NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 – NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Organization and Nature of Operations

Bright Mountain Media, Inc.  is a Florida corporation formed on May 20, 2010. Its wholly owned subsidiaries, Bright Mountain LLC, and The Bright Insurance Agency, LLC, were formed as Florida limited liability companies in May 2011.  Its wholly owned subsidiary, Bright Watches, LLC was formed as Florida limited liability company in December 2015 and its wholly-owned subsidiary Daily Engage Media Group LLC (“Daily Engage Media”) was formed as a New Jersey limited liability company in February 2015.  When used herein, the terms "BMTM," the "Company," "we," "us," "our" or "Bright Mountain" refers to Bright Mountain Media, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

The Company is a digital media holding company for online assets targeting and servicing the military and public safety markets. The Company owns and manages 24 websites which are customized to provide our niche users, including active, reserve and retired military, law enforcement, first responders and other public safety employees with information and news that we believe may be of interest to them. Coupled with its recently acquired wholly owned subsidiary, Daily Engage Media, the Company has evolved to place its emphasis on providing quality content on its websites to drive traffic increases so that it can monetize these visits through advertising revenue. We generate revenues from two segments, product sales and advertising. The advertising segment consists primarily of advertising revenue and a small amount of subscription and service revenue.

On December 16, 2016, with an effective date of December 15, 2016, under the terms of an Asset Purchase Agreement, the Company acquired the assets, constituting the Black Helmet Apparel business (“Black Helmet”), from Sostre Enterprises, Inc.  Assets acquired included various website properties and content, social media content, inventory and other intellectual property rights.  The Black Helmet line of apparel features clothing and accessories focused on firefighters.

Consideration for the acquisition of Black Helmet consisted of $250,000 in cash, 200,000 shares of common stock valued at $170,000, the forgiveness of working capital advances of $200,000 and assumption of $40,000 in liabilities.

On September 19, 2017, under the terms of an Amended and Restated Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with Daily Engage Media, and its members, the Company acquired 100% of the membership interests of Daily Engage Media. Launched in 2015, Daily Engage Media is an ad network that connects advertisers with approximately 200 digital publications worldwide.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of BMTM and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Bright Mountain LLC, Daily Engage Media (from September 19, 2017), The Bright Insurance Agency, LLC and Bright Watches, LLC. All significant intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue on our products in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 605-10, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements". Under these guidelines, revenue is recognized on sales transactions when all of the following exist: persuasive evidence of an arrangement did exist, delivery of product has occurred, the sales price to the buyer is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. The Company has several revenue streams generated directly from its website and specific revenue recognition criteria for each revenue stream is as follows:

·

Sale of merchandise directly to consumers: The Company's product sales are recognized either FOB shipping point or FOB destination, dependent on the customer. Revenues are therefore recognized at point of ownership transfer;

·

Advertising revenue is received directly form companies who pay the Company a monthly fee for advertising space;

·

Advertising revenues are generated by users "clicking" on website advertisements utilizing several ad network partners: Revenues are recognized, on a net basis, upon receipt of payment by the ad network partner since the revenue is not determinable until it is received; and

·

Subscription revenues are generated by the sale of access to career postings or period subscription on one of our websites. The term of the subscriptions range from one month to twelve months. Revenues are recognized, on a net basis, over the term of the subscription period. All sales are final per the subscription Terms of Use.

The Company follows the guidance of ASC 605-50-25, "Revenue Recognition, Customer Payments". Accordingly, any incentives received from vendors are recognized as a reduction of the cost of products included in inventories. Promotional products or samples given to customers or potential customers are recognized as a cost of goods sold. Cash incentives provided to our customers are recognized as a reduction of the related sale price, and, therefore, are a reduction in sales.

