UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

(Mark one)

[X] Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the quarterly period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 or

 

[   ] Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934                                                                     
      

For the transition period from _________ to _________ .

 

Commission file number 1-13796

 

Gray Television, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Georgia

 

58-0285030

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

 

 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

   

4370 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, Georgia

 

30319

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(Zip code)

 

(404) 504-9828

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report.)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter periods that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes     No_____No____

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes   No_____No____

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer ☒Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐ 

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes          No    

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each Class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Class A common stock (no par value)

GTN.A

New York Stock Exchange

common stock (no par value)

GTN

New York Stock Exchange

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of the latest practicalpracticable date.

Common Stock (No Par Value)

 

Class A Common Stock (No Par Value)

94,285,36693,633,773 shares outstanding as of July October31, 2019

 

6,881,192 shares outstanding as of July October31, 2012019

 

 


 

 

INDEX

 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

 

 

PART I.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

PAGE

   

Item 1.

Financial Statements

 
   
 

Condensed consolidated balance sheets (Unaudited) - JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018

3

   
 

Condensed consolidated statements of operations (Unaudited) - three-months and six-monthsnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and  2018

5

   
 

Condensed consolidated statementsstatement of stockholders' equity (Unaudited) - six-months– three, six and nine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018

6

   
 

Condensed consolidated statements of cash flows (Unaudited) - six-monthsnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018

7 8

   
 

Notes to condensed consolidated financial statements (Unaudited) - September 30, 2019

8 9

   

Item 2.

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

2931

   

Item 3.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

3638

   

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

3638

   

PART II.

OTHER INFORMATION

 
   

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

3638

   

Item 2.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

3638

   

Item 6.

Exhibits

3740

   

SIGNATURES

 

3841

 


 

PART I.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.     Financial Statements

Item 1.

Financial StatementsGRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(in millions)

 

 

June 30,

 

December 31,

  

September 30,

 

December 31,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Assets:

                

Current assets:

          

Cash

 $251  $667  $326  $667 

Accounts receivable trade, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $9 and $5, respectively

 390  184 

Accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $8 and $5, respectively

 402  184 

Current portion of program broadcast rights, net

 9  15  34  15 

Prepaid and other current assets

  33   7   27   7 

Total current assets

 683  873  789  873 
  

Property and equipment, net

 686  363  695  363 

Operating leases right of use asset

 66  -  52  - 

Broadcast licenses

 3,558  1,530  3,558  1,530 

Goodwill

 1,452  612  1,449  612 

Other intangible assets, net

 497  53  469  53 

Investments in broadcasting and technology companies

 17  17  17  17 

Restricted cash

 -  752  -  752 

Other

  42   13   75   13 

Total assets

 $7,001  $4,213  $7,104  $4,213 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 


 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(in millions except for share data)

 

 

June 30,

 

December 31,

  

September 30,

 

December 31,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity:

                

Current liabilities:

          

Accounts payable

 $12  $8  $13  $8 

Employee compensation and benefits

 50  35  59  35 

Accrued interest

 39  34  65  34 

Accrued network programming fees

 27  22  29  22 

Other accrued expenses

 27  18  25  18 

Federal and state income taxes

 27  14  18  14 

Current portion of program broadcast obligations

 9  15  37  15 

Deferred revenue

 9  4  12  4 

Dividends payable

 13  -  13  - 

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

 6  -  7  - 

Current portion of long-term debt

  14   -   14   - 

Total current liabilities

 233  150  292  150 
  

Long-term debt, less current portion and deferred financing costs

 3,881  2,549  3,881  2,549 

Program broadcast obligations, less current portion

 7  5  8  5 

Deferred income taxes

 760  285  780  285 

Accrued pension costs

 33  33  30  33 

Operating lease liabilities

 61  -  47  - 

Other

  13   4   13   4 

Total liabilities

  4,988   3,026��  5,051   3,026 
  

Commitments and contingencies (Note 11)

        
  

Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, no par value; cumulative; redeemable; designated 1,500,000 shares, issued and outstanding 650,000 shares and 0 shares, ($650 and $0 aggregate liquidation value, respectively)

  650   -   650   - 
  

Stockholders’ equity:

          

Common stock, no par value; authorized 200,000,000 shares, issued 101,714,180 shares and 89,298,943 shares, respectively, and outstanding 94,285,366 shares and 82,022,500 shares, respectively

 1,086  907 

Class A common stock, no par value; authorized 25,000,000 shares, issued 8,768,959 shares and 8,569,149 shares, respectively, and outstanding 6,881,192 shares and 6,729,035 shares, respectively

 27  27 

Common stock, no par value; authorized 200,000,000 shares, issued 101,714,180 shares and 89,298,943 shares, outstanding 93,633,773 shares and 82,022,500 shares, respectively

 1,089  907 

Class A common stock, no par value; authorized 25,000,000 shares, issued 8,768,959 shares and 8,569,149 shares, outstanding 6,881,192 shares and 6,729,035 shares, respectively

 29  27 

Retained earnings

 377  372  423  372 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of income tax benefit

  (26)  (21)  (26)  (21)
 1,464  1,285  1,515  1,285 

Treasury stock at cost, common stock, 7,428,814 shares and 7,276,443 shares, respectively

 (75) (72)

Treasury stock at cost, Class A common stock, 1,887,767 shares and 1,840,114 shares, respectively

  (26)  (26)

Treasury stock at cost, common stock, 8,080,407 shares and 7,276,443 shares, respectively

 (86) (72)

Treasury stock at cost, class A common stock, 1,887,767 shares and 1,840,114 shares, respectively

  (26)  (26)

Total stockholders’ equity

  1,363   1,187   1,403   1,187 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

 $7,001  $4,213  $7,104  $4,213 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 


 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)

(in millions except for per share data)

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Six Months Ended

  

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

September 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 
  

Revenue (less agency commissions)

         

Revenue (less agency commissions):

         

Broadcasting

 $499  $250  $980  $477  $501  $279  $1,481  $756 

Production companies

  9   -   46   -   16   -   62   - 

Total revenue (less agency commissions)

 508  250  1,026  477  517  279  1,543  756 

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and loss (gain) on disposal of assets, net:

         

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net:

         

Broadcast

 314  142  670  292  316  145  986  437 

Production companies

 9  -  44  -  13  -  57  - 

Corporate and administrative

 21  11  69  19  14  11  83  30 

Depreciation

 20  13  40  27  20  13  60  41 

Amortization of intangible assets

 28  5  57  11  29  5  86  16 

Gain on disposals of assets, net

  (3)  (1)  (13)  (2)

(Gain) loss on disposal of fixed assets, net

  (14)  (3)  (27)  (6)

Operating expenses

  389   170   867   347   378   171   1,245   518 

Operating income

 119  80  159  130  139  108  298  238 

Other income (expense):

                  

Miscellaneous income, net

 1  1  4  1  -  -  4  2 

Interest expense

  (58)  (25)  (116)  (49)  (57)  (25)  (173)  (74)

Income before income taxes

 62  56  47  82  82  83  129  166 

Income tax expense

  18   15   21   21   23   22   44   43 

Net income

 44  41  26  61  59  61  85  123 

Preferred stock dividends

  13   -   26   -   13   -   39   - 

Net income attributable to common stockholders

 $31  $41  $-  $61  $46  $61  $46  $123 
  

Basic per share information:

                  

Net income attributable to common stockholders

 $0.31  $0.46  $-  $0.69  $0.46  $0.70  $0.46  $1.39 

Weighted-average shares outstanding

  100   88   100   88   100   88   100   88 
  

Diluted per share information:

                  

Net income attributable to common stockholders

 $0.31  $0.46  $-  $0.68  $0.46  $0.69  $0.46  $1.38 

Weighted-average shares outstanding

  101   88   100   89   101   89   100   89 
       .    

