment of other intangible assets whenever events and circumstances indicate that they might be impaired and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than the carrying amounts of those assets. When specific assets are determined to be unrecoverable, the cost basis of the asset is reduced to reflect the current fair market value.
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Goodwill | Goodwill At least annually, the Company performs its impairment test for each reporting unit’s goodwill. The Company also tests goodwill at interim dates if events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired. The Company identified its reporting units in accordance with ASC 350-20-55, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. Generally, the Company's annual impairment test includes a full quantitative assessment, which involves the preparation of a fair value estimate for each reporting unit based on the most recent projected financial results, market and industry factors, including comparison to peer companies and the application of the Company's current estimated WACC. However, in connection with emergence from bankruptcy, the Company qualified for and adopted fresh start accounting on the Effective Date. As of May 1, 2019, the Company allocated its estimated enterprise fair value to its individual assets and liabilities based on their estimated fair values in conformity with ASC 805, Business Combinations. Upon application of fresh start accounting in accordance with ASC 852, Reorganizations, in connection with the emergence from bankruptcy, the Company recorded goodwill of $3.3 billion, which represented the excess of Reorganization Value over the estimated fair value of the Company's assets and liabilities. Goodwill was further allocated to reporting units based on the relative fair values of the Company's reporting units as of May 1, 2019. As a result of the changes in the Company's management structure and its reportable segments effective at the beginning of 2021, the Company performed an interim impairment test on goodwill as of January 1, 2021. No impairment charges were recorded in the first quarter of 2021 in connection with the interim impairment test. As discussed above, as a result of uncertainty related to COVID-19 and its negative impact on the Company's business and the public trading values of its debt and equity, the Company performed interim impairment tests on its long-lived assets, intangible assets and indefinite-lived intangible assets as of March 31, 2020. The interim impairment tests resulted in a non-cash impairment of the Company's goodwill of $1.2 billion. The Company performed its annual impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets as of July 1, 2021 and 2020 and no additional impairment charges were recorded. For more information, see Note 4, Property, Plant and Equipment, Intangible Assets and Goodwill.
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Nonconsolidated Affiliates | Nonconsolidated AffiliatesIn general, investments in which the Company owns 20% to 50% of the common stock or otherwise exercises significant influence over the investee are accounted for under the equity method. The Company does not recognize gains or losses upon the issuance of securities by any of its equity method investees. The Company reviews the value of equity method investments and records impairment charges in the statement of comprehensive income (loss) as a component of “Equity in loss of nonconsolidated affiliates” for any decline in value. |
Other Investments | Other Investments We apply Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2016-01 Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities ("ASU 2016-01"), which requires us to measure all equity investments that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method at fair value and recognize any changes in earnings. For equity securities without readily determinable fair values, we have elected the measurement alternative under which we measure these investments at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. Investments in notes receivable are evaluated for credit losses in accordance with ASC 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, on a quarterly basis or when indicators of credit loss exist.
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Financial Instruments | Financial Instruments Due to their short maturity, the carrying amounts of accounts and notes receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and short-term borrowings approximated their fair values at December 31, 2021 and 2020.
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Income Taxes | Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes using the liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting bases and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the periods in which the deferred tax asset or liability is expected to be realized or settled. Deferred tax assets are reduced by valuation allowances if the Company believes it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire asset will not be realized. The Company has not provided U.S. federal income taxes for temporary differences with respect to investments in foreign subsidiaries. It is not apparent that these temporary differences will reverse in the foreseeable future. If any excess cash held by our foreign subsidiaries were needed to fund operations in the U.S., the Company could presently repatriate available funds without a requirement to accrue or pay U.S. taxes. The Company regularly reviews its tax liabilities on amounts that may be distributed in future periods and provides for foreign withholding and other current and deferred taxes on any such amounts, where applicable.
