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Investment In Films and Television Programs and Program Rights | 9 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2020
Investment In Films And Television Programs and Program Rights [Abstract] |
Investment In Films and Television Programs and Program Rights | Investment in Films and Television Programs and Licensed Program Rights Investment in Films and Television Programs General. Investment in films and television programs includes the unamortized costs of films and television programs, a portion of which are monetized individually (i.e., through domestic theatrical, home entertainment, television, international or other ancillary-market distribution), and a portion of which are monetized as part of a film group (i.e., primarily content internally produced by our Television Production segment for our Media Networks segment). Recording Cost. Costs of acquiring and producing films and television programs and of acquired libraries are capitalized when incurred. For films and television programs produced by the Company, capitalized costs include all direct production and financing costs, capitalized interest and production overhead. For acquired films and television programs, capitalized costs consist of minimum guarantee payments to acquire the distribution rights. Amortization. Costs of acquiring and producing films and television programs and of acquired libraries that are monetized individually are amortized using the individual-film-forecast method, whereby these costs are amortized and participations and residuals costs are accrued in the proportion that current year’s revenue bears to management’s estimate of ultimate revenue at the beginning of the current year expected to be recognized from the exploitation, exhibition or sale of the films or television programs. For investment in films and television programs monetized as a group, see further discussion below under Licensed Program Rights for a description of recording cost and amortization of costs monetized as a group. Ultimate Revenue. Ultimate revenue includes estimates over a period not to exceed ten years following the date of initial release of the motion picture. For an episodic television series, the period over which ultimate revenues are estimated cannot exceed ten years following the date of delivery of the first episode, or, if still in production, five years from the date of delivery of the most recent episode, if later. For titles included in acquired libraries, ultimate revenue includes estimates over a period not to exceed twenty years following the date of acquisition. Development. Films and television programs in development include costs of acquiring film rights to books, stage plays or original screenplays and costs to adapt such projects. Such costs are capitalized and, upon commencement of production, are transferred to production costs. Projects in development are written off at the earlier of the date they are determined not to be recoverable or when abandoned, or three years from the date of the initial investment unless the fair value of the project exceeds its carrying cost. Licensed Program Rights General. Licensed program rights include content licensed from third parties that is monetized as part of a film group for distribution on Media Networks distribution platforms. Licensed content is comprised of films or series that have been previously produced by third parties and the Company retains specified airing rights over a contractual term. Program licenses typically have fixed terms and require payments during the term of the license. Recording Cost. The cost of licensed content is capitalized when the cost is known or reasonably determinable, the license period for programs has commenced, the program materials have been accepted by the Company in accordance with the license agreements, and the programs are available for the first showing. Licensed programming rights may include rights to more than one exploitation window under the Company's output and library agreements. For films with multiple windows, the license fee is allocated between the windows based upon the proportionate estimated fair value of each window which generally results in the majority of the cost allocated to the first window on newer releases. Certain license agreements may include additional ancillary rights in addition to the pay television rights. The cost of the Media Networks’ third-party licensed content is allocated between the pay television market distributed by the Media Networks’ segment and the ancillary revenue markets (e.g., home video, digital platforms, international television, etc.) based on the estimated relative fair values of these markets. Our estimates of fair value for the pay television and ancillary markets and windows of exploitation involve uncertainty and management judgment. Amortization. The cost of program rights for films and television programs (including original series) exhibited by the Media Networks segment are generally amortized on an accelerated or straight-line basis based on the anticipated number of exhibitions or expected and historical viewership patterns or the license period on a title-by-title or episode-by-episode basis. The number of exhibitions is estimated based on the number of exhibitions allowed in the agreement (if specified) and the expected usage of the content. Participations and residuals are expensed in line with the amortization of production costs. Changes in management’s estimate of the anticipated exhibitions and viewership patterns of films and original series on our networks could result in the earlier recognition of our programming costs than anticipated. Conversely, scheduled exhibitions and expected viewership patterns may not capture the appropriate usage of the program rights in current periods which would lead to the write-off of additional program rights in future periods and may have a significant impact on our future results of operations and our financial position. Impairment Assessment for Investment in Films and Television Programs and Licensed Program Rights General. A film group or individual film or television program is evaluated for impairment when an event or change in circumstances indicates that the fair value of an individual film or film group is less than its unamortized cost. A film group represents the unit of account for impairment testing for a film or license agreement for program material when the film or license agreement is expected to be predominantly monetized with other films and/or license agreements instead of being predominantly monetized on its own. A film group is defined as the lowest level at which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other films and/or license agreements. Content Monetized Individually. For content that is