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Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
1) BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Description of Business-CBS Corporation (together with its consolidated subsidiaries unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company” or “CBS Corp.”) is comprised of the following segments: Entertainment (CBS Television, comprised of the CBS Television Network, CBS Television Studios and CBS Global Distribution Group; Network 10; CBS Interactive; CBS Sports Network and CBS Films), Cable Networks (Showtime Networks, Pop and Smithsonian Networks), Publishing (Simon & Schuster) and Local Media (CBS Television Stations and CBS Local Digital Media).

Basis of Presentation-The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the more detailed financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company for the periods presented. Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Use of Estimates-The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Noncurrent Receivables-Noncurrent receivables of $1.77 billion at June 30, 2019 and $1.55 billion at December 31, 2018 are included in “Other assets” on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and primarily relate to revenues recognized under long-term television licensing arrangements. Television license fee revenues are recognized at the beginning of the license period in which programs are made available to the licensee for exhibition, while the related cash is collected over the term of the license period.

Deferred Revenues-Deferred revenues of $287 million at June 30, 2019 and $274 million at December 31, 2018 are primarily included within “Accrued expenses and other current liabilities” on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. These amounts consist mainly of cash received related to advertising arrangements and the licensing of television programming for which the revenues have not yet been earned. The change in deferred revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2019 primarily reflects cash payments received during the period for which the performance obligation was not satisfied prior to the end of the period offset by $152 million of revenues recognized that were included in deferred revenues at December 31, 2018.

Unrecognized Revenues Under Contract-As of June 30, 2019, unrecognized revenue attributable to unsatisfied performance obligations under the Company’s long-term contracts was $3.47 billion, of which $984 million is expected to be recognized for the remainder of 2019, $1.21 billion for 2020, $833 million for 2021, and $434 million thereafter. These amounts only include contracts subject to a guaranteed fixed amount or the guaranteed minimum under variable contracts. Such amounts change on a regular basis as the Company renews existing agreements or enters into new agreements. Unrecognized revenues under contract disclosed above do not include
(i) contracts with an original expected term of one year or less, mainly consisting of the Company’s advertising contracts (ii) contracts for which variable consideration is determined based on the customer’s subsequent sale or usage, mainly consisting of affiliate and subscription fee agreements and (iii) long-term licensing agreements for multiple programs for which the Company’s right to invoice corresponds with the value of the programs provided to the customer.

Leases-The Company has operating leases primarily for office space, equipment, satellite transponders and studio facilities and finance leases for satellite transponders and office equipment. The Company determines that a contract contains a lease if it obtains substantially all of the economic benefits of, and the right to direct the use of, an asset identified in the contract. For leases with terms greater than 12 months, the Company records a right-of-use asset and a lease liability representing the present value of future lease payments. The discount rate used to measure the lease asset and liability is determined at the beginning of the lease term using the rate implicit in the lease, if readily determinable, or the Company’s collateralized incremental borrowing rate. For those contracts that include fixed rental payments for both the use of the asset (“lease costs”) as well as for other occupancy or service costs relating to the asset (“non-lease costs”), the Company includes both the lease costs and non-lease costs in the measurement of the lease asset and liability. The Company also owns buildings and production facilities where it leases space to lessees.

The Company’s leases have remaining terms ranging from one to 16 years and often contain renewal options to extend the lease for periods of generally up to five years. For leases that contain renewal options, the Company includes the renewal period in the lease term if it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Lease expenses and income are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, with the exception of variable lease costs, which are expensed as incurred, and leases of assets used in the production of programming, which are capitalized in programming assets and amortized over the projected useful life of the related programming.

Restricted Cash-Restricted cash of $122 million at June 30, 2019 and $120 million at December 31, 2018 is included within “Other assets” on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and consists of amounts held in a grantor trust related to the separation and settlement agreement between the Company and the former Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company (see Note 13).

Net Earnings per Common Share-Basic net earnings per share (“EPS”) is based upon net earnings divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted EPS reflects the effect of the assumed exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) only in the periods in which such effect would have been dilutive. Excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive, were 7 million stock options and RSUs for each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, and 8 million stock options and RSUs for each of the three and six months ended June 30, 2018.

The table below presents a reconciliation of weighted average shares used in the calculation of basic and diluted EPS.
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
June 30,
 
June 30,
(in millions)
2019
 
2018
 
2019
 
2018
Weighted average shares for basic EPS
374

 
378

 
374

 
380

Dilutive effect of shares issuable under stock-based
compensation plans
2

 
3

 
2

 
3

Weighted average shares for diluted EPS
376

 
381

 
376

 
383


Other Liabilities-Other liabilities consist primarily of the noncurrent portion of residual liabilities of previously disposed businesses, participants’ share and royalties payable, program rights obligations, long-term tax liabilities, deferred compensation and other employee benefit accruals.