Dividends declared per common share

 $-  $-  $-  $-  $-  $-  $-  $- 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 


 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTSTATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Unaudited)

(in millions, except for number of shares)

 

                                      

Accumulated

                                         

Accumulated

    
  

Class A

             

Class A

 

Common

 

Other

     

Class A

             

Class A

 

Common

 

Other

    
  

Common Stock

  

Common Stock

  

Retained

  

Treasury Stock

  

Treasury Stock

  

Comprehensive

      

Common Stock

  

Common Stock

  

Retained

  

Treasury Stock

  

Treasury Stock

  

Comprehensive

     
  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Earnings

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Loss

  

Total

 
                       

Balance at December 31, 2017

   8,349,069  $25   88,788,664  $902  $162   (1,750,692) $(24)  (5,535,076) $(50) $(22) $993 
                       

Net income

 - - - -  20  - - - - -  20 
                       

Issuance of common stock:

                       

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan :

                       

Restricted stock awards

  220,080  -  318,196  - -  (89,422) (1) (107,456) (2) -  (3)

Restricted stock unit awards

 - -  209,500  - - - -  (82,201) (1) -  (1)
                       

Repurchase of common stock

 - - - - - - -  (1,551,710) (20) -  (20)
                       

Stock-based compensation

 - - -  2  - - - - - -  2 
                                   

Balance at March 31, 2018

   8,569,149  $25   89,316,360  $904  $182   (1,840,114) $(25)  (7,276,443) $(73) $(22) $991 
                       

Net income

  -  -  -  -  41  -  -  -  -  -  41 
                       

Issuance of common stock:

                       

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan:

                       

Restricted stock awards

  -  -  73,640  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
                       

Forfeiture of restricted stock awards

  -  -  (91,057) (1) -  -  -  -  -  -  (1)
                       

Stock-based compensation

  -  1  -  1  -  -  -  -  -  -  2 
                                   

Balance at June 30, 2018

   8,569,149  $26   89,298,943  $904  $223   (1,840,114) $(25)  (7,276,443) $(73) $(22) $1,033 
                         

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Earnings

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Loss

  

Total

 
                                               

Balance at December 31, 2018

  8,569,149  $27  89,298,943  $907  $372  (1,840,114) $(26) (7,276,443) $(72) $(21) $1,187   8,569,149  $27   89,298,943  $907  $372   (1,840,114) $(26)  (7,276,443) $(72) $(21) $1,187 
                                              

Net loss

  -  -  -  -  (18) -  -  -  -  -  (18) -  -  -  -  (18) -  -  -  -  -  (18)
                                              

Preferred stock dividends

  -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  -  (13)
                                              

Issuance of common stock:

                                              

Acquisitions of television businesses and licenses

  -  -  11,499,945  170  -  -  -  -  -  -  170  -  -  11,499,945  170  -  -  -  -  -  -  170 

401(k) Plan

  -  -  196,509  4  -  -  -  -  -  -  4  -  -  196,509  4  -  -  -  -  -  -  4 

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan -

                                                        

Restricted stock awards

  199,810  -  677,602  -  -  (47,653) -  (123,167) (3) -  (3) 199,810  -  677,602  -  -  (47,653) -  (123,167) (3) -  (3)
                                              

Stock-based compensation

  -  -  -  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  2  -  -  -  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  2 
                                              

Adoption of ASU 2018-02

  -  -  -  -  2  -  -  -  -  (2) -  -  -  -  -  2  -  -  -  -  (2) - 
                                                                     

Balance at March 31, 2019

   8,768,959  $27   101,672,999  $1,083  $343   (1,887,767) $(26)  (7,399,610) $(75) $(23) $1,329   8,768,959  $27   101,672,999  $1,083  $343   (1,887,767) $(26)  (7,399,610) $(75) $(23) $1,329 
                                              

Net income

  -  -  -  -  44  -  -  -  -  -  44  -  -  -  -  44  -  -  -  -  -  44 
                                              

Preferred stock dividends

  -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  -  (13)
                                              

Issuance of common stock:

                                              

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan -

                                                        

Restricted stock awards

  -  -  41,181  -  -  -  -  (29,204) -  -  -  -  -  41,181  -  -  -  -  (29,204) -  -  - 
                                              

Stock-based compensation

  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  -  -  3 
                                              

Adoption of ASU 2018-02

  -  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  (3) -  -  -  -  -  3  -  -  -  -  (3) - 
                                                                     

Balance at June 30, 2019

   8,768,959  $27   101,714,180  $1,086  $377   (1,887,767) $(26)  (7,428,814) $(75) $(26) $1,363   8,768,959  $27   101,714,180  $1,086  $377   (1,887,767) $(26)  (7,428,814) $(75) $(26) $1,363 
                       

Net income

 -  ��-  -  -  59  -  -  -  -  -  59 
                       

Preferred stock dividends

 -  -  -  -  (13) -  -  -  -  -  (13)
                       

Repurchase of common stock

 -  -  -  -  -  -  -  (651,593) (11) -  (11)
           ��           

Stock-based compensation

 -  2  -  3  -  -  -  -  -  -  5 
                                  

Balance at September 30, 2019

  8,768,959  $29   101,714,180  $1,089  $423   (1,887,767) $(26)  (8,080,407) $(86) $(26) $1,403 

  

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 


GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Unaudited)

(in millions, except for number of shares)

                                      

Accumulated

     
  

Class A

              

Class A

  

Common

  

Other

     
  

Common Stock

  

Common Stock

  

Retained

  

Treasury Stock

  

Treasury Stock

  

Comprehensive

     
  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Earnings

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Shares

  

Amount

  

Loss

  

Total

 
                                             

Balance at December 31, 2017

  8,349,069  $25   88,788,664  $902  $162   (1,750,692) $(24)  (5,535,076) $(50) $(22) $993 
                                             

