XML 34 R11.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.24.0.1
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]  
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL
Property, Plant and Equipment
The Company’s property, plant and equipment consisted of the following classes of assets:
(In thousands)December 31,
2023		December 31,
2022
Land, buildings and improvements$316,655 $340,692 
Towers, transmitters and studio equipment195,609 215,655 
Computer equipment and software685,417 617,794 
Furniture and other equipment47,684 41,924 
Construction in progress16,473 29,091 
1,261,838 1,245,156 
Less: accumulated depreciation702,973 550,314 
Property, plant and equipment, net$558,865 $694,842 
In September 2023, the Company completed a sale-leaseback of 122 of our broadcast tower sites and related assets for $45.3 million, and entered into operating leases for the use of space on 121 of the broadcast tower sites and related assets sold. The Company realized a net loss of $3.2 million on the sale, which was recorded in Other operating expense, net in the statement of comprehensive loss.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
The Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of FCC broadcast licenses in its Multiplatform Group segment and were $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. FCC broadcast licenses are granted to radio stations for up to eight years under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”). The Act requires the FCC to renew a broadcast license if the FCC finds that the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity, there have been no serious violations of either the Communications Act of 1934 or the FCC’s rules and regulations by the licensee, and there have been no other serious violations which taken together constitute a pattern of abuse. The licenses may be renewed indefinitely at little or no cost. The Company does not believe that the technology of wireless broadcasting will be replaced in the foreseeable future.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets Impairment
The Company performs its annual impairment test on indefinite-lived intangible assets, including FCC licenses, as of July 1 of each year. In addition, the Company tests for impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets whenever events and circumstances indicate that such assets might be impaired.
As discussed in Note 1, Basis of Presentation, economic uncertainty due to inflation and higher interest rates since 2022 has resulted in, among other things, lower advertising spending by businesses. This economic uncertainty has had an adverse impact on the Company's revenues and cash flows. In addition, the economic uncertainty has had a significant impact on the trading values of the Company's debt and equity securities for a sustained period. As a result, the Company performed an interim impairment test as of June 30, 2023 on its FCC licenses, which resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of $363.6 million to the FCC licenses balance in the second quarter of 2023. No impairment was identified related to our FCC licenses as part of the 2023 annual impairment test performed during the third quarter.

The Company recognized a non-cash impairment charge of $302.1 million on its FCC licenses as part of the 2022 annual impairment testing. No impairment was required as part of the 2021 annual impairment testing.

Since our emergence from Fresh Start in 2019, we have recorded $1.2 billion of cumulative impairment charges to our FCC licenses.

Other Intangible Assets
The following table presents the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization for each major class of other intangible assets:
(In thousands)December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Gross Carrying AmountAccumulated AmortizationGross Carrying AmountAccumulated Amortization
Customer / advertiser relationships$1,652,623 $(800,377)$1,652,455 $(633,352)
Talent and other contracts338,900 (203,479)338,900 (160,500)
Trademarks and tradenames335,912 (156,468)335,862 (122,403)
Other18,003 (11,904)18,443 (9,735)
Total$2,345,438 $(1,172,228)$2,345,660 $(925,990)
Total amortization expense related to definite-lived intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 was $246.7 million, $253.6 million and $280.6 million, respectively.
As acquisitions and dispositions occur in the future, amortization expense may vary. The following table presents the Company’s estimate of amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years for definite-lived intangible assets:
(In thousands)
2024$245,032 
2025213,758 
2026201,512 
2027176,171 
2028160,395 