predominantly monetized individually (primarily investment in film and television programs related to the Motion Picture and Television Production segments), whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of the individual film may be less than its unamortized costs, the unamortized costs of the individual film are compared to the estimated fair value of the individual film. The fair value is determined based on a discounted cash flow analysis of the cash flows directly attributable to the title. To the extent the unamortized costs exceed the fair value, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess. Content Monetized as a Group. For content that is predominantly monetized as a group (primarily licensed program rights in the Media Networks segment and internally produced programming, as discussed above), whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of the film group may be less than its unamortized costs, the aggregate unamortized costs of the group are compared to the present value of the discounted cash flows of the group using the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are independent of other produced and licensed content. The Company's film groups are generally aligned along the Company's networks and digital content offerings domestically (i.e., Starz Networks and Other Streaming Services) and by territory or groups of territories internationally, wherein content assets are shared across the various territories and therefore, the territory or group of territories is the film group. If the unamortized costs exceed the present value of discounted cash flows, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess and allocated to individual titles based on the relative carrying value of each title in the group. Valuation Assumptions. The discounted cash flow analysis includes cash flows estimates of ultimate revenue and costs as well as a discount rate (a Level 3 fair value measurement, see Note 7). The discount rate utilized in the discounted cash flow analysis is based on the weighted average cost of capital of the Company plus a risk premium representing the risk associated with producing a particular film or television program or film group. The fair value of any film costs associated with a film or television program that management plans to abandon is zero. Estimates of future revenue involve measurement uncertainty and it is therefore possible that reductions in the carrying value of investment in films and television programs may be required as a consequence of changes in management’s future revenue estimates. Impairments. Investment in films and television programs and licensed program rights includes write-downs to fair value, which are included in direct operating expense on the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations, and represented the following amounts by segment for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
| Three Months Ended |  | Nine Months Ended
| December 31, |  | December 31,
| 2020 |  | 2019 |  | 2020 |  | 2019
| (Amounts in millions)
Impairments by segment: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Motion Picture | $ | 13.7 |  |  | $ | 37.2 |  |  | $ | 14.6 |  |  | $ | 38.8 |
Television Production | 5.2 |  |  | — |  |  | 8.0 |  |  | 0.7 |
Impairments not included in segment operating results(1) | — |  |  | 74.0 |  |  | 15.4 |  |  | 74.0 |
| $ | 18.9 |  |  | $ | 111.2 |  |  | $ | 38.0 |  |  | $ | 113.5 |
________________________ (1)Impairments not included in segment operating results in the nine months ended December 31, 2020 represent a charge due to changes in performance expectations resulting from circumstances associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic. In the three and nine months ended December 31, 2019, amounts represent certain programming and content charges recorded as a result of changes to the Company's programming and broadcasting strategy in connection with management changes (see Note 13 and Note 14). Total investment in films and television programs and licensed program rights by predominant monetization strategy is as follows:
| December 31, 2020 |  |
| (Amounts in millions)
Investment in Films and Television Programs: |  |  |
Individual Monetization |  |  |
Released, net of accumulated amortization | $ | 389.4 |  |  |
Completed and not released | 139.5 |  |  |
In progress | 304.9 |  |  |
In development | 91.6 |  |  |
| 925.4 |  |  |
Film Group Monetization |  |  |
Released, net of accumulated amortization | $ | 229.0 |  |  |
Completed and not released | — |  |  |
In progress | 292.8 |  |  |
In development | 32.1 |  |  |
| 553.9 |  |  |
Licensed program rights, net of accumulated amortization | $ | 482.1 |  |  |
Investment in films and television programs and program rights, net | $ | 1,961.4 |  |  |
At December 31, 2020, acquired film and television libraries have remaining unamortized costs of $26.0 million, which are monetized individually and are being amortized using the individual-film-forecast method over a remaining period of approximately 20 years. Amortization of investment in film and television programs and licensed program rights by predominant monetization strategy is as follows for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2020, and was included in direct operating expense in the unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations:
| Three Months Ended |  | Nine Months Ended
| December 31, |  | December 31,
| 2020 |  |  |  | 2020 |  |
| (Amounts in millions)
Amortization expense: |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Individual monetization | $ | 132.9 |  |  |  |  | $ | 361.7 |  |  |
Film group monetization | 78.6 |  |  |  |  | 193.2 |  |  |
Licensed program rights | 110.7 |  |  |  |  | 298.7 |  |  |
| $ | 322.2 |  |  |  |  | $ | 853.6 |  |  |
Amortization of investment in film and television programs and licensed program rights for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2019 was $450.8 million and $1,306.0 million, respectively. The table below summarizes estimated future amortization expense for the Company's investment in film and television programs and licensed program rights as of December 31, 2020:
| Twelve Months Ended
| December 31,
| 2021 |  | 2022 |  | 2023
| (Amounts in millions)
Estimated future amortization expense: |  |  |  |  |
Released investment in films and television programs: |  |  |  |  |
Individual monetization | $ | 135.2 |  |  | $ | 64.3 |  |  | $ | 48.0 |
Film group monetization | $ | 102.0 |  |  | $ | 60.7 |  |  | $ | 27.4 |
Licensed program rights | $ | 217.0 |  |  | $ | 87.3 |  |  | $ | 47.8 |
Completed and not released investment in films and television programs: |  |  |  |  |
Individual monetization | $ | 99.4 |  |  | n/a |  | n/a
Film group monetization | $ | — |  |  | n/a |  | n/a

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