Net income

  -   -   -   -   20   -   -   -   -   -   20 
                                             

Issuance of common stock:

                                            

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan :

                                            

Restricted stock awards

  220,080   -   318,196   -   -   (89,422)  (1)  (107,456)  (2)  -   (3)

Restricted stock unit awards

  -   -   209,500   -   -   -   -   (82,201)  (1)  -   (1)
                                             

Repurchase of common stock

  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   (1,551,710)  (20)  -   (20)
                                             

Stock-based compensation

  -   -   -   2   -   -   -   -   -   -   2 
                                             

Balance at March 31, 2018

  8,569,149  $25   89,316,360  $904  $182   (1,840,114) $(25)  (7,276,443) $(73) $(22) $991 
                                             

Net income

  -   -   -   -   41   -   -   -   -   -   41 
                                             

Issuance of common stock:

                                            

2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan :

                                            

Restricted stock awards

  -   -   73,640   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - 
                                             

Forfeiture of restricted stock awards

  -   -   (91,057)  (1)  -   -   -   -   -   -   (1)
                                             

Stock-based compensation

  -   1   -   1   -   -   -   -   -   -   2 
                                             

Balance at June 30, 2018

  8,569,149  $26   89,298,943  $904  $223   (1,840,114) $(25)  (7,276,443) $(73) $(22) $1,033 
                                             

Net income

�� -   -   -   -   61   -   -   -   -   -   61 
                                             

Stock-based compensation

  -   -   -   2   -   -   -   -   -   -   2 
                                             

Balance at September 30, 2018

  8,569,149  $26   89,298,943  $906  $284   (1,840,114) $(25)  (7,276,443) $(73) $(22) $1,096 

  

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(in millions)

 

 

Six Months Ended

  

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Operating activities

                

Net income

 $26  $61  $85  $123 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

          

Depreciation

 40  27  60  41 

Amortization of intangible assets

 57  11  86  16 

Amortization of deferred loan costs

 6  2  9  3 

Amortization of restricted stock and stock option awards

 5  3 

Amortization of restricted stock awards

 10  5 

Amortization of program broadcast rights

 20  11  30  16 

Payments on program broadcast obligations

 (24) (11) (33) (16)

Common stock contributed to 401(k)

 4  -  4  - 

Deferred income taxes

 12  11  34  44 

Gain on disposals of assets, net

 (13) (2) (27) (6)

Other

 (7) (1) (6) (2)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

          

Accounts receivable

 41  (5) 29  (9)

Prepaid income taxes

 -  (12) -  7 

Other current assets

 (15) 1  (7) 1 

Accounts payable

 -  (2) 2  (3)

Employee compensation, benefits and pension cost

 (14) (4) (6) (3)

Accrued network fees and other expenses

 (42) (3) (42) (1)

Accrued interest

 4  -  30  (4)

Income taxes payable

 1  10  (9) (34)

Deferred revenue

  4   1   6   8 

Net cash provided by operating activities

  105   98   255   186 
  

Investing activities

                

Acquisitions of television businesses and licenses, net of cash acquired

 (2,789) -  (2,823) - 

Proceeds from sale of television station

 231  -  231  - 

Purchases of property and equipment

 (44) (20) (73) (35)

Proceeds from FCC Repack (Note 1)

 32  7 

Proceeds from asset sales

 3  -  3  - 

Proceeds from FCC Repack (Note 1)

 17  2 

Acquisition prepayments

 (14) (4) (12) (5)

Other

  (3)  -   (4)  - 

Net cash used in investing activities

  (2,599)  (22)  (2,646)  (33)
  

Financing activities

                

Proceeds from borrowings on long-term debt

 1,400  -  1,400  - 

Repayments of borrowings on long-term debt

 (7) (3) (11) (40)

Payments for the repurchase of common stock

 -  (20) (11) (20)

Payment of preferred stock dividends

 (13) -  (26) - 

Deferred and other loan costs

 (50) -  (50) - 

Payments for taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards

  (4)  (4)  (4)  (4)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

  1,326   (27)  1,298   (64)

Net (decrease) increase in cash

 (1,168) 49  (1,093) 89 

Cash and restricted cash at beginning of period

  1,419   462   1,419   462 

Cash at end of period

 $251  $511  $326  $551 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 


 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Unaudited)

 

 

1.

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet of Gray Television, Inc. (and its consolidated subsidiaries, except as the context otherwise provides,“Gray,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) as of December 31, 2018, which was derived from the Company’s audited financial statements as of December 31, 2018, and our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and for the periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations, although we believe that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading. In our opinion, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Subsequent to the Raycom Merger (as defined herein) we manage our business on the basis of two operating segments, broadcasting and production companies. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Form 10-K”). Our financial condition as of, and operating results for the sixnine-months-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the financial condition or results that may be expected for any future interim period or for the year ending December 31, 2019. In addition, we have changed our reporting increment for dollars from thousands to millions.

 

Overview

 

We are a television broadcast company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. On January 2, 2019, we completed the Raycom Merger (as defined herein), which completed our transformation from a small, regional broadcaster to a leading media company with nationwide scale based on high-quality stations with exceptional talent in attractive markets. Upon the completion of the Raycom Merger on January 2, 2019, we became the largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. Currently, we own television stations in 93 television markets broadcasting over 400 separate program streams including approximately 150 affiliates of the ABC Network (“ABC”), the NBC Network (“NBC”), the CBS Network (“CBS”) and the FOX Network (“FOX”). We refer to these major broadcast networks collectively as the “Big Four” networks. Our television stations ranked first or second among all local television stations in 87 of our 93 markets between December 2017 and November 2018. Our station portfolio reaches approximately 24% of total United States television households. We also own video program production, marketing, and digital businesses including Raycom Sports, Tupelo-Raycom, and RTM Studios, the producer of PowerNation programs and content which we refer to collectively as our “production companies”.

 

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 of our allowance for doubtful accounts 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

We compute basic earnings per share by dividing net income available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of our 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 and shares underlying stock options, in the diluted weighted-average shares outstanding calculation, unless their inclusion would be antidilutive.

