Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes consists of the following components:

(In thousands)	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Domestic	$	437,039	$	529,451	$	587,346
Foreign	(34,660)		(43,265)		32,927
Total	$	402,379	$	486,186	$	620,273

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

Income tax expense attributable to continuing operations consists of the following components:

(In thousands)	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
Current expense:
Federal	$	86,977	$	81,459	$	80,360
State	17,733		12,657		13,663
Foreign	23,845		24,608		25,001
	128,555		118,724		119,024
Deferred expense (benefit):
Federal	(2,979)		(2,216)		34,636
State	(405)		(98)		3,627
Foreign	26,543		(36,602)		(4,896)
	23,159		(38,916)		33,367
Tax expense (benefit) relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest	(6,323)		(1,338)		3,915
Income tax expense	$	145,391	$	78,470	$	156,306

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to the effective income tax rate is as follows:

(In thousands)	Years Ended December 31,
	2020		2019		2018
U.S. federal statutory income tax rate	21	%	21	%	21	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal benefit	4		2		2
Effect of foreign operations	2		2		—
Effect of rate changes on deferred taxes (a)	—		—		(2)
Excess tax deficiencies related to share-based compensation	2		—		—
Nontaxable income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(1)		(1)		(1)
Changes in the valuation allowance (b)	10		(4)		3
Tax expense relating to uncertain tax positions, including accrued interest, net of deferred tax benefits	(1)		—		—
Deferral of investment tax credit benefit (c)	(1)		(2)		—
Other	—		(2)		2
Effective income tax rate	36	%	16	%	25	%

(a) The benefits related to effects of rate changes in the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily relate to the one-time rate change on deferred tax assets and liabilities that resulted from the extension of certain television production cost deductions included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (enacted February 9, 2018) and return to provision adjustments.

(b) In the year ended December 31, 2020, the increase in valuation allowance relates primarily to a change in judgement and a change in local tax law related to the utilization of foreign net operating loss carryforwards and other deferred tax assets. In the year ended December 31, 2019, the decrease in valuation allowance relates primarily to the expected utilization of foreign net operating loss carryforwards resulting from the reorganization of intellectual property amongst the Company’s international subsidiaries. In the year ended December 31, 2018, the increase in valuation allowance relates primarily to a change in judgement related to U.S. foreign tax credits.

(c) In the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the deferral of investment tax credit benefit relates to the income tax benefit recognized from investment tax credits recorded using the deferral method of accounting.

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant components of deferred tax assets or liabilities at December 31, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:

(In thousands)	December 31,
	2020		2019
Deferred Tax Asset (Liability)
NOLs and tax credit carry forwards	$	98,631	$	103,407
Compensation and benefit plans	22,562		27,835
Allowance for doubtful accounts	1,832		428
Fixed assets and intangible assets	42,550		37,893
Accrued interest expense	5,599		7,202
Other liabilities	16,682		27,276
Deferred tax asset	187,856		204,041
Valuation allowance	(96,199)		(59,584)
Net deferred tax asset	91,657		144,457
Prepaid liabilities	(538)		(530)
Fixed assets and intangible assets	(84,005)		(93,300)
Investments in partnerships	(77,619)		(105,062)
Other assets	(36,458)		(30,931)
Deferred tax liability	(198,620)		(229,823)
Total net deferred tax liability	$	(106,963)	$	(85,366)

Schedule Of Unrecognized Tax Benefits Reconciliation

A reconciliation of the beginning to ending amount of the liability for uncertain tax positions (excluding related accrued interest and deferred tax benefit) is as follows:

(In thousands)
Balance at December 31, 2019	$	18,588
Increases related to current year tax positions	173
Increases related to prior year tax positions	1,999
Decreases related to prior year tax positions	(988)
Decreases due to settlements/payments	(10,087)
Balance at December 31, 2020	$	9,685