Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and with applicable quarterly reporting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. They do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements and, accordingly, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related footnotes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Media General, Inc. ("Media General" or the "Company") for the year ended December 31, 2015. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of interim financial information have been included.

Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and certain variable interest entities (“VIE”) for which the Company is considered to be the primary beneficiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In determining whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, the Company considers whether it has the power to direct certain activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether it has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE.  Assets of consolidated VIE’s can only be used to settle the obligations of that VIE.  As discussed in Note 3, the Company consolidates the results of WXXA, WLAJ, WBDT, WYTV, KTKA, KWBQ, KRWB, and KASY pursuant to the VIE accounting guidance. All of the liabilities are non-recourse to the Company, except for certain of the debt, which the Company guarantees. The Company is also the primary beneficiary of the VIE that holds the Supplemental 401(k) Plan’s investments and consolidates the plan accordingly.

The Company has two reportable segments, “Broadcast” and “Digital” that are disclosed separately from our corporate activities. The Broadcast segment includes 71 television stations that are either owned, operated or serviced by the Company in 48 markets, all of which are engaged principally in the sale of television advertising. The Digital segment includes the operating results of the Company's digital businesses as well as the business operations related to the television station companion websites.

The Company guarantees all of the debt of LIN Television Corporation ("LIN Television", a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company) and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. LIN Television guarantees all of the debt of its restricted wholly owned subsidiaries and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. All of the consolidated wholly owned subsidiaries of LIN Television fully and unconditionally guarantee LIN Television's 5.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) and the 6.375% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes") on a joint-and-several basis, subject to customary release provisions.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) issued a converged standard on revenue recognition from contracts with customers, Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09 (Topic 606 and IFRS 15). This standard will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance. In August 2015 the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue From Contracts With Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 until fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017. In April and May 2016, the Board issued accounting standard updates, 2016-10 - Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, and 2016-12 - Revenue From Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, respectively. Collectively, these updates, along with ASU 2014-09 and ASU 2015-14 form the new revenue recognition standard that is to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs ("ASU 2015-03"). ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. ASU 2015-03 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2015. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2016 and $26 million was reclassified to reduce "Long-term Debt" as of September 30, 2016. In order to conform to the presentation adopted, $32 million was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets and in Note 10 Guarantor Financial Information. Approximately $285 thousand was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented in Note 3 Variable Interest Entities.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which requires the lease rights and obligations arising from lease contracts, including existing and new arrangements, to be recognized as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB released ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The ASU includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The ASU addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.