Use of Estimates

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States ("GAAP"). These accounting principles require management to make certain estimates, judgments, and assumptions. We believe that the estimates, judgments, and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments, and assumptions are made. These estimates, judgments, and assumptions can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of our consolidated financial statements as well as reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Our consolidated financial statements would be affected to the extent there are material differences between these estimates and actual results. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP and does not require management's judgment in its application. There are also areas in which management's judgment in selecting any available alternative would not produce a materially different result. Significant estimates included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include revenue recognition, the fair value of acquired assets for purchase price allocation in business combinations, valuation of inventory, valuation of intangible assets, estimates of amortization period for intangible assets, estimates of depreciation period for fixed assets, valuation of equity-based transactions, and the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures its financial assets and liabilities in accordance with GAAP. For certain of our financial instruments, including cash, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and the short-term portion of long-term debt, the carrying amounts approximate fair value due to their short maturities.

We adopted accounting guidance for financial and non-financial assets and liabilities (ASC 820). The adoption did not have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position or liquidity. This standard defines fair value, provides guidance for measuring fair value and requires certain disclosures. This standard does not require any new fair value measurements, but rather applies to all other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. This guidance does not apply to measurements related to share-based payments. This guidance discusses valuation techniques, such as the market approach (comparable market prices), the income approach (present value of future income or cash flow), and the cost approach (cost to replace the service capacity of an asset or replacement cost). The guidance utilizes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The following is a brief description of those three levels:

Level 1:

Observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2:

Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable, either directly or indirectly. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; and

Level 3:

Unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore developed using estimates and assumptions developed by us, which reflect those that a market participant would use.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are recorded at fair value on the date revenue is recognized. The Company provides allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to repay their obligation. If the financial condition of the Company's customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to repay, additional allowances may be required. The Company provides for potential uncollectible accounts receivable based on specific customer identification and historical collection experience adjusted for existing market conditions. If market conditions decline, actual collection experience may not meet expectations and may result in decreased cash flows and increased bad debt expense.

The policy for determining past due status is based on the contractual payment terms of each customer, which are generally net 30 or net 60 days. Once collection efforts by the Company and its collection agency are exhausted, the determination for charging off uncollectible receivables is made. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the company has recorded an allowance for doubtful accounts of $40,000 and $15,500, respectively.

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Accounts Receivable	$	940,770		$	205,093
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts		(40,000	)		(15,500	)
Less: Product refund reserve		(21,000	)		(32,580	)
	$	879,770		$	157,013

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market using the first in, first out (FIFO) method. Provisions have been made to reduce excess or obsolete inventories to their net realizable value.

Cost of Sales

Components of costs of sales include product costs, shipping costs to customers and any inventory adjustments.

Shipping and Handling Costs

The Company includes shipping and handling fees billed to customers as revenues and shipping and handling costs for shipments to customers as cost of revenues.

Sales Return Reserve Policy

Our return policy generally allows our end users to return purchased products for refund or in exchange for new products. We estimate a reserve for sales returns and record that reserve amount as a reduction of sales and as a sales return reserve liability. Sales to consumers on our web site generally may be returned within a reasonable period.

Product Warranty Reserve Policy

The Company is a retail distributor of products and warranties are the responsibility of the manufacturer. Therefore, the Company does not record a reserve for product warranty.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the related assets of seven years for office furniture and equipment, and five years for computer equipment. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the lease term or the useful life of the improvements. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs along with fixed assets below our capitalization threshold of $500 are expensed as incurred.

Website Development Costs

The Company accounts for its website development costs in accordance with ASC 350-50, "Website Development Costs". These costs, if any, are included in intangible assets in the accompanying consolidated financial statements or expensed immediately if the Company cannot support recovery of these costs from positive future cash flows.

ASC 350-50 requires the expensing of all costs of the preliminary project stage and the training and application maintenance stage and the capitalization of all internal or external direct costs incurred during the application and infrastructure development stage. Upgrades or enhancements that add functionality are capitalized while other costs during the operating stage are expensed as incurred. The Company amortizes the capitalized website development costs over an estimated life of five years.

