GOODWILL, INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

GOODWILL, INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

GOODWILL, INDEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS:

Goodwill, which arises from the purchase price exceeding the assigned value of the net assets of an acquired business, represents the value attributable to unidentifiable intangible elements being acquired. Goodwill totaled $2,124.0 million and $1,990.7 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The change in the carrying amount of goodwill was as follows (in thousands):



	Broadcast			Other			Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	1,927,605		$	3,488		$	1,931,093

Acquisitions (a)	11,626			53,427			65,053
Measurement period adjustments related to prior year acquisitions	40			—			40
Disposition of assets (a)	(5,440		)	—			(5,440		)
	1,933,831			56,915			1,990,746

Acquisitions (a)	119,426			13,966			133,392
Measurement period adjustments related to prior year acquisitions	153			154			307
Disposition of assets (a)	—			(412		)	(412		)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	2,053,410		$	70,623		$	2,124,033


(a)	See Note 2. Acquisitions and Dispositions of Assets for discussion of acquisitions and divestitures made during 2017 and 2016.


(b)	Approximately $0.8 million of goodwill relates to consolidated VIEs as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.

For our annual goodwill impairment tests in 2017, 2016, or 2015, we concluded that it was more-likely-than-not that goodwill was not impaired for the reporting units in which we performed a qualitative assessment. The qualitative factors reviewed during our annual assessments indicated stable or improving margins and favorable or stable forecasted economic conditions including stable discount rates and comparable or improving business multiples. Additionally, the results of prior quantitative assessments supported significant excess fair value over carrying value of our reporting units. We did not have any indicators of impairment in any interim period in 2017, 2016, or 2015, and therefore did not perform interim impairment tests for goodwill during those periods. Our accumulated goodwill impairment as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 was $413.6 million.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the carrying amount of our indefinite-lived intangible assets was as follows (in thousands):



	Broadcast			Other		Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2015	$	132,465		$	—	$	132,465
Acquisitions (a)	2,406			23,400		25,806
Disposition of assets (a)	(1,965		)	—		(1,965		)
Balance at December 31, 2016 (b)	132,906			23,400		156,306
Acquisitions (a)	425			4,051		4,476
Disposition of assets (a)	(1,411		)	—		(1,411		)
Balance at December 31, 2017 (b) (c)	$	131,920		$	27,451	$	159,371


(a)	See Note 2. Acquisitions and Dispositions of Assets for discussion of acquisitions and divestitures made during 2017 and 2016.


(b)	Approximately $14.3 million and $15.7 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets relate to consolidated VIEs as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.


(c)	Our indefinite-lived intangible assets in Broadcast relates to broadcast licenses and our indefinite-lived intangible assets in Other relates to trade names.

We did not have any indicators of impairment for our indefinite-lived intangible assets in any interim period in 2017 or 2016, and therefore did not perform interim impairment tests during those periods. We performed our annual impairment tests for indefinite-lived intangibles in 2017 and 2016 and as a result of our qualitative assessments, we recorded no impairment.

The following table shows the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization of definite-lived intangibles (in thousands):



	As of December 31, 2017
	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net
Amortized intangible assets:
Network affiliation (a)	$	1,451,663	$	(514,575	)	$	937,088
Customer Relationships (a)	1,229,006		(373,966		)	855,040
Other (a)	45,955		(36,413		)	9,542
Total	$	2,726,624	$	(924,954	)	$	1,801,670



	As of December 31, 2016
	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Net
Amortized intangible assets:
Network affiliation (a)	$	1,398,451	$	(427,484	)	$	970,967
Customer Relationships (a)	1,102,591		(294,114		)	808,477
Other (a)	243,253		(78,294		)	164,959
Total	$	2,744,295	$	(799,892	)	$	1,944,403


(a)	Changes between the gross carrying value from December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2017, relate to acquisitions and dispositions in 2017, as discussed in Note 2. Acquisitions and Dispositions of Assets.

Definite-lived intangible assets and other assets subject to amortization are being amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives which generally range from 5 to 25 years. The total weighted average useful life of all definite-lived intangible assets and other assets subject to amortization acquired as a result of the acquisitions discussed in Note 2. Acquisitions and Dispositions of Assets is 14 years. The amortization expense of the definite-lived intangible and other assets for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 was $178.8 million, $183.8 million, and $161.5 million, respectively. We analyze specific definite-lived intangibles for impairment when events occur that may impact their value in accordance with the respective accounting guidance for long-lived assets. There were no impairment charges recorded for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

The following table shows the estimated amortization expense of the definite-lived intangible assets for the next five years (in thousands):



For the year ended December 31, 2018	$	174,398
For the year ended December 31, 2019	173,594
For the year ended December 31, 2020	173,061
For the year ended December 31, 2021	172,043
For the year ended December 31, 2022	168,297
Thereafter	940,277
	$	1,801,670

- 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.

+ References + Details