COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

15. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Radio Broadcasting Licenses

Each of the Company’s radio stations operates pursuant to one or more licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission that have a maximum term of eight years prior to renewal. The Company’s radio broadcasting licenses expire at various times beginning in October 2027 through August 1, 2030. Although the Company may apply to renew its radio broadcasting licenses, third parties may challenge the Company’s renewal applications. The Company is not aware of any facts or circumstances that would prevent the Company from having its current licenses renewed. A station may continue to operate beyond the expiration date of its license if a timely filed license renewal application was filed and is pending, as is the case with respect to each of our stations with licenses that have expired.

Royalty Agreements

Musical works rights holders, generally songwriters and music publishers, have been traditionally represented by performing rights organizations, such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”) and SESAC, Inc. (“SESAC”). The market for rights relating to musical works is changing

rapidly. Songwriters and music publishers have withdrawn from the traditional performing rights organizations, particularly ASCAP and BMI, and new entities, such as Global Music Rights, Inc. (“GMR”), have been formed to represent rights holders. These organizations negotiate fees with copyright users, collect royalties and distribute them to the rights holders. We currently have arrangements with ASCAP, SESAC and GMR. On April 22, 2020, the Radio Music License Committee (“RMLC”), an industry group which the Company is a part of, and BMI reached agreement on the terms of a new license agreement that covers the period January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2021. Upon approval of the court of the BMI/RMLC agreement, the Company automatically became a party to the agreement and to a license with BMI through December 31, 2021. On April 12, 2022, the RMLC announced that it had reached an interim licensing agreement with BMI. The radio industry’s previous agreement with BMI covering calendar years 2017 to 2021 expired December 31, 2021 (the “2017 Licensing Terms”), but the interim arrangement will keep the 2017 Licensing Terms in place until a new arrangement is agreed upon. The Company is party to the interim arrangement and, therefore, will continue to operate under the 2017 Licensing Terms. On February 7, 2022, the RMLC and GMR reached a settlement and achieved certain conditions which effectuate a four-year license to which the Company is a party for the period April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2026.  The license includes an optional three-year extended term that the Company may effectuate prior to the end of the initial term.

Leases and Other Operating Contracts and Agreements

The Company has noncancelable operating leases for office space, studio space, broadcast towers and transmitter facilities that expire over the next nine years. The Company’s leases for broadcast facilities generally provide for a base rent plus real estate taxes and certain operating expenses related to the leases. Certain of the Company’s leases contain renewal options, escalating payments over the life of the lease and rent concessions. The future rentals under non-cancelable leases as of December 31, 2022, are shown below.

The Company has other operating contracts and agreements including employment contracts, on-air talent contracts, severance obligations, retention bonuses, consulting agreements, equipment rental agreements, programming related agreements, and other general operating agreements that expire over the next five years. The amounts the Company is obligated to pay for these agreements are shown below.

			Other
			Operating
	Operating		Contracts
	Lease		and
	Agreements		Agreements
	(In thousands)
Years ending December 31:
2023	$	11,697	$	77,445
2024		10,690		36,049
2025		6,834		26,164
2026		4,860		12,893
2027		3,417		3,834
2028 and thereafter		7,140		12,959
Total	$	44,638	$	169,344

Of the total amount of other operating contracts and agreements included in the table above, approximately $96.6 million has not been recorded on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2022, as it does not meet recognition criteria. Approximately $13.0 million relates to certain commitments for content agreements for our cable television segment, approximately $38.7 million relates to employment agreements, and the remainder relates to other programming, network and operating agreements.

Reach Media Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

Beginning on January 1, 2018, the noncontrolling interest shareholders of Reach Media have had an annual right to require Reach Media to purchase all or a portion of their shares at the then current fair market value for such shares (the “Put Right”).  This annual right is exercisable for a 30-day period beginning January 1 of each year. The purchase price

for such shares may be paid in cash and/or registered Class D common stock of Urban One, at the discretion of Urban One. The noncontrolling interest shareholders of Reach Media did not exercise their Put Right for the 30-day period ending January 31, 2023. Management, at this time, cannot reasonably determine the period when and if the put right will be exercised by the noncontrolling interest shareholders.

Letters of Credit

The Company currently is under a letter of credit reimbursement and security agreement with capacity of up to $1.2 million which expires on October 8, 2024. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had letters of credit totaling $871,000 under the agreement for certain operating leases and certain insurance policies. Letters of credit issued under the agreement are required to be collateralized with cash. In addition, the Current ABL Facility provides for letter of credit capacity of up to $5 million subject to certain limitations on availability.

Other Contingencies

The Company has been named as a defendant in several legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. It is management’s opinion, after consultation with its legal counsel, that the outcome of these claims will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.