8


The following table reconciles basic weighted-average shares outstanding to diluted weighted-average shares outstanding for the three and ninesix-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively (in millions):

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

Three Months Ended

 

Six Months Ended

  

September 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  
  

Weighted-average shares outstanding-basic

 100  88  100  88  100  88  100  88 

Common stock equivalents for stock options and restricted shares

  1   -   -   1 

Common stock equivalents for stock options and restricted stock

  1   1   -   1 

Weighted-average shares outstanding-diluted

  101   88   100   89   101   89   100   89 

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Our accumulated other comprehensive loss balances as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, consistconsisted of adjustments to our pension liability and the related income tax effect. Our comprehensive (loss) income for the ninesix-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 consisted of net (loss) income and an adjustment to the tax effect of our pension liability as a result of our adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-02,Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) – Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 the balances were as follows (in millions):

  

June 30,

  

December 31,

 
  

2019

  

2018

 
         

Accumulated balances of items included in accumulated other comprehensive loss:

        

Increase in pension liability

 $(35) $(35)

Income tax benefit

  (9)  (14)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 $(26) $(21)

  

September 30,

  

December 31,

 
  

2019

  

2018

 
         

Accumulated balances of items included in accumulated other comprehensive loss:

        

Increase in pension liability

 $(35) $(35)

Income tax benefit

  (9)  (14)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

$(26)$(21)

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are carried at cost. 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

          

Estimated

 
 

June 30,

 

December 31,

 

Useful Lives

  

September 30,

 

December 31,

 

Useful Lives

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

(in years)

  

2019

  

2018

  

(in years)

 

Property and equipment:

                  

Land

 $115  $52       $115  $52      

Buildings and improvements

 272  166  7to40  278  166  7to40 

Equipment

  734   548   3to20   751   548  3to20 
 1,121  766       1,144  766      

Accumulated depreciation

  (435)  (403)        (449)  (403)     

Total property and equipment, net

 $686  $363       $695  $363      

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 profit or loss is reflected in income or expense for the period.

9


In April 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) began a process of reallocating the broadcast spectrum (the “Repack”). Specifically, the FCC is requiring certain television stations to change channels and/or modify their transmission facilities. The U.S. Congress passed legislation which provides the FCC with a $1.7 billion fund to reimburse all reasonable costs incurred by stations operating under a full power license and a portion of the costs incurred by stations operating under a low power license that are reassigned to new channels. Subsequent legislation in March 2018 appropriated an additional $1.0 billion for the Repack fund, of which up to $750.0 million may be made available to reimburse the Repack costs of full power, Class A television stations and multichannel video programming distributors. Other funds are earmarked to assist low power television stations and for other transition costs. The sufficiency of the FCC’s fund to reimburse for Repack costs is dependent upon a number of factors including the amounts to be reimbursed to other industry participants for Repack costs. Therefore, we cannot predict whether the fund will be sufficient to reimburse our Repack costs to the extent authorized under the legislation. Forty-seven of our current full power stations and thirty-seven of our current low power stations are affected by the Repack. The Repack process began in the summer of 2017 and will take approximately three years to complete. The majority of our costs associated with the 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 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

 

Six Months Ended

  

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

September 30

  

September 30

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Gain (loss) on disposal of assets, net:

                  

Proceeds from sale of assets

 $1  $-  $3  $-  $-  $-  $3  $- 

Proceeds from FCC - Repack

 5  1  17  2  15  4  32  7 

Net book value of assets disposed

 (2) -  (4) -  (1) (1) (5) (1)

Other

  (1)  -   (3)  -   -   -   (3)  - 

Total

 $3  $1  $13  $2  $14  $3  $27  $6 
  

Purchase of property and equipment:

                  

Recurring purchases - operations

      $14  $10       $38  $16 

Repack

         30   10       34  17 

Repack related

         1   2 

Total

       $44  $20        $73  $35 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Our allowance for doubtful accounts is equal to a portion of our receivable balances that are 120 days old or older. We may provide allowances for certain receivable balances that are less than 120 days old 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.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No.2016-13,Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326). The standard requires entities to estimate loss of financial assets measured at amortized cost, including trade receivables, debt securities and loans, using an expected credit loss model. The expected credit loss model differs from the previous incurred losses model primarily in that the loss recognition threshold of “probable” has been eliminated and that expected loss should consider reasonable and supportable forecasts in addition to the previously considered past events and current conditions. Additionally, the guidance requires additional disclosures related to the further disaggregation of information related to the credit quality of financial assets by year of the asset’s origination for as many as five years. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU No.2018-19 to clarify the scope of the guidance in the amendments in ASU 2016-13. Entities must apply the standard provision as a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in disclosures related to our accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts only and is not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.


In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04,Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) – Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. ASU 2017-04 amends the guidance of U.S. GAAP with the intent of simplifying how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. After adoption of the standard, the annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test will be performed by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An impairment charge would be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized will not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The standard allows for early adoption, but we have not yet made a determination as to whether to early-adopt this standard. We do not expect that the adoption of this standard will have a material impact on our financial statements.

10

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-14,Compensation Retirement Benefits Defined Benefit Plans General (Subtopic 715-20) - Disclosure Framework Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans ASU 2018-14 adds, removes, and modifies disclosure requirements related to defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans. The update amends only annual disclosure requirements. Retrospective adoption of the update is required in fiscal 2022. The standard allows for early adoption, but we have not yet made a determination as to whether to early-adopt this standard. The adoption of this guidance requires a change in disclosures only and is not expected to have a material impact on our financial statements.

Adoption of Accounting Standards and Reclassifications

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02Leases (Topic 842). ASU 2016-02 superseded Topic 840, Leases, and thus superseded nearly all existing lease guidance by requiring the reclassification of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and requiring disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842) – Targeted Improvements, which provided the option of applying the requirements of the new lease standard in the period of adoption using the modified retrospective approach with no restatement of comparative periods. We adopted the standard effective January 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach provided in ASU 2018-11. The transition guidance allowed for the election of a number of practical expedients. We elected the package of practical expedients and the short termshort-term lease practical expedient. The package of practical expedients allowed us to carryforward our classification of existing leases. With the election of the short-term practical expedient, we are not required to recognize on our consolidated balance sheet, the present value of leases with an initial term of twelve months or less. We also implemented internal controls and key system functionality to enable the preparation of financial information on adoption. The standard had a material impact in our consolidated balance sheets but did not have an impact in our consolidated income statements. Upon the adoption of this standard, we recorded a right of use (“ROU”) asset and a lease obligation liability of approximately$21 $21 million. In addition, upon the completion of the Raycom Merger on January 2, 2019, we implemented these standards to the leases acquired in the Raycom Merger and recorded a ROU asset and a lease obligation liability of approximately$52 $52 million for each. Please refer to Note 3 “Acquisitions and Divestitures” and Note 10 “Leases” for further information.

In January 2017, February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01,Business Combinations (Topic 805) – Clarifying the Definition of a Business. ASU 2017-01 adds guidance to assist entities in the determination of whether an acquisition (or disposal) represents assets or a business. The update provides a test to determine whether or not an acquisition is a business. If substantially all of the fair value of the assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the acquired assets do not represent a business. If this test is not met, the update provides further guidance to evaluate if the acquisition represents a business. The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2019. The adoption did not have an impact on our financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02,Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) – Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. ASU 2018-02 allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”). Consequently, the amendments eliminate the stranded tax effects resulting from the TCJA and will improve the usefulness of information reported to financial statement users. However, because the amendments only relate to the reclassification of the income tax effects of the TCJA, the underlying guidance that requires that the effect of a change in tax laws or rates be included in income from continuing operations is not affected. We have adopted this standard effective on January 1, 2019 and have recorded an adjustment of $5$5 million to increase our retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive loss.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01,Business Combinations (Topic 805) – Clarifying the Definition of a Business. ASU 2017-01 adds guidance to assist entities in the determination of whether an acquisition (or disposal) represents assets or a business. The update provides a test to determine whether or not an acquisition is a business. If substantially all of the fair value of the assets acquired is concentrated in a single asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the acquired assets do not represent a business. If this test is not met, the update provides further guidance to evaluate if the acquisition represents a business. The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2019. The adoption did not have an impact on our financial statements.


