Note 2 - Revenue

6 Months Ended

Mar. 29, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Text Block]

2 REVENUE

The following table presents our revenue disaggregated by source:

	13 Weeks Ended		26 Weeks Ended
	March 29,	March 31,	March 29,	March 31,
(Thousands of Dollars)	2020	2019	2020	2019
Advertising and marketing services revenue	60,945	62,934	126,672	138,897
Subscription revenue	46,443	45,076	88,138	91,345
TownNews and other digital services revenue	5,211	4,744	10,429	9,421
Other revenue	8,768	9,950	18,471	19,242
Total operating revenue	121,367	122,704	243,710	258,905

Recognition principles:

Revenue is recognized when a performance obligation is satisfied by the transfer of control of the contracted goods or services to our customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services.

Arrangements with multiple performance obligations:

We have various advertising and subscription agreements which include both print and digital performance obligations. Revenue from sales agreements that contain multiple performance obligations are allocated to each obligation based on the relative standalone selling price. We determine standalone selling prices based on observable prices charged to customers.

Contract Assets and Liabilities:

The Company’s primary source of contract liabilities is unearned revenue from subscriptions paid in advance of the service provided. The Company expects to recognize the revenue related to unsatisfied performance obligations over the next

twelve

months in accordance with the terms of the subscriptions and other contracts with customers. The unearned revenue balances described herein are the Company's only contract liability. Unearned revenue was $

58,563,000

as of 

March 29, 2020

and $

21,720,000

as of

September 29, 2019

. Revenue recognized in the 

13

and

26

weeks ended

March 29, 2020

that was included in the contract liability as of

September 29, 2019

 was $

4,460,000

 and $

17,858,000

.

Contract asset balances relate to our Management Agreement revenue and were

$0

as of

March 29, 2020

and $

1,107,000

as of 

September 29, 2019

and consisted solely of the variable consideration earned under the Management Agreement. In conjunction with the execution of the Purchase Agreement, the previously recorded contract asset balance was collected on

March 16, 2020.

Accounts receivable, excluding allowance for doubtful accounts and contract assets, was $

81,007,000

and $

47,863,000

as of 

March 29, 2020

and

September 29, 2019

, respectively. Allowance for doubtful accounts was $

7,661,000

and $

6,434,000

as of

March 29, 2020

and

September 29, 2019

, respectively.

Practical expedients:

Sales commissions are expensed as incurred as the associated contractual periods are

one

year or less. These costs are recorded within compensation. The vast majority of our contracts have original expected lengths of

one

year or less and revenue is earned at a rate and amount that corresponds directly with the value to the customer.