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

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES:

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, 2014 and 2013 were as follows (in thousands):

	2014		2013
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	491	$	4,916
Accounts receivable	19,521		18,468
Current portion of program contract costs	9,544		10,725
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	297		247
Total current asset	29,853		34,356

PROGRAM CONTRACT COSTS, less current portion	6,922		5,075
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net	9,716		11,081
GOODWILL	787		6,357
BROADCAST LICENSES	16,935		16,768
DEFINITE-LIVED INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net	96,732		97,496
OTHER ASSETS	2,376		22,935
Total assets	$	163,321	$	194,068
LIABILITIES
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable	$	68	$	86
Accrued liabilities	1,297		2,536
Current portion of notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing	3,659		5,731
Current portion of program contracts payable	9,714		11,552
Total current liabilities	14,738		19,905

LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:
Notes payable, capital leases and commercial bank financing, less current portion	28,640		49,850
Program contracts payable, less current portion	10,161		6,597
Long term liabilities	8,739		10,838
Total liabilities	$	62,278	$	87,190

Schedule of rollforward of the allowance for doubtful accounts

A rollforward of the allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 is as follows (in thousands):

	2014			2013			2012
Balance at beginning of period	$	3,379		$	3,091		$	3,008
Charged to expense	2,186			1,802			1,141
Net write-offs	(1,319		)	(1,514		)	(1,058		)
Balance at end of period	$	4,246		$	3,379		$	3,091

Schedule of other assets

Other assets as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of the following (in thousands):

	2014		2013
Equity and cost method investments	$	107,847	$	98,385
Unamortized costs related to debt issuances	47,118		46,150
Other	53,265		63,674
Total other assets	$	208,230	$	208,209

Schedule of accrued liabilities

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	2014		2013
Compensation and employee health insurance	$	56,871	$	44,800
Interest	33,347		25,133
Deferred revenue	27,037		20,128
Programming related obligations	70,344		42,658
Other accruals relating to operating expenses	58,524		49,466
Total accrued liabilities	$	246,123	$	182,185

Schedule of cash transactions

During 2014, 2013 and 2012, we had the following cash transactions (in thousands):

	2014		2013		2012
Income taxes paid related to continuing operations	$	100,986	$	26,037	$	46,964
Income tax refunds received related to continuing operations	$	1,407	$	4,414	$	194
Interest paid	$	157,349	$	147,083	$	110,973

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,
2015	$	1,481
2016	1,726
2017	1,665
2018	1,608
2019	1,554
Next 5 years	7,196

- 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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