Certain amounts in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows have also been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

11

 

 

2.

Revenue

 

Revenue Recognition

 

We recognize revenue when we have completed a specified service and effectively transferred the control of that service to a customer in return for an amount of consideration we expect to be entitled to receive. The amount of revenue recognized is determined by the amount of consideration specified in a contract with our customers. We have elected to exclude taxes assessed by a governmental authority on transactions with our customers from our revenue. Any unremitted balance is included in current liabilities on our balance sheet.

 

We record a deposit liability for cash deposits received from our customers that are to be applied as payment once the performance obligation arises and is satisfied in the manner stated above. These deposits are recorded as deposit liabilities on our balance sheet. When we invoice our customers for completed performance obligations, we are unconditionally entitled to receive payment of the invoiced amounts. Therefore, we record invoiced amounts in accounts receivable on our balance sheet. We generally require amounts payable under advertising contracts with our political advertising customers to be paid for in advance. We record the receipt of this cash as a deposit liability. Once the advertisement has been broadcast, the revenue is earned, and we record the revenue and reduce the balance in this deposit liability account. We recorded $3 million of revenue in the sixnine months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 that was included in the deposit liability balance as of December 31, 2018. The deposit liability balance is included in deferred revenue on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. The deposit liability balance was $8$11 million and $3 million as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.


Disaggregation of Revenue

 

Revenue from our production companies segment is generated through our direct sales channel. Revenue from our broadcast and other segment is generated through both our direct and advertising agency intermediary sales channels. The following table presents our revenue from contracts with customers disaggregated by type of service and sales channel (in millions):

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Six Months Ended

  

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

September 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Market and service type:

                  

Advertising:

                  

Local (including internet/digital/mobile)

 $226  $113  $437  $219 

Local

 $218  $106  $655  $325 

National

 56  30  106  54  56  29  162  84 

Political

  5   18   8   24   22   48   30   72 

Total advertising

 287  161  551  297  296  183  847  481 

Retransmission consent

 201  85  405  171  196  92  601  262 

Production companies

 9  -  46  -  16  -  62  - 

Other

  11   4   24   9   9   4   33   13 

Total revenue

 $508  $250  $1,026  $477  $517  $279  $1,543  $756 
  

Sales channel:

                  

Direct

 $307  $135  $640  $269  $306  $139  $946  $407 

Advertising agency intermediary

  201   115   386   208   211   140   597   349 

Total revenue

 $508  $250  $1,026  $477  $517  $279  $1,543  $756 

 

 

3.

Acquisitions and Divestitures

 

During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we completed acquisition and divestiture transactions which we believe will, among other things, increase our revenues and cash flows from operating activities, and allow us to operate more efficiently and effectively by increasing our scale and could provide us with, among other things, the ability to negotiate more favorable terms in our agreements with third parties.

 


Raycom Merger

 

On January 2, 2019, we completed an acquisition of all the equity interests of Raycom Media, Inc. (“Raycom”). In connection with the acquisition of Raycom and on the same date, Gray assumed and completed Raycom’s pending acquisitions of WUPV-DT in the Richmond, VA market and KYOU-TV in the Ottumwa, IA market. To facilitate regulatory approval of the acquisition of Raycom and to satisfy the conditions placed on the acquisition by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and the FCC, we completed the divestiture of nine television stations in overlapping markets. We refer to the acquisition of Raycom, WUPV-DT and KYOU-TV and the divestiture of the stations in the nine overlapping markets collectively as the “Raycom Merger.”


 

We believe the completion of the Raycom Merger is a significant step in our pursuit of strategic growth through accretive acquisition opportunities. The Raycom Merger completed our transformation from a small, regional broadcaster to a leading media company with nationwide scale based on high-quality stations with exceptional talent in attractive markets. The following table lists the stations acquired and retained, net of divestitures:

 

 

Station

 

DMA

 

Designated Market Area

 

Call

 

Network

Rank

 

("DMA")

 

Letters

 

Affiliation

 

 

 

11

 

Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota), FL

 

WWSB

 

ABC

19

 

Cleveland-Akron (Canton)

 

WOIO

 

CBS

19

 

Cleveland-Akron (Canton)

 

WUAB

 

CW

23

 

Charlotte, NC

 

WBTV

 

CBS

35

 

Cincinnati, OH

 

WXIX

 

FOX

37

 

West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL

 

WFLX

 

FOX

43

 

Birmingham (Ann and Tusc)

 

WBRC

 

FOX

48

 

Louisville, KY

 

WAVE

 

NBC

50

 

New Orleans, LA

 

WVUE

 

FOX

51

 

Memphis, TN

 

WMC

 

NBC

56

 

Richmond- Petersburg, VA

 

WWBT

 

NBC

56

 

Richmond- Petersburg, VA

 

WUPV

 

CW

66

 

Honolulu, HI

 

KHNL

 

NBC

66

 

Honolulu, HI

 

KGMB

 

CBS

66

 

Honolulu, HI

 

KHBC

 

NBC/CBS

66

 

Honolulu, HI

 

KOGG

 

NBC/CBS

73

 

Tucson (Nogales), AZ

 

KOLD

 

CBS

74

 

Columbia, SC

 

WIS

 

NBC

79

 

Huntsville- Decatur (Florence), AL

 

WAFF

 

NBC

88

 

Paducah, KY/Cape Girardeau, MO/

Harrisburg, IL

 

KFVS

 

CBS

90

 

Shreveport, LA

 

KSLA

 

CBS

92

 

Jackson, MS

 

WLBT

 

NBC

93

 

Savannah, GA

 

WTOC

 

CBS

94

 

Charleston, SC

 

WCSC

 

CBS

95

 

Myrtle Beach-Florence

 

WMBF

 

NBC

97

 

Baton Rouge, LA

 

WAFB

 

CBS

97

 

Baton Rouge, LA

 

WBXH

 

MY

100

 

Boise, ID

 

KNIN

 

FOX

103

 

Evansville, IN

 

WFIE

 

NBC

114

 

Tyler-Longview, TX

 

KLTV

 

ABC

114

 

Tyler-Longview, TX

 

KTRE

 

ABC

116

 

Montgomery, AL

 

WSFA

 

NBC

127

 

Columbus, GA (Opelika, AL)