Additional Paid-In Capital-For the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded dividends of $136 million and $138 million, respectively, as a reduction to additional paid-in capital as the Company had an accumulated deficit balance.

Gain on Sale of Assets-During the first quarter of 2019, the Company completed the sale of its CBS Television City property and sound stage operation (“CBS Television City”) for $750 million. The Company has guaranteed a specified level of cash flows to be generated by the business during the first five years following the completion of the sale. Included on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet at June 30, 2019 is a liability of $122 million, reflecting the present value of the estimated amount payable under the guarantee obligation. This transaction resulted in a gain of $549 million ($386 million, net of tax), which includes a reduction for the guarantee obligation. CBS Television City has been classified as held for sale on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2018.

Acquisition-In March 2019, the Company acquired the remaining 50% interest in Pop, a general entertainment cable network, for $50 million, bringing the Company’s ownership to 100%. The assets acquired primarily consist of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. The results of Pop are included in the Cable Networks segment from the date of acquisition.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
Leases
During the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance on the accounting for leases, which supersedes previous lease guidance. Under this guidance, for all leases with terms in excess of one year, the Company recognizes on its balance sheet a lease liability and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. The new guidance retains a distinction between finance leases and operating leases and the classification criteria is substantially similar to previous guidance. Additionally, the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee have not significantly changed. The Company applied the modified retrospective method of adoption and therefore, results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2019 are presented under the new guidance while prior periods have not been adjusted. As a result of this guidance, the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet at June 30, 2019 included right-of-use assets of $922 million and lease liabilities of $1.0 billion for its operating leases. This guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Operations. See Note 12 for additional information.

Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
During the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted FASB guidance that permits an entity to reclassify certain income tax effects of federal tax legislation enacted in December 2017 (the “Tax Reform Act”) on items within accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to retained earnings. As a result of the Tax Reform Act, in 2017, the Company remeasured its deferred income tax assets and liabilities to reflect the reduction in the federal income tax rate from 35% to 21%. The remeasurement was recognized in net earnings and as a result, the income tax effects of the Tax Reform Act on items within AOCI remained at historical rates (“stranded tax effects”). During the first quarter of 2019, as a result of the adoption of this guidance, the Company elected to reclassify the stranded tax effects of $176 million relating to its pension and postretirement obligations from AOCI to
accumulated deficit. This guidance also requires entities to disclose their accounting policy for releasing stranded tax effects, unrelated to the Tax Reform Act, from AOCI. For pension and postretirement benefit plans, the Company releases stranded tax effects from AOCI when the pension and postretirement plans are terminated.

Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities
During the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted FASB amended guidance for hedge accounting, which expands the eligibility of hedging strategies that qualify for hedge accounting, modifies the recognition and presentation of hedges in the financial statements, and changes how companies assess hedge effectiveness. In addition, this guidance amends and expands disclosure requirements. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
Improvements to Accounting for Costs of Films and License Agreements for Program Materials
In March 2019, the FASB issued guidance on the accounting for costs of films and episodic television series, which aligns the accounting for capitalizing production costs of episodic television series with the guidance for films. As a result, the capitalization of costs incurred to produce episodic television series will no longer be limited to the amount of revenue contracted in the initial market until persuasive evidence of a secondary market exists. In addition, this guidance requires the Company to test for impairment of television series on a title-by-title basis or together with other series as part of a group, based on the predominant monetization strategy of the series. This guidance also removes the requirement to classify all capitalized costs for produced television series as noncurrent on the balance sheet and adds new disclosure requirements relating to costs for acquired and produced television series. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance, which is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted.

Collaborative Arrangements: Clarifying the Interaction with the New Revenue Standard

In November 2018, the FASB issued guidance to clarify that certain transactions between parties to collaborative arrangements should be accounted for in accordance with FASB revenue guidance when the counterparty is a customer. This guidance also prohibits the presentation of collaborative arrangements as revenues from contracts with customers if the counterparty is not a customer. This guidance, which is required to be applied retrospectively and is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted, is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement that is a Service Contract
In August 2018, the FASB issued guidance on the accounting for implementation costs of a cloud computing arrangement that is considered to be a service contract. This guidance requires companies to follow the guidance for capitalizing costs associated with internal-use software to determine which costs to capitalize in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract. The guidance also specifies the financial statement presentation for capitalized implementation costs and the related amortization, as well as required financial statement disclosures. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance, which is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted.

Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans
In August 2018, the FASB issued amended guidance that eliminates, adds and clarifies certain disclosure requirements for defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance, which is required to be applied retrospectively and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted.

Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurements
In August 2018, the FASB issued amended guidance that eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. This guidance, which is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted, is not expected to have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.