Debt (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Long Term Debt

Long-term debt consisted of the following, as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017			2016
Term loans, net of financing costs and discount of $57,547 and $6,592, respectively	$	2,791,875		$	662,206
Revolving loans		3,000			2,000
6.875% Senior unsecured notes due 2020, net of financing costs and discount of $4,295		-			520,705
6.125% Senior unsecured notes due 2022, net of financing costs of $1,992 and $2,402,   respectively		273,008			272,598
5.875% Senior unsecured notes due 2022, plus premium of $8,102		408,102			-
5.625% Senior unsecured notes due 2024, net of financing costs of $13,525 and $15,090,   respectively		886,475			884,910
		4,362,460			2,342,419
Less: current portion		(92,808	)		(28,093	)
	$	4,269,652		$	2,314,326

Fair Value of Debt

The aggregate carrying amounts and estimated fair values of the Company’s debt were as follows, as of December 31 (in thousands):

	2017				2016
	Carrying		Fair		Carrying		Fair
	Amount		Value		Amount		Value
Term loans(1)	$	2,791,875	$	2,852,199	$	662,206	$	665,750
Revolving loans(1)		3,000		2,985		2,000		1,969
6.875% Senior unsecured notes(2)		-		-		520,705		543,375
6.125% Senior unsecured notes(2)		273,008		284,625		272,598		284,625
5.875% Senior unsecured notes(2)		408,102		415,500		-		-
5.625% Senior unsecured notes(2)		886,475		925,875		884,512		893,250

(1) The fair value of senior secured credit facilities is computed based on borrowing rates currently available to the Company for bank loans with similar terms and average maturities. These fair value measurements are considered Level 3, as significant inputs to the fair value calculation are unobservable in the market.

(2) The fair value of Nexstar’s fixed rate debt is estimated based on bid prices obtained from an investment banking firm that regularly makes a market for these financial instruments. These fair value measurements are considered Level 2, as quoted market prices are available for low volume trading of these securities.

Maturities of Debt

The scheduled maturities of the Company’s debt, excluding the unamortized discount and premium and certain debt financing costs, as of December 31, 2017 are summarized as follows (in thousands):

2018	$	92,807
2019		43,528
2020		61,663
2021		96,184
2022		1,224,536
Thereafter		2,908,704
	$	4,427,422