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Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Investment, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Investments in Broadcasting, Production and Technology Companies. We have investments in several television, production and technology companies. We account for all material investments in which we have significant influence over the investee under the equity method of accounting. Upon initial investment, we record equity method investments at cost. The amounts initially recognized are subsequently adjusted for our appropriate share of the net earnings or losses of the investee. We record any investee losses up to the carrying amount of the investment plus advances and loans made to the investee, and any financial guarantees made on behalf of the investee. We recognize our share in earnings and losses of the investee as miscellaneous expense, net in our consolidated statements of operations. Investments are also increased by contributions made to and decreased by the distributions from the investee. We evaluate equity method investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of such investments may be impaired. Investments in non-public businesses that do not have readily determinable pricing, and for which we do not have control or do not exert significant influence, are carried at cost less impairments, if any, plus or minus changes in observable prices for those investments. Gains or losses resulting from changes in the carrying value of these investments are included as miscellaneous expense, net in our consolidated statements of operations. These investments are reported together as a non-current asset on our consolidated balance sheets.
Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Our actual results could differ materially from these estimated amounts. Our most significant estimates are our allowance for credit losses in receivables, valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, amortization of program rights and intangible assets, pension costs, income taxes, employee medical insurance claims, useful lives of property and equipment and contingencies.
Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Earnings Per Share. We compute basic earnings per share by dividing net income available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the relevant period. The weighted-average number of common shares outstanding does not include restricted shares. These shares, although classified as issued and outstanding, are considered contingently returnable until the restrictions lapse and, in accordance with U.S. GAAP, are not included in the basic earnings per share calculation until the shares vest. Diluted earnings per share is computed by including all potentially dilutive common shares, including restricted shares, in the diluted weighted-average shares outstanding calculation, unless their inclusion would be antidilutive. The following table reconciles basic weighted-average shares outstanding to diluted weighted-average shares outstanding for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively (in millions):
|  | Three Months Ended |  |  | Nine Months Ended |
|  | September 30, |  |  | September 30, |
|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |  |  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |
Weighted-average shares outstanding-basic |  |  | 93 |  |  |  | 91 |  |  |  | 92 |  |  |  | 93 |
Common stock equivalents for stock options and restricted stock |  |  | - |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |
Weighted-average shares outstanding-diluted |  |  | 93 |  |  |  | 92 |  |  |  | 92 |  |  |  | 93 |
Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss. Our accumulated other comprehensive loss balances as of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, consist of adjustments to our pension liability, the fair value of our interest rate caps and the related income tax effects. Our comprehensive income for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 and 2022 consisted of the adjustment of the fair value of our interest rate caps, net of tax, and net income. As of September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 the balances were as follows (in millions):
|  | September 30, |  |  | December 31, |
|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |
Accumulated balances of items included in accumulated other comprehensive loss: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Adjustment to pension liability |  | $ | (16 | ) |  | $ | (16 | )
Adjustment to fair value of interest rate caps |  |  | (7 | ) |  |  | - |
Income tax benefit |  |  | (6 | ) |  |  | (4 | )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |  | $ | (17 | ) |  | $ | (12 | )
Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Property and Equipment. Property and equipment are carried at cost, or in the case of acquired businesses, at fair value. Depreciation is computed principally by the straight-line method. The following table lists the components of property and equipment by major category (dollars in millions):
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Estimated |
|  | September 30, |  |  | December 31, |  |  | Useful Lives |
|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |  |  | (in years) |
Property and equipment, net: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Land |  | $ | 335 |  |  | $ | 290 |  |  |  |  |  |
Buildings and improvements |  |  | 677 |  |  |  | 477 |  |  | 7 | to | 40 |
Equipment |  |  | 1,041 |  |  |  | 1,027 |  |  | 3 | to | 20 |
Construction in progress |  |  | 318 |  |  |  | 362 |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  | 2,371 |  |  |  | 2,156 |  |  |  |  |  |
Accumulated depreciation |  |  | (761 | ) |  |  | (690 | ) |  |  |  |  |
Total property and equipment, net |  | $ | 1,610 |  |  | $ | 1,466 |  |  |  |  |  |
Maintenance, repairs and minor replacements are charged to operations as incurred; major replacements and betterments are capitalized. The cost of any assets divested, sold or retired and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts at the time of disposition, and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in income or expense for the period. In April 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began the process of requiring certain television stations to change channels and/or modify their transmission facilities (“Repack”). The majority of our costs associated with Repack qualify for capitalization, rather than expense. Upon receipt of funds reimbursing us for our Repack costs, we record those proceeds as a component of our (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net. The following tables provide additional information related to (loss) gain on disposal of assets, net included in our condensed consolidated statements of operations and purchases of property and equipment included in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (in millions):
|  | Three Months Ended |  |  | Nine Months Ended |
|  | September 30, |  |  | September 30, |
|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |  |  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |
(Loss) gain on disposal of assets, net: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets |  | $ | 9 |  |  | $ | - |  |  | $ | 31 |  |  | $ | 2 |
Proceeds from FCC - Repack |  |  | - |  |  |  | 2 |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | 7 |
Net book value of assets disposed |  |  | (26 | ) |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  | (51 | ) |  |  | (3 | )
Non-cash loss on divestitures |  |  | 13 |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | (1 | ) |  |  | - |
Securitization Facility |  |  | 8 |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | - |
Other |  |  | 2 |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | 1 |  |  |  | - |
Total |  | $ | 6 |  |  | $ | 1 |  |  | $ | (20 | ) |  | $ | 6 |
Purchase of property and equipment: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Recurring purchases - operations |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 78 |  |  | $ | 118 |
