Investment in Unconsolidated Entities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]

Cost and Equity Method Investments Disclosure [Text Block]

INVESTMENTS IN UNCONSOLIDATED ENTITIES

We have strategic investments in certain non-publicly traded equity securities that do not have a readily determinable fair value. We account for most of these investments using the equity method. We accounted for other investments in such equity securities using the cost method of accounting prior to January 1, 2018. In connection with our adoption of the New Investment Standard effective January 1, 2018 (see Note 2), we elected to measure our equity securities without a readily determinable fair value, other than those accounted for using the equity method, at cost adjusted for changes resulting from impairments, if any, and observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or similar securities of the same issuer. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we did not identify any observable price changes requiring an adjustment to our investments.

Our investments in unconsolidated entities consisted of the following:

	As of
	September 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(In thousands)
Investments in unconsolidated entities:
Equity method	$	95,231	$	91,702
Other equity investments without a readily determinable fair value	65,438		69,725
Total investments in unconsolidated entities	$	160,669	$	161,427

In January 2017, we sold our investment in Invidi Technologies Corporation (“Invidi”) to an entity owned in part by DISH Network for $19.4 million. Our investment was accounted for using the cost method and had a carrying amount of $10.5 million on the date of sale and as a result we recognized a gain of $8.9 million in connection with this transaction for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. See Note 17 for additional information about this transaction.

In connection with the Share Exchange (see Notes 4 and 17), our equity interests in NagraStar L.L.C. and SmarDTV SA, which we accounted for using the equity method, and our equity interest in Sling TV Holding L.L.C., which we accounted for using the cost method, were transferred to DISH Network as of February 28, 2017.