As of December 31, 2017, and 2016, all website development costs have been expensed.

Amortization and Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Amortization and impairment of long-lived assets are non-cash expenses relating primarily to website acquisitions. The Company accounts for long-lived assets in accordance with the provisions of ASC 360-10, "Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets". This statement requires that long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangibles be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Website acquisition costs are amortized over five years. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. While it is likely that we will have significant amortization expense as we continue to acquire websites, we believe that intangible assets represent costs incurred by the acquired website to build value prior to acquisition and the related amortization and impairment charges of assets, if applicable, are not ongoing costs of doing business. Non-cash impairment expense is included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the accompanying statement of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, non-cash impairment expense was $70,404 and $95,773 respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, non-cash amortization expense was $327,529 and $252,134 respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based instruments issued to employees for services in accordance with ASC Topic 718. ASC Topic 718 requires companies to recognize in the statement of operations the grant-date fair value of stock options and other equity-based compensation issued to employees. The value of the portion of an employee award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as an expense over the requisite service periods using the straight-line attribution method. The Company accounts for non-employee share-based awards in accordance with the measurement and recognition criteria of ASC Topic 505-50, "Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees". The Company estimates the fair value of stock options by using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Non-cash stock-based stock option compensation is expensed over the requisite service period and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the accompanying statement of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, non-cash stock-based stock option compensation expense was $108,090 and $147,472, respectively.

Advertising, Marketing and Promotion Costs

Advertising, marketing and promotion expenses are expensed as incurred and are included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, advertising, marketing and promotion expense was $307,621 and $35,387, respectively.

Income Taxes

We use the asset and liability method to account for income taxes. Under this method, deferred income taxes are determined based on the differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements which will result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years and are measured using the currently enacted tax rates and laws. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce net deferred tax assets to the amount that, based on available evidence, is more likely than not to be realized.

The Company follows the provisions of ASC 740-10, Accounting for Uncertain Income Tax Positions. When tax returns are filed, it is highly certain that some positions taken would be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, while others are subject to uncertainty about the merits of the position taken or the amount of the position that would be ultimately sustained. In accordance with the guidance of ASC 740-10, the benefit of a tax position is recognized in the financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as described above should be reflected as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination.

As of December 31, 2017, tax years 2017, 2016, and 2015 remain open for Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audit. The Company has received no notice of audit or any notifications from the IRS for any of the open tax years.

Concentrations

During 2017, the Company reduced the concentration of vendors purchases in their products segment. Purchases of Bulova Corporation, Botta-Design and Citizens Watch Company of America, Inc. totaled 18%, 12% and 11%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2017.

The Company generates revenues from two segments: product sales and advertising.  We sell many products through various distribution portals, which include Amazon and eBay. During 2017, these two portals accounted for 51% and 48%, respectively of our total product sales as compared to 65% and 10% in 2016. Due to high concentration and reliance on these portals, the loss of a working relationship with either of these two portals could adversely affect the Company's operations.

A substantial amount of payments for our products sold are processed through PayPal. A disruption in PayPal payment processing could have an adverse effect on the Company's operations and cash flow.

Credit Risk

The Company minimizes the concentration of credit risk associated with its cash by maintaining its cash with high quality federally insured financial institutions. However, cash balances in excess of the FDIC insured limit of $250,000 are at risk. At December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company did not have cash balances above the FDIC insured limit. The Company performs ongoing evaluations of its trade accounts receivable customers and generally does not require collateral.

Concentration of Funding

During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016 a large portion of the Company's funding was provided through the issuance of 12% convertible notes and the sale of shares of the Company's common stock and preferred stock to a related party officer and director, as well as to a principal shareholder.

