NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Schedule of carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of VIEs

As of the dates indicated, the carrying amounts and classification of the assets and liabilities of the VIEs mentioned above which have been included in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 were as follows (in thousands):



	2015		2014
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	490	$	491
Accounts receivable	21,719		19,521
Current portion of program contract costs	13,287		9,544
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	331		297
Total current asset	35,827		29,853

PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion	4,541		6,922
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net	7,609		9,716
GOODWILL	787		787
BROADCAST LICENSES	17,599		16,935
DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net	79,086		96,732
OTHER ASSETS	6,924		2,376
Total assets	$	152,373	$	163,321
LIABILITIES
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	1,240	$	1,365
Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing	3,687		3,659
Current portion of program contracts payable	12,627		9,714
Total current liabilities	17,554		14,738

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion	24,594		28,640
Program contracts payable, less current portion	13,679		10,161
Other long term liabilities	8,067		8,739
Total liabilities	$	63,894	$	62,278

Schedule of rollforward of the allowance for doubtful accounts

A rollforward of the allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013 is as follows (in thousands):



	2015			2014			2013
Balance at beginning of period	$	4,246		$	3,379		$	3,091
Charged to expense	1,292			2,186			1,802
Net write-offs	(1,043		)	(1,319		)	(1,514		)
Balance at end of period	$	4,495		$	4,246		$	3,379

Schedule of other assets

Other assets as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):



	2015		2014
Equity and cost method investments	$	116,031	$	107,847
Unamortized costs related to debt issuances	3,663		5,274
Other	55,872		62,082
Total other assets	$	175,566	$	175,203

Schedule of accrued liabilities

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands):



	2015		2014
Compensation and employee health insurance	$	65,364	$	56,871
Interest	32,788		33,347
Deferred revenue	24,837		27,037
Programming related obligations	54,381		70,344
Other accruals relating to operating expenses	73,943		73,249
Total accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	251,313	$	260,848

Schedule of cash transactions

During 2015, 2014 and 2013, we had the following cash transactions (in thousands):



	2015		2014		2013
Income taxes paid related to continuing operations	$	106,979	$	100,986	$	26,037
Income tax refunds received related to continuing operations	$	196	$	1,407	$	4,414
Interest paid	$	182,425	$	157,349	$	147,083

Schedule of benefits expected to be paid to participants under the Fisher SERP

We estimate that benefits expected to be paid to participants under the Fisher SERP as follows (in thousands):



	December 31,
2016	$	1,791
2017	1,717
2018	1,649
2019	1,587
2020	1,535
Next 5 years	7,089

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the significant judgments and assumptions made in determining whether a variable interest (as defined) held by the entity requires the variable interest entity (VIE) (as defined) to be consolidated and (or) disclose information about its involvement with the VIE, individually or in aggregate (as applicable); the nature of restrictions, if any, on the consolidated VIE's assets and on the settlement of its liabilities reported by an entity in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets and liabilities; the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with involvement in the VIE; how involvement with the VIE affects the entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows; the lack of recourse if creditors (or beneficial interest holders) of the consolidated VIE have no recourse to the general credit of the primary beneficiary (if applicable); the terms of arrangements, giving consideration to both explicit arrangements and implicit variable interests, if any, that could require the entity to provide financial support to the VIE, including events or circumstances that could expose the entity to a loss; the methodology used by the entity for determining whether or not it is the primary beneficiary of the variable interest entity; the significant factors considered and judgments made in determining that the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance are shared (as defined); the carrying amounts and classification of assets and liabilities of the VIE included in the statement of financial position; the entity's maximum exposure to loss, if any, as a result of its involvement with the VIE, including how the maximum exposure is determined and significant sources of the entity's exposure to the VIE; a comparison of the carrying amounts of the assets and liabilities and the entity's maximum exposure to loss; information about any liquidity arrangements, guarantees, and (or) other commitments by third parties that may affect the fair value or risk of the entity's variable interest in the VIE; whether or not the entity has provided financial support or other support (explicitly or implicitly) to the VIE that it was not previously contractually required to provide or whether the entity intends to provide that support, including the type and amount of the support and the primary reasons for providing the support; and supplemental information the entity determines necessary to provide.

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