Goodwill

The following tables present the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill:
(In thousands)Multiplatform GroupDigital Audio GroupAudio & Media Services GroupConsolidated
Balance as of December 31, 20211
$1,462,038 $747,350 $104,193 $2,313,581 
Dispositions(16)— — (16)
Foreign currency— — (162)(162)
Balance as of December 31, 2022
$1,462,022 $747,350 $104,031 $2,313,403 
Impairment(121,563)(439,383)(34,515)(595,461)
Acquisitions— 3,375 — 3,375 
Foreign currency— 84 82 166 
Balance as of December 31, 2023
$1,340,459 $311,426 $69,598 $1,721,483 
1 Beginning goodwill balance is presented net of prior accumulated impairment losses of $1.2 billion related to the Multiplatform Group segment. Refer to the table above for impairments recorded in 2023.
Goodwill Impairment
The Company performs its annual impairment test on our goodwill as of July 1 of each year. The Company also tests goodwill at interim dates if events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired. The impairment testing performed as of June 30, 2023 indicated that carrying values of the Company's Multiplatform, Digital, and RCS reporting units exceeded their fair values. The fair value of our Katz reporting unit exceeded its carrying value.
As discussed above, economic uncertainty has had a significant impact on the Company's revenue and cash flows, as well as the trading values of the Company's debt and equity securities for a sustained period. The interim impairment test resulted in a $595.5 million impairment of goodwill. In determining the fair value of our reporting units, the Company considered industry and market factors including trading multiples of similar businesses and the trading prices of its debt and equity securities. There were no significant changes to assumptions used for the 2023 annual impairment test. No impairment was identified related to our goodwill balance as a result of the 2023 annual impairment test performed during the third quarter.
No goodwill impairment was recorded for 2022 or 2021.
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL
Property, Plant and Equipment
The Company’s property, plant and equipment consisted of the following classes of assets:
(In thousands)December 31,
2023		December 31,
2022
Land, buildings and improvements$316,655 $340,692 
Towers, transmitters and studio equipment195,609 215,655 
Computer equipment and software685,417 617,794 
Furniture and other equipment47,684 41,924 
Construction in progress16,473 29,091 
1,261,838 1,245,156 
Less: accumulated depreciation702,973 550,314 
Property, plant and equipment, net$558,865 $694,842 
In September 2023, the Company completed a sale-leaseback of 122 of our broadcast tower sites and related assets for $45.3 million, and entered into operating leases for the use of space on 121 of the broadcast tower sites and related assets sold. The Company realized a net loss of $3.2 million on the sale, which was recorded in Other operating expense, net in the statement of comprehensive loss.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets
The Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of FCC broadcast licenses in its Multiplatform Group segment and were $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. FCC broadcast licenses are granted to radio stations for up to eight years under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”). The Act requires the FCC to renew a broadcast license if the FCC finds that the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity, there have been no serious violations of either the Communications Act of 1934 or the FCC’s rules and regulations by the licensee, and there have been no other serious violations which taken together constitute a pattern of abuse. The licenses may be renewed indefinitely at little or no cost. The Company does not believe that the technology of wireless broadcasting will be replaced in the foreseeable future.
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets Impairment
The Company performs its annual impairment test on indefinite-lived intangible assets, including FCC licenses, as of July 1 of each year. In addition, the Company tests for impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets whenever events and circumstances indicate that such assets might be impaired.
As discussed in Note 1, Basis of Presentation, economic uncertainty due to inflation and higher interest rates since 2022 has resulted in, among other things, lower advertising spending by businesses. This economic uncertainty has had an adverse impact on the Company's revenues and cash flows. In addition, the economic uncertainty has had a significant impact on the trading values of the Company's debt and equity securities for a sustained period. As a result, the Company performed an interim impairment test as of June 30, 2023 on its FCC licenses, which resulted in a non-cash impairment charge of $363.6 million to the FCC licenses balance in the second quarter of 2023. No impairment was identified related to our FCC licenses as part of the 2023 annual impairment test performed during the third quarter.

The Company recognized a non-cash impairment charge of $302.1 million on its FCC licenses as part of the 2022 annual impairment testing. No impairment was required as part of the 2021 annual impairment testing.

Since our emergence from Fresh Start in 2019, we have recorded $1.2 billion of cumulative impairment charges to our FCC licenses.

Other Intangible Assets
The following table presents the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization for each major class of other intangible assets:
(In thousands)December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Gross Carrying AmountAccumulated AmortizationGross Carrying AmountAccumulated Amortization
Customer / advertiser relationships$1,652,623 $(800,377)$1,652,455 $(633,352)
Talent and other contracts338,900 (203,479)338,900 (160,500)
Trademarks and tradenames335,912 (156,468)335,862 (122,403)
Other18,003 (11,904)18,443 (9,735)
Total$2,345,438 $(1,172,228)$2,345,660 $(925,990)
Total amortization expense related to definite-lived intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 was $246.7 million, $253.6 million and $280.6 million, respectively.
As acquisitions and dispositions occur in the future, amortization expense may vary. The following table presents the Company’s estimate of amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years for definite-lived intangible assets:
(In thousands)
2024$245,032 
2025213,758 
2026201,512 
2027176,171 
2028160,395 

Goodwill

The following tables present the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill:
(In thousands)Multiplatform GroupDigital Audio GroupAudio & Media Services GroupConsolidated
Balance as of December 31, 20211
$1,462,038 $747,350 $104,193 $2,313,581 
Dispositions(16)— — (16)
Foreign currency— — (162)(162)
Balance as of December 31, 2022
$1,462,022 $747,350 $104,031 $2,313,403 
Impairment(121,563)(439,383)(34,515)(595,461)
Acquisitions— 3,375 — 3,375 
Foreign currency— 84 82 166 
Balance as of December 31, 2023
$1,340,459 $311,426 $69,598 $1,721,483 
1 Beginning goodwill balance is presented net of prior accumulated impairment losses of $1.2 billion related to the Multiplatform Group segment. Refer to the table above for impairments recorded in 2023.
Goodwill Impairment
The Company performs its annual impairment test on our goodwill as of July 1 of each year. The Company also tests goodwill at interim dates if events or changes in circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired. The impairment testing performed as of June 30, 2023 indicated that carrying values of the Company's Multiplatform, Digital, and RCS reporting units exceeded their fair values. The fair value of our Katz reporting unit exceeded its carrying value.
As discussed above, economic uncertainty has had a significant impact on the Company's revenue and cash flows, as well as the trading values of the Company's debt and equity securities for a sustained period. The interim impairment test resulted in a $595.5 million impairment of goodwill. In determining the fair value of our reporting units, the Company considered industry and market factors including trading multiples of similar businesses and the trading prices of its debt and equity securities. There were no significant changes to assumptions used for the 2023 annual impairment test. No impairment was identified related to our goodwill balance as a result of the 2023 annual impairment test performed during the third quarter.
No goodwill impairment was recorded for 2022 or 2021.