 

WTVM

 

ABC

129

 

Wilmington, NC

 

WECT

 

NBC

131

 

Amarillo, TX

 

KFDA

 

CBS

131

 

Amarillo, TX

 

KEYU

 

TEL

142

 

Odessa/Midland, TX

 

KCWO

 

CW

142

 

Odessa/Midland, TX

 

KTLE

 

TEL

143

 

Lubbock, TX

 

KCBD

 

NBC

148

 

Wichita Falls, TX & Lawton, OK

 

KSWO

 

ABC

148

 

Wichita Falls, TX & Lawton, OK

 

KKTM

 

TEL

152

 

Albany, GA

 

WALB

 

NBC/ABC

156

 

Biloxi-Gulfport, MS

 

WLOX

 

ABC/CBS

168

 

Hattiesburg/Laurel, MS

 

WDAM

 

NBC/ABC

180

 

Jonesboro, AR

 

KAIT

 

ABC/NBC

200

 

Ottumwa, IA/Kirksville, MO

 

KYOU

 

FOX/NBC

 


The divestiture transactions included one station owned by us. On December 31, 2018, we sold the assets of WSWG-TV (DMA-152) in the Albany, Georgia television market for $8.5 million, excluding transaction related expenses to Marquee Broadcasting, Inc. and Marquee Broadcasting Georgia, Inc. In connection with the divestiture of the assets of WSWG-TV, we recorded a gain of approximately $4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.


 

On January 2, 2019, the following stations were acquired from Raycom and their assets were immediately divested in eight markets as follows (dollars in millions):

 

  

Total

        
  

Cash

        
  

Consideration

 

Television

      

Purchaser

 

Received

 

Station

 

Location

 

DMA

 
            

Lockwood Broadcasting, Inc.

 $67 

WTNZ

 

Knoxville, TN

  60 
     

WFXG

 

Augusta, GA

  105 
     

WPGX

 

Panama City, FL

  150 
     

WDFX

 

Dothan, AL

  173 
            

Scripps Media, Inc.

  55 

KXXV

 

Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX

  89 
     

KRHD

 

Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX

  89 
     

WTXL

 

Tallahassee, FL

  112 
            

TEGNA, Inc.

  109 

WTOL

 

Toledo, OH

  71 
     

KWES

 

Odessa - Midland, TX

  142 

Total

 $231        

 

The allocated portion of net consideration paid for the assets and liabilities divested for the stations in these eight overlap markets was approximately $234 million.

 

The net consideration paid to acquire Raycom consisted of $2.84 billion of cash, 11.5 million shares of our common stock, valued at $170 million (a non-cash financing transaction), and $650 million of a new series of preferred stock (a non-cash financing transaction), for a total of $3.66 billion. Please refer to Note 6 “Stockholders Equity” and Note 7 “Preferred Stock” for further information. The cash consideration paid to acquire the two stations that Raycom had previously agreed to acquire (KYOU-TV and WUPV-TV listed above) was $17 million. The following table summarizes the consideration paid related to the Raycom Merger and the amount representing the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed (in millions):

 

      

KYOU

     
      

and

  

Net

 
  

Raycom

  

WUPV

  

Consideration

 
             

Purchase Price

 $3,660  $17  $3,677 

Less - consideration allocated to all assets acquired and net of liabilites assumed for the Raycom overlap market stations which were also divested on January 2, 2019

  (234)  -   (234)

Purchase consideration for assets acquired and liabilities assumed net of divestitures

 $3,426  $17  $3,443 

 

United Acquisition

 

On May 1, 2019, we acquired the assets of WWNY-TV (CBS) and WNYF-CD (FOX) in Watertown, New York (DMA 178) and KEYC-TV (CBS/FOX) in Mankato, Minnesota (DMA 199) from United Communications Corporation (the “United Acquisition”) for an adjusted purchase price of $48 million of cash, excluding transaction related expenses. We began operating those stations on March 1, 2019 under a local programming and marketing agreement, which increased the total number of our markets from 91 to 93.

 


 

The following table summarizes the preliminary values of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed and resulting goodwill of the Raycom Merger and the United Acquisition together, the “2019 Acquisitions,”Acquisitions” (in millions):

 

 

Raycom

  

United

  

Total

  

Raycom

  

United

  

Total

 

Cash

 $116  $-  $116  $116  $-  $116 

Accounts receivable, net

 245  3  248  227  3  230 

Program broadcast rights

 12  -  12  12  -  12 

Other current assets

 8  -  8  26  -  26 

Property and equipment

 311  10  321  311  10  321 

Operating lease right of use asset

 52  -  52  52  -  52 

Goodwill

 836  3  839  834  3  837 

Broadcast licenses

 2,004  24  2,028  2,004  24  2,028 

Other intangible assets

 493  8  501  493  8  501 

Other non-current assets

 22  -  22  23  -  23 

Accrued compensation and benefits

 (29) -  (29) (29) -  (29)

Program broadcast obligations

 (16) -  (16) (16) -  (16)

Other current liabilities

 (60) -  (60) (60) -  (60)

Income taxes payable

 (12) -  (12) (12) -  (12)

Deferred income taxes

 (462) -  (462) (462) -  (462)

Operating lease liabilities

 (52) -  (52) (52) -  (52)

Other long-term liabilities

  (25)  -   (25)  (24)  -   (24)

Total

 $3,443  $48  $3,491  $3,443  $48  $3,491 

 

These amounts are based upon management’s preliminary estimate of the fair values using valuation techniques including income, cost and market approaches. In determining the preliminary fair value of the acquired assets and assumed liabilities, the fair values were determined based on, among other factors, expected future revenue and cash flows, expected future growth rates, and estimated discount rates. Because of the magnitude and complexity of the calculations involved and the inherent issues related to the integration of our operations, the valuation of the assets acquired, liabilities assumed and resulting goodwill of the 2019 Acquisitions are not yet final. However, we expect that any adjustments to these amounts reported in subsequent periods will not be material to our financial statements as a whole.

 

Accounts receivable are recorded at their fair value representing the amount we expect to collect. Gross contractual amounts receivable are approximately $2 million more than their recorded fair value.

 

Property and equipment are recorded at their fair value and are being depreciated over their estimated useful lives ranging from 3three years to 40 years.

 

Amounts related to other intangible assets represent primarily the estimated fair values of retransmission agreements of $313 million; favorable income leases of $76 million; and network affiliation agreements of $48 million. These intangible assets are being amortized over their estimated useful lives of approximately 4.64.4 years for retransmission agreements; approximately 9.29.0 years for favorable income leases; and approximately 4.24.0 years for network affiliation agreements.

