FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:

Accounting guidance provides for 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). A fair value hierarchy using three broad levels prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. 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 for the asset or liability, 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.


•	Level 3: Unobservable inputs that reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions.

The following table sets forth the face value and fair value of our notes and debentures for the periods presented (in millions):



	As of September 30, 2019				As of December 31, 2018
	Face Value (a)		Fair Value		Face Value (a)		Fair Value
Level 2:
STG:
6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022	$	500	$	510	$	500	$	504
5.875% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026	350		366		350		326
5.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024	550		566		550		516
5.375% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2021 (b)	—		—		600		599
5.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027	400		402		400		353
Term Loan A (c)	—		—		96		92
Term Loan B	1,332		1,334		1,343		1,275
Term Loan B-2 (d)	1,300		1,303		—		—
DSG:
5.375% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 (d)	3,050		3,164		—		—
6.625% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 (d)	1,825		1,893		—		—
Term Loan (d)	3,300		3,321		—		—
Debt of variable interest entities	22		22		25		25
Debt of non-media subsidiaries	18		18		20		20


(a)	Amounts are carried on our consolidated balance sheets net of debt discount and deferred financing cost, which are excluded in the above table, of $223 million and $33 million as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.


(b)	The STG 5.375% Notes were redeemed, in full, in August 2019. For additional information, see Note 3. Notes Payable and Commercial Bank Financing.


(c)	The STG Term Loan A debt was repaid in April 2019. For additional information, see Note 3. Notes Payable and Commercial Bank Financing.

(d)

The STG Term Loan B-2, DSG Senior Notes, and DSG Term Loan were issued in August 2019. For additional information, see Note 3. Notes Payable and Commercial Bank Financing.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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