Preparation Of Interim Financial Statements (Policy)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Leases [Policy Text Block]

Leases As of January 1, 2019, we adopted, with modified retrospective application, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” as modified (ASC 842), which replaces existing leasing rules with a comprehensive lease measurement and recognition standard and expanded disclosure requirements (see Note 10). ASC 842 requires lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets as liabilities, with corresponding “right-of-use” assets. For income statement recognition purposes, leases are classified as either a finance or an operating lease without relying upon bright-line tests.

The key change upon adoption of the standard was balance sheet recognition, given that the recognition of lease expense on our income statement is similar to our current accounting. Using the modified retrospective transition method of adoption, we did not adjust the balance sheet for comparative periods but recorded a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings on January 1, 2019. We elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which, among other things, allowed us to carry forward our historical lease classification. We also elected the practical expedient related to land easements, allowing us to carry forward our accounting treatment for land easements on existing agreements that were not accounted for as leases. We excluded all the leases with original terms of one year or less. Additionally, we elected to not separate lease and non-lease components for certain classes of assets in arrangements where we are the lessee and for certain classes of assets where we are the lessor. Our accounting for finance leases did not change from our prior accounting for capital leases.

The adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recognition of an operating lease liability of $22,121 and an operating right-of-use asset of the same amount. Existing prepaid and deferred rent accruals were recorded as an offset to the right-of-use asset, resulting in a net asset of $20,960. The cumulative effect of the adoption to retained earnings was an increase of $316 reflecting the reclassification of deferred gains related to sale/leaseback transactions. We do not believe the standard will materially impact our future income statements or have a notable impact on our liquidity. The standard will have no impact on our debt-covenant compliance under our current agreements.

Television and Film Inventory Cost [Policy Text Block]

Deferral of Episodic Television and Film CostsIn March 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-02, “Entertainment—Films—Other Assets—Film Costs (Subtopic 926-20) and Entertainment—Broadcasters—Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Subtopic 920-350): Improvements to Accounting for Costs of Films and License Agreements for Program Materials” (ASU 2019-02), which we early adopted as of January 1, 2019, with prospective application. The standard eliminates certain revenue-related constraints on capitalization of inventory costs for episodic television that existed under prior guidance. In addition, the balance sheet classification requirements that existed in prior guidance for film production costs and programming inventory were eliminated. As of January 1, 2019, we reclassified $2,274 of our programming inventory costs from “Other current assets” to “Other Assets” in accordance with the guidance. This change in accounting does not materially impact our income statement.

Spectrum Licenses [Policy Text Block]

Spectrum Licenses in MexicoDuring the first quarter of 2019, in conjunction with the renewal process of certain spectrum licenses in Mexico, we reassessed the estimated economic lives and renewal assumptions for these licenses. As a result, we have changed the life of these licenses from indefinite to finite-lived. On January 1, 2019, we began amortizing our spectrum licenses in Mexico over their average remaining economic life of 25 years. This change in accounting does not materially impact our income statement.