Description Of Business And Basis Of Presentation Description of Business and Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Consolidation, Policy

Principles of Consolidation

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of AMC Networks and its majority owned or controlled subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Investments in business entities in which the Company lacks control but does have the ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial policies are accounted for using the equity method of accounting.

Unaudited Interim Financial Statements

These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and should be read in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2014 contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K (“2014 Form 10-K”) filed with the SEC. The condensed consolidated financial statements presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are unaudited; however, in the opinion of management, such financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented.

The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that might be expected for future interim periods or for the full year ending December 31, 2015.

Program Rights, Policy

Program Rights

The Company periodically reviews the programming usefulness of its licensed and owned original program rights based on a series of factors, including expected future revenue generation from airings on the Company's networks and other exploitation opportunities, ratings, type and quality of program material, standards and practices, and fitness for exhibition through various forms of distribution. If it is determined that film or other program rights have no future programming usefulness, a write-off of the unamortized cost is recorded in technical and operating expense. Program rights write-offs included in technical and operating expense of $13,199 and $9,030 were recorded for the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and program rights write-offs of $26,800 and $16,523 were recorded for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Use of Estimates, Policy

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements; and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates and judgments inherent in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements include the valuation of acquisition-related assets and liabilities, the useful lives and methodologies used to amortize and assess recoverability of program rights, the estimated useful lives of intangible assets, valuation and recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets and income tax assets and liabilities.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2015-03 Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. ASU 2015-03 requires debt issuance costs to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying value of the debt. ASU 2015-03 will be applied retrospectively and is effective for the first quarter of 2016 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU 2015-03, which is planned in the fourth quarter of 2015, is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-02 Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis. ASU 2015-02 amends current GAAP principles relating to the requirements of the reporting entity to consolidate other legal entities, and may require reporting entities that hold variable interests in other legal entities to re-evaluate consolidation assessments and disclosures. The new standard (i) introduces a separate analysis specific to limited partnerships and similar entities for assessing if the equity holders at risk lack decision making rights, (ii) changes the manner in which a reporting entity assesses if an entity is a variable interest entity when decision-making over the entity's most significant activities has been outsourced, (iii) modifies the related-party requirement for the power and economics test when determining the primary beneficiary, and (iv) reduces situations where the related-party tiebreaker test is performed. ASU 2015-02 is effective for the first quarter of 2016 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU 2015-02 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). ASU 2014-09 provides new guidance related to how an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard requires an evaluation of (i) transfer of control, (ii) variable consideration, (iii) allocation of selling price for multiple elements, (iv) intellectual property licenses, (v) time value of money, and (vi) contract costs. The standard also expands the required disclosures related to revenue and cash flows from contracts with customers to provide greater insight into both revenue that has been recognized, and revenue that is expected to be recognized in the future from existing contracts. On July 9, 2015, the FASB voted to approve a one year delay of the effective date of the standard to the first quarter of 2018, and to permit companies to voluntarily adopt the new standard as of the original effective date of January 1, 2017. The Company is currently determining its implementation approach and assessing the impact the adoption will have on its consolidated financial statements.