 

Goodwill is calculated as the excess of the consideration transferred over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and represents the future economic benefits expected to arise from other intangible assets acquired that do not qualify for separate recognition, including assembled workforce, as well as future synergies that we expect to generate from each acquisition. We recorded $836$834 million of goodwill related to stations acquired and retained in the Raycom Merger, and $3 million of goodwill related to the stations acquired in the United Acquisition. A portion of the goodwill acquired, in the amount of approximately $150 million that was deductible by Raycom will be deductible by us for income tax purposes.

 


The Company’s consolidated results of operations for three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 include the results of the Raycom Merger beginning on January 2, 2019 and the United Acquisition beginning on March 1, 2019. Revenues attributable thereto and included in our consolidated statement of operations for the three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 were $264$274 million and $545$819 million, respectively. Operating income attributable thereto and included in our consolidated statement of operations was $53$63 million and $49$112 million for the three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, respectively.


 

The following table summarizes the approximate “Transaction Related Expenses” incurred in connection with the 2019 Acquisitions, during the three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, by type and by financial statement line item (in millions):

 

 

June 30, 2019

  

September 30, 2019

 
 

Three Months

 

Six Months

  

Three Months

 

Nine Months

 
 

Ended

  

Ended

  

Ended

  

Ended

 

Transaction Related Expenses by type:

          

Legal, consulting and other professional fees

 $1  $23  $1  $24 

Incentive compensation and other severance costs

 -  18  1  19 

Termination of sales representation agreements

  1   29   -   29 

Total transaction related expenses

 $2  $70  $2  $72 
  

Transaction Related Expenses by financial statement line item:

          

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and loss (gain) on disposal of assets, net:

          

Broadcast

 $1  $37  $1  $38 

Corporate and administrative

  1   33   1   34 

Total transaction related expenses

 $2  $70  $2  $72 

 

Unaudited Pro Forma Financial Information.

 

The following table sets forth certain unaudited pro forma information for the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018 assuming that the 2019 Acquistions occurred on January 1, 2018 (in millions, except per share data):

 

 

Six Months Ended

  

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 
  

Revenue (less agency commissions)

 $1,029  $995  $1,546  $1,547 
  

Net income

 $44  $61  $142  $110 
  

Net income attributable to common stockholders

 $18  $35  $103  $71 
  

Basic net income per common share

 $0.18  $0.40 

Basic net income per share

 $1.42  $1.25 
  

Diluted net income per common share

 $0.18  $0.40 

Diluted net income per share

 $1.42  $1.24 

 

This pro forma financial information is based on Gray’s historical results of operations and the historical results of operations of the television stations acquired, net of divestitures, included in the 2019 Acquisitions, adjusted for the effect of fair value estimates and other acquisition accounting adjustments, and is not necessarily indicative of what our results would have been had we completed the 2019 Acquisitions on January 1, 2018 or on any other historical date, nor is it reflective of our expected results of operations for any future period. The pro forma adjustments for the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018 reflect depreciation expense and amortization of finite-lived intangible assets related to the fair value of the assets acquired, transaction related expenses and the related tax effects of the adjustments. This pro forma financial information has been prepared based on estimates and assumptions that we believe are reasonable as of the date hereof, and are subject to change based on, among other things, changes in the fair value estimates or underlying assumptions.

 


 

Sioux Falls Acquisition

On September 25, 2019, we acquired KDLT-TV (NBC), in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota market (DMA 115), for $32.5 million, using cash on hand (the “Sioux Falls Acquisition”). Due to the proximity of the closing date of the Sioux Falls Acquisition to the balance sheet date and the filing date of this quarterly report, we were unable to present a preliminary purchase price allocation for the acquired business. The payment of the purchase price is included in our other non-current assets at September 30, 2019. Fair value estimates of assets acquired, liabilities assumed and resulting goodwill will be based upon management’s estimate of the fair values using valuation techniques including income, cost and market approaches. In estimating the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed, the fair value estimates will be based on, among other factors, expected future revenue and cash flows, expected future growth rates, and estimated discount rates.

 

4.Long-term Debt

Long-term Debt

 

As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, long-term debt primarily consisted of obligations under our 2019 Senior Credit Facility (as defined below), our 5.125% Senior Notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”), our 5.875% senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) and our 7.0% senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”). As of December 31, 2018, long-term debt primarily consisted of obligations under our 2017 Senior Credit Facility (as defined below), our 2024 Notes, our 2026 Notes and our 2027 Notes as follows (in millions):

 

 

June 30,

 

December 31,

  

September 30,

 

December 31,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Long-term debt :

     

Long-term debt including current portion:

     

2017 Term Loan

 $595  $595  $595  $595 

2019 Term Loan

 1,393  -  1,390  - 

2024 Notes

 525  525  525  525 

2026 Notes

 700  700  700  700 

2027 Notes

  750   750   750   750 

Total outstanding principal, including current portion

 3,963  2,570 

Total outstanding principal

 3,960  2,570 

Unamortized deferred loan costs - 2017 Term Loan

 -  (9) -  (9)

Unamortized deferred loan costs - 2019 Term Loan

 (47) -  (45) - 

Unamortized deferred loan costs - 2024 Notes

 (5) (6) (5) (6)

Unamortized deferred loan costs - 2026 Notes

 (8) (8) (8) (8)

Unamortized deferred loan costs - 2027 Notes

 (12) (2) (11) (2)

Unamortized premium - 2026 Notes

  4   4   4   4 

Long-term debt, less deferred financing costs

 3,895  2,549  3,895  2,549 

Less current portion

  (14)  -   (14)  - 

Long-term debt, less current portion and deferred financing costs

 $3,881  $2,549 

Net carrying value

 $3,881  $2,549 
  

Borrowing availability under Revolving Credit Facility

 $200  $100  $200  $100 

 

In connection with the Raycom Merger, on January 2, 2019, we amended our senior credit facility (the “2017 Credit Facility” and, as amended, the “2019 Senior Credit Facility”) as follows: (1) we replaced our existing $100 million revolving credit facility under our prior senior credit facility with a new 5five year revolving credit facility (the “2019 Revolving Credit Facility”), the terms of which provide for up to $200 million in available borrowings and a maturity date of January 2, 2024, and (2) we incurred a $1.4 billion term loan (the “2019 Term Loan”), which matures on January 2, 2026 and (3) assumed the outstanding $556$556.4 million term loan facility (the “2017 Initial Term Loan”) and $85 million incremental term loan (the “2017 Incremental Term Loan” and, together with the 2017 Initial Term Loan, the “2017 Term Loan”). which mature on February 7, 2024. Since the Raycom Merger was not completed by December 15, 2018, we incurred a ticking fee of $0.8 million at a rate of 1.25% of the 2019 Term Loan amount, from December 16, 2018 to January 2, 2019. In addition, we assumed $750 million of the 2027 Notes, which were issued by our special purpose, wholly-owned subsidiary on November 16, 2018. The proceeds of the 2019 Term Loan and the 2027 Notes were used to fund a portion of the cash consideration payable in the Raycom Merger.