Basic and Diluted Net Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share

In accordance with ASC 260-10, "Earnings Per Share", basic net earnings (loss) per common share is computed by dividing the net earnings (loss) for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share are computed using the weighted average number of common and dilutive common stock equivalent shares outstanding during the period. As of December 31, 2017, and 2016 there were 2,027,000 and 2,281,000 common stock equivalent shares outstanding as stock options, respectively; 1,475,000 and 100,000 common stock equivalents from the conversion of preferred stock, respectively; and 4,300,000 and 1,150,000 common stock equivalents from the conversion of notes payable, respectively. Equivalent shares were not utilized as the effect is anti-dilutive.

Segment Information

In accordance with the provisions of ASC 280-10, "Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information", the Company is required to report financial and descriptive information about its reportable operating segments. The Company has two identifiable operating segments based on the activities of the Company in accordance with the ASC 28-10. The Company's two segments are product sales and advertising as of December 31, 2017 and 2016. The product sales segment sells merchandise directly to customers thorough e-commerce distributor portals such as Amazon and eBay and through our proprietary websites and retail location. The services segment is focused on producing advertising revenue generated by users "clicking" on website advertisements utilizing several ad network partners and direct advertisers and subscription revenue generated by the sale of access to career postings on one of our websites.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-15, “Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern,” which requires management to evaluate, at each annual and interim reporting period, whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued and provide related disclosures.  ASU 2014-15 is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016 and interim periods thereafter.  Early application was permitted. The adoption of ASU 2014-15 did not have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

In July 2015, FASB issued ASU No. 2015-11, “Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory” more closely align the measurement of inventory in GAAP with the measurement of inventory in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).  The amendments in this ASU do not apply to inventory that is measured using last-in, first-out (LIFO) or the retail inventory method. The amendments apply to all other inventory, which includes inventory that is measured using first-in, first-out (FIFO) or average cost. An entity should measure inventory within the scope of this Update at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling prices in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal, and transportation. Subsequent measurement is unchanged for inventory measured using LIFO or the retail inventory method. For public business entities, this ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other entities, this ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. The amendments in this ASU should be applied prospectively with earlier application permitted as of the beginning of an interim or annual reporting period.We are currently reviewing the provisions of this ASU to determine if there will be any impact on our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 “Leases,” which will amend current lease accounting to require lessees to recognize (i) a lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis, and (ii) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. ASU 2016-02 does not significantly change lease accounting requirements applicable to lessors; however, certain changes were made to align, where necessary, lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model. This standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We are currently reviewing the provisions of this ASU to determine if there will be any impact on our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation: Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which relates to the accounting for employee share-based payments. This standard addresses several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions, including: (a) income tax consequences; (b) classification of awards as either equity or liabilities; and (c) classification on the statement of cash flows. This standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We do not believe this ASU will have an impact on our results of operation, cash flows, other than presentation, or financial condition.

In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016–10 “Revenue from Contract with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing.” The amendments in this Update do not change the core principle of the guidance in Topic 606. Rather, the amendments in this Update clarify the following two aspects of Topic 606: identifying performance obligations and the licensing implementation guidance, while retaining the related principles for those areas. Topic 606 includes implementation guidance on (a) contracts with customers to transfer goods and services in exchange for consideration and (b) determining whether an entity’s promise to grant a license provides a customer with either a right to use the entity’s intellectual property (which is satisfied at a point in time) or a right to access the entity’s intellectual property (which is satisfied over time). The amendments in this Update are intended render more detailed implementation guidance with the expectation to reduce the degree of judgement necessary to comply with Topic 606. We are currently reviewing the provisions of this ASU to determine if there will be any impact on our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, “Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” ASU 2016- provides guidance regarding the classification of certain items within the statement of cash flows.  ASU 2016-15 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 with early adoption permitted.  We do not believe this ASU will have an impact on our results of operation, cash flows, other than presentation, or financial condition.

In January 2017, the FASB issued 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The amendments in this ASU simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test and eliminating the requirement for a reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment. Instead, under this pronouncement, an entity would perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount and would recognize an impairment change for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized is not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. In addition, income tax effects will be considered, if applicable. This ASU is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this ASU on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.