Goodwill and other intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

The following table displays goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets, and amortizable intangible assets as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands).



	Gross		Accumulated Amortization			Net
Dec. 31, 2017
Goodwill	$	2,579,417	$	—		$	2,579,417
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Television station FCC licenses	1,191,950		—			1,191,950
Amortizable intangible assets:
Retransmission agreements	110,191		(62,355		)	47,836
Network affiliation agreements	43,485		(19,371		)	24,114
Other	15,763		(6,394		)	9,369
Total	$	3,940,806	$	(88,120	)	$	3,852,686
Dec. 31, 2016 (recast)
Goodwill	$	2,579,417	$	—		$	2,579,417
Indefinite-lived intangibles:
Television station FCC licenses	1,191,950		—			1,191,950
Amortizable intangible assets:
Retransmission agreements	110,191		(47,280		)	62,911
Network affiliation agreements	43,485		(14,445		)	29,040
Other	15,763		(4,825		)	10,938
Total	$	3,940,806	$	(66,550	)	$	3,874,256

Our retransmission agreements and network affiliation agreements are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. Other intangibles primarily include customer relationships which are amortized on a straight-line basis over their useful lives.

During the second quarter of 2017, we recorded a $332.9 million goodwill impairment charge within discontinued operations related to our former CareerBuilder reporting unit. See Note 13 for further discussion. In 2016, we performed an interim goodwill impairment test for a small reporting unit in our former Digital segment. As a result of this test, we recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $15.2 million, representing the full amount of goodwill associated with this reporting unit. In 2015, we recorded an $8.0 million impairment charge for a reporting unit that has since been disposed. Other than these impairment charges, there have been no other changes to our goodwill balance in 2017, 2016 or 2015.

The following table shows the projected annual amortization expense, as of December 31, 2017, related to our existing amortizable intangible assets (in thousands):



2018	$	21,412
2019	$	20,029
2020	$	16,332
2021	$	10,457
2022	$	7,543
Thereafter	$	5,546
Total	$	81,319

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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