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Revenue Recognition | Revenue Recognition The Company recognizes revenue when or as it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring a promised good or service to a customer. Where third-parties are involved in the provision of goods and services to a customer, revenue is recognized at the gross amount of consideration the Company expects to receive if the Company controls the promised good or service before it is transferred to the customer; otherwise, revenue is recognized at the net amount the Company retains. The Company receives payments from customers based on billing schedules that are established in its contracts, and deferred revenue is recorded when payment is received from a customer before the Company has satisfied the performance obligation or a non-cancelable contract has been billed in advance in accordance with the Company’s normal billing terms. The primary source of revenue in the Multiplatform Group segment is the sale of advertising on the Company’s broadcast radio stations and national and local live and virtual events. Revenues for advertising spots are recognized at the point in time when the advertisement is broadcast. Revenues for event sponsorships are recognized over the period of the event. Multiplatform Group also generates revenues from programming talent, network syndication, traffic and weather data, and other miscellaneous transactions, which are recognized when the services are transferred to the customer. Multiplatform Group's contracts with advertisers are typically a year or less in duration and are generally billed monthly upon satisfaction of the performance obligations. The primary source of revenue in the Digital Audio Group segment is the sale of advertising on the Company’s iHeartRadio mobile application and website, station websites, and podcast network. Revenues for advertising spots are recognized over time based on impressions delivered or time elapsed, depending upon the terms of the contract. Digital Audio Group’s contracts with advertisers are typically a year or less in duration and are generally billed monthly upon satisfaction of the performance obligations. The Company also generates revenue through contractual commissions realized from the sale of national spot and online advertising on behalf of clients of its full-service media representation business, Katz Media, which is part of the Audio and Media Services Group segment. Revenues from these contracts are recognized at the point in time when the advertisements are broadcast. Because the Company is a representative of its media clients and does not control the advertising inventory before it is transferred to the advertiser, the Company recognizes revenue at the net amount of contractual commissions retained for its representation services. The Company’s media representation contracts typically have terms up to ten years in duration and are generally billed monthly upon satisfaction of the performance obligations. The Company recognizes revenue in amounts that reflect the consideration it expects to receive in exchange for transferring goods or services to customers, excluding sales taxes and other similar taxes collected on behalf of governmental authorities (the "transaction price”). When this consideration includes a variable amount, the Company estimates the amount of consideration it expects to receive and only recognizes revenue to the extent that it is probable it will not be reversed in a future reporting period. Because the transfer of promised goods and services to the customer is generally within a year of scheduled payment from the customer, the Company is not typically required to consider the effects of the time value of money when determining the transaction price. Advertising revenue is reported net of agency commissions. In order to appropriately identify the unit of accounting for revenue recognition, the Company determines which promised goods and services in a contract with a customer are distinct and are therefore separate performance obligations. If a promised good or service does not meet the criteria to be considered distinct, it is combined with other promised goods or services until a distinct bundle of goods or services exists. Certain of the Company’s contracts with customers include options for the customer to acquire additional goods or services for free or at a discount, and management judgment is required to determine whether these options are material rights that are separate performance obligations. For revenue arrangements that contain multiple distinct goods or services, the Company allocates the transaction price to these performance obligations in proportion to their relative standalone selling prices or the best estimate of their fair values. The Company has concluded that the contractual prices for the promised goods and services in its standard contracts generally approximate management’s best estimate of standalone selling price as the rates reflect various factors such as the size and characteristics of the target audience, market location and size, and recent market selling prices. However, where the Company provides customers with free or discounted services as part of contract negotiations, management uses judgment to determine how much of the transaction price to allocate to these performance obligations. Contract Costs Incremental costs of obtaining a contract primarily relate to sales commissions, which are included in selling, general and administrative expenses and are generally commensurate with sales. These costs are generally expensed when incurred because the period of benefit is one year or less.
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Advertising Expense | Advertising ExpenseThe Company records advertising expense as it is incurred. |
Share-Based Compensation | Share-Based Compensation Under the fair value recognition provisions of ASC 718, Compensation-Stock Compensation, share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award. For awards that vest based on service conditions, this cost is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. For awards that will vest based on market or performance conditions, this cost is recognized when it becomes probable that the performance conditions will be satisfied. Determining the fair value of share-based awards at the grant date requires assumptions and judgments, such as expected volatility, among other factors.
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Foreign Currency | Foreign Currency Results of operations for foreign subsidiaries and foreign equity investees are translated into U.S. dollars using average exchange rates during the year. The assets and liabilities of those subsidiaries and investees are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates at the balance sheet date. The related translation adjustments are recorded in a separate component of stockholders' equity, “Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)”. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are included in Other income (expense), net in the Statement of Comprehensive Income (Loss).
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Reclassifications | Reclassifications and New Segment Presentation Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2021 presentation. In connection with the organization and leadership changes resulting in the realignment of its reportable segments as discussed above, the Company also determined that all selling, general and administrative expenses incurred by its reportable segments and by its corporate functions would be reported together as Selling, general and administrative expenses. Amounts presented in prior years as Corporate expenses have been reclassified as Selling, general and administrative expenses to conform to the current presentation.
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New Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted and New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted | New Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) - Facilitation of the Effects of the Interbank Offered Rate Transition on Financial Reporting to provide optional relief from applying generally accepted accounting principles to contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions affected by reference rate reform. In addition, in January 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-01, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) – Scope, to clarify that certain optional expedients and exceptions in Topic 848 for contract modifications and hedge accounting apply to derivatives that are affected by the discounting transition. The guidance is effective upon issuance and generally can be applied through December 31, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the future impact of adoption of this standard. New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805) - Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers which requires an acquirer in a business combination to recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 606. The amendments of ASU 2021-08 are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. The Company is currently evaluating the future impact of adoption of this standard.
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