 

Borrowings under the 2019 Term Loan bear interest, at our option, at either the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or the Base Rate, in each case, plus an applicable margin isof 2.5% for LIBOR borrowings and 1.5% for Base Rate borrowings. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the interest rate on the balance outstanding under the 2019 Term Loan was 4.9%4.8%. The 2019 Term Loan matures on January 2, 2026.

 


Borrowings under the 2017 Term Loan bear interest, at our option, at either the LIBOR or the Base Rate (as defined below), in each case, plus an applicable margin. Currently, the applicable margin is 2.25% for LIBOR borrowings and 1.25% for Base Rate borrowings. The applicable margin is determined quarterly based on our leverage ratio as set forth in the 2019 Senior Credit Facility (the “Leverage Ratio”). If our Leverage Ratio is less than or equal to 5.25 to 1.00, the applicable margin is 2.25% for all LIBOR borrowings and 1.25% for all Base Rate borrowings, and if the Leverage Ratio is greater than 5.25 to 1.00, the applicable margin is 2.5% for all LIBOR borrowings and 1.5% for all Base Rate borrowings. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the interest rate on the balance outstanding under the 2017 Term Loan was 4.7%4.6%. The 2017 Term Loan matures on February 7, 2024.

 

Borrowings under the 2019 Revolving Credit Facility currently bear interest, at our option, at either LIBOR plus the applicable margin or Base Rate plus the applicable margin, in each case based on a first lien leverage ratio test as set forth in the 2019 Senior Credit Facility (the “First Lien Leverage Ratio”). Base Rate is defined as the greatest of (i) the administrative agent’s prime rate, (ii) the overnight federal funds rate plus 0.50% or (iii) LIBOR plus 1.50%. We are required to pay a commitment fee on the average daily unused portion of the 2019 Revolving Credit Facility, which may range from 0.375% to 0.50% on an annual basis, based on the First Lien Leverage Ratio. The 2019 Revolving Credit Facility matures on January 2, 2024.

 

We incurred $42.5 million of transaction fees and expenses related to the 2019 Senior Credit Facility. At JuneSeptember 30, 2019 these were recorded as a reduction of the balance of the outstanding debt and are amortized over the life of the 2019 Senior Credit Facility. The amortization of these fees is included in our interest expense.

 

As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the aggregate minimum principal maturities of our long term debt for the remainder of 2019 and the succeeding 5 years were as follows (in millions):

 

 

Minimum Principal Maturities

  

Minimum Principal Maturities

 

Year

 

2019 Senior

Credit Facility

  

2024 Notes

  

2026 Notes

  

2027 Notes

  

Total

  

2019 Senior

Credit Facility

  

2024 Notes

  

2026 Notes

  

2027 Notes

  

Total

 

Remainder of 2019

 $7  $-  $-  $-  $7  $4  $-  $-  $-  $4 

2020

 14  -  -  -  14  14  -  -  -  14 

2021

 14  -  -  -  14  14  -  -  -  14 

2022

 14  -  -  -  14  14  -  -  -  14 

2023

 14  -  -  -  14  14  -  -  -  14 

2024

 609  525  -  -  1,134  609  525  -  -  1,134 

Thereafter

  1,316   -   700   750   2,766   1,316   -   700   750   2,766 

Total

 $1,988  $525  $700  $750  $3,963  $1,985  $525  $700  $750  $3,960 

 

Our obligations under the 2019 Senior Credit Facility are secured by substantially all of our consolidated assets, excluding real estate. In addition, substantially all of our subsidiaries are joint and several guarantors of, and our ownership interests in those subsidiaries are pledged to collateralize, our obligations under the 2019 Senior Credit Facility. Gray Television, Inc. is a holding company, and has no material independent assets or operations. For all applicable periods, the 2024 Notes, 2026 Notes and 2027 Notes have been fully and unconditionally guaranteed, on a joint and several, senior unsecured basis, by substantially all of Gray Television, Inc.'s subsidiaries. Any subsidiaries of Gray Television, Inc. that do not guarantee the 2024 Notes, 2026 Notes and 2027 Notes are minor. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, there were nosignificantno significant restrictions on the ability of Gray Television, Inc.'s subsidiaries to distribute cash to Gray or to the guarantor subsidiaries.

 

The 2019 Senior Credit Facility contains affirmative and restrictive covenants with which we must comply, including: (a) limitations on additional indebtedness, (b) limitations on liens, (c) limitations on the sale of assets, (d) limitations on guarantees, (e) limitations on investments and acquisitions, (f) limitations on the payment of dividends and share repurchases, (g) limitations on mergers and (h) maintenance of the First Lien Leverage Ratio while any amount is outstanding under the revolving credit facility, as well as other customary covenants for credit facilities of this type. The 2024 Notes, the 2026 Notes and the 2027 Notes include covenants with which we must comply which are typical for borrowing transactions of their nature. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all required covenants under all our debt obligations.


 

For all of our interest bearing obligations, we made interest payments of approximately $105$134 million and $47$74 million during the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We did notnot capitalize any interest payments during the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018.


 

5.Fair Value Measurement

Fair Value Measurement

 

For purposes of determining a fair value measurement, we utilize market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated or generally unobservable. We utilize valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. These inputs are prioritized into a hierarchy that gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (“Level 1”) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs that require assumptions to measure fair value (“Level 3”). Level 2 inputs are those that are other than quoted prices on national exchanges included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly (“Level 2”).

 

Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments

 

The estimated fair value of other financial instruments is determined using market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. Interpreting market data to develop fair value estimates involves considerable judgment. The use of different market assumptions or methodologies could have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts. Accordingly, the estimates presented are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that we could realize in a current market exchange, or the value that ultimately will be realized upon maturity or disposition.

 

The carrying amounts of the following instruments approximate fair value due to their short term to maturity: (i) accounts receivable, (ii) prepaid and other current assets, (iii) accounts payable, (iv) accrued employee compensation and benefits, (v) accrued interest, (vi) other accrued expenses, (vii) acquisition-related liabilities and (viii) deferred revenue.

 

The carrying amount of our long-term debt was $3.9 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, and the fair value was $4.1 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively, as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018. Fair value of our long-term debt is based on observable estimates provided by third-party financial professionals as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 and as such is classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

 

 

6.     Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ Equity

 

We arewere authorized to issue 245 million shares in total of all classes of stock consisting of 25 million shares of Class A common stock, 200 million shares of common stock and 20 million shares of “blank check” preferred stock for which our Board of Directors has the authority to determine the rights, powers, limitations and restrictions. The rights of our Class A common stock and Class Aour common stock are identical, except that our Class A common stock has 10 votes per share and our common stock has one1 vote per share. Our common stock and Class A common stock are entitled to receive cash dividends if declared, on an equal per-share basis. For the sixnine-months endingended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, we didnotnotdeclare or