Assembly Atlanta project |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 210 |  |  |  | 179 |
Repack |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | - |  |  |  | 1 |
Total |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ | 288 |  |  | $ | 298 |
Receivables, Trade and Other Accounts Receivable, Allowance for Doubtful Accounts, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses. We record accounts receivable from sales and service transactions in our condensed consolidated balance sheets at amortized cost adjusted for any write-offs and net of allowance for credit losses. We are exposed to credit risk primarily through sales of broadcast and digital advertising with a variety of direct and agency-based advertising customers, retransmission consent agreements with multichannel video program distributors and program production sales and services. Our allowance for credit losses is an estimate of expected losses over the remaining contractual life of our receivables based on an ongoing analysis of collectability, historical collection experience, current economic and industry conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The allowance is calculated using a historical loss rate applied to the current aging analysis. We may also apply additional allowance when warranted by specific facts and circumstances. We generally write off accounts receivable balances when the customer files for bankruptcy or when all commonly used methods of collection have been exhausted. As of September 30, 2023, our allowance for credit losses includes a reserve of $17 million for the full amount owed to us by Diamond Sports Group, LLC (“Diamond”), as of that date, as a result of Diamond, a counterparty to certain contracts with us, commencing voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on March 14, 2023. On February 23, 2023, we, certain of our subsidiaries and a wholly-owned special purpose subsidiary (the “SPV”), entered into a three-year $300 million revolving accounts receivable securitization facility (the “Securitization Facility”) with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain third-party financial institutions (the “Purchasers”). The Securitization Facility permits the SPV to draw up to a total of $300 million, subject to the outstanding amount of the receivables pool and other factors. The Securitization Facility matures on February 23, 2026, and is subject to customary termination events related to transactions of this type. The sale of receivables from the SPV is accounted for in the Company’s financial statements as a "true-sale" under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 860. Under the Securitization Facility, the SPV sells to the Purchasers certain receivables, including all rights, title, and interest in the related receivables (“Sold Receivables”). The parties intend that the conveyance of accounts receivables to the Purchasers, for the ratable benefit of the Purchasers will constitute a purchase and sale of receivables and not a pledge for security. The SPV has guaranteed to each Purchaser the prompt payment of Sold Receivables, and to secure the prompt payment and performance of such guaranteed obligations, the SPV has granted a security interest to the Purchasers in all assets of the SPV. In our capacity as servicer under the Securitization Facility, we are responsible for administering and collecting receivables and have made customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities. We do not record a servicing asset or liability since the estimated fair value of the servicing of the receivables approximates the servicing income. We also provided a performance guarantee for the benefit of the Purchasers. The Securitization Facility is subject to interest charges, at the one-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus a margin (100 basis points) on the amount of the outstanding facility. The SPV was required to pay an upfront fee and a commitment fee in connection with the Securitization Facility. Servicing fee income recognized during the nine-months ended September 30, 2023, was not material. The SPV is a separate legal entity with its own separate creditors who will be entitled to access the SPV’s assets before the assets become available to us. As a result, the SPV’s assets are not available to pay our creditors or any of our subsidiaries, although collections from the receivables in excess of amounts required to repay the Purchasers under the Securitization Facility and other creditors of the SPV may be remitted to us. The proceeds of the Securitization Facility are classified as operating activities in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. Cash received from collections of Sold Receivables is used by the SPV to fund additional purchases of receivables on a revolving basis or to return all or any portion of outstanding capital of the Purchasers. Subsequent collections on the pledged receivables, which have not been sold, will be classified as operating cash flows at the time of collection. The amount sold to the Purchasers was $300 million at September 30, 2023, which was derecognized from the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As collateral against sold receivables, the SPV maintains a certain level of unsold receivables, which was $250 million at September 30, 2023. Total receivables sold under the Securitization Facility were $550 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Pursuant to the Securitization Facility, we recognized a charge of $8 million in the 2023 nine-month period that represents the discount on the accounts receivable balance transferred to the SPV. This discount is included in our loss on disposal of assets in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. The following table provides a roll-forward of the allowance for credit losses. The allowance is deducted from the amortized cost basis of accounts receivable in our condensed consolidated balance sheets (in millions):
|  | Nine Months Ended September 30, |
|  | 2023 |  |  | 2022 |
Beginning balance |  | $ | 16 |  |  | $ | 16 |
Provision for credit losses |  |  | 17 |  |  |  | (3 | )
Amounts written off |  |  | (2 | ) |  |  | (1 | )
Ending balance |  | $ | 31 |  |  | $ | 12 |
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Recent Accounting Pronouncements. On July 26, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rules to enhance and standardize disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incidents by public companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Specifically, the new rules require current disclosure about material cybersecurity incidents. The purpose of the new rules is to require periodic disclosures about a registrant’s processes to assess, identify, and manage material cybersecurity risks, management’s role in assessing and managing material cybersecurity risks, and the board of directors’ oversight of cybersecurity risks. The amendments related to these rules became effective on September 5, 2023. The new rules will require us to provide additional disclosures in our annual report on Form 10-K and additional reporting requirements if and when a reportable incident occurs. Implementation of ASC 848, Reference Rate Reform. On March 17, 2023, we amended the 2019 Senior Credit Facility and transitioned the variable rate on our 2019 Term Loan C from 1-month LIBOR to 1-month SOFR. We elected to apply the optional expedient in ASC 848, in connection with the amendment that enabled us to consider the amendment as a non-significant contract modification of the existing debt agreement. Additionally, for our 2021 Term Loan, we transitioned to the fallback language within the credit agreement and transitioned from 1-month LIBOR to 1-month SOFR as of March 31, 2023. As a result, the amendment to our 2019 Term Loan and fallback to SOFR in our 2021 Term Loan did not have a material impact to our financial statements.

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