Recent Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Note 9: Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to leases. The most significant change in the updated accounting guidance requires lessees to recognize lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for all operating leases with the exception of short-term leases. The standard also expands the disclosures regarding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. For a lessee, the recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease did not significantly change from previous guidance. We adopted the updated guidance on January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis and as a result, prior period amounts were not adjusted to reflect the impacts of the updated guidance. In addition, as permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, prior scoping and classification conclusions were carried forward for leases existing as of the adoption date.

Upon adoption, we recorded $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion for operating lease assets and liabilities, respectively, which includes the impact of fair value adjustments, prepaid and deferred rent and lease incentives. The adoption of the updated accounting guidance did not significantly impact our recognition of finance leases, which were previously described as capital leases. As of the date of adoption, our liabilities for finance leases were $787 million, including $229 million of additional contracts determined to be leases in connection with the Sky transaction, which were recorded in long-term debt, and the related assets were recorded in property and equipment, net. Our finance leases were not considered material for further disclosure. The adoption of the new accounting guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or cash flows. See Note 17 for further information.

Film and Television Costs

In March 2019, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to film and television costs. The updated guidance aligns the accounting for production costs of episodic television series with those of films, allowing for costs to be capitalized in excess of amounts of revenue contracted for each episode. The updated guidance also updates certain presentation and disclosure requirements for capitalized film and television costs and requires impairment testing to be performed at a group level for capitalized film and television costs when the content is predominantly monetized with other owned or licensed content. We will adopt the updated accounting guidance prospectively in the first quarter of 2020. Following adoption, we will present all film and television costs, including capitalized costs of acquired programming rights, as noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheet. We do not expect the updated accounting guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.

Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments, including trade receivables and loans. The updated guidance requires the recognition of credit losses on financial instruments based on an estimate of expected losses, replacing the incurred loss model in the prior guidance. We will adopt the updated accounting guidance prospectively in the first quarter of 2020. We do not expect the updated accounting guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.

NBCUniversal Media LLC [Member]

New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Note 8: Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to leases. The most significant change in the updated accounting guidance requires lessees to recognize lease assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for all operating leases with the exception of short-term leases. The standard also expands the disclosures regarding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. For a lessee, the recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease did not significantly change from previous guidance. We adopted the updated guidance on January 1, 2019 on a prospective basis and as a result, prior period amounts were not adjusted to reflect the impacts of the updated guidance. In addition, as permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, prior scoping and classification conclusions were carried forward for leases existing as of the adoption date.

Upon adoption, we recorded $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion for operating lease assets and liabilities, respectively, which includes the impact of fair value adjustments, prepaid and deferred rent and lease incentives. The adoption of the updated accounting guidance did not significantly impact our recognition of finance leases, which were previously described as capital leases. As of the date of adoption, our liabilities for finance leases were $332 million which were recorded in long-term debt, and the related assets were recorded in property and equipment, net. Our finance leases were not considered material for further disclosure. The adoption of the new accounting guidance did not have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or cash flows. See Note 14 for further information.

Film and Television Costs

In March 2019, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to film and television costs. The updated guidance aligns the accounting for production costs of episodic television series with those of films, allowing for costs to be capitalized in excess of amounts of revenue contracted for each episode. The updated guidance also updates certain presentation and disclosure requirements for capitalized film and television costs and requires impairment testing to be performed at a group level for capitalized film and television costs when the content is predominantly monetized with other owned or licensed content. We will adopt the updated accounting guidance prospectively in the first quarter of 2020. Following adoption, we will present all film and television costs, including capitalized costs of acquired programming rights, as noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheet. We do not expect the updated accounting guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.

Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to the measurement of credit losses on financial instruments, including trade receivables and loans. The updated guidance requires the recognition of credit losses on financial instruments based on an estimate of expected losses, replacing the incurred loss model in the prior guidance. We will adopt the updated accounting guidance prospectively in the first quarter of 2020. We do not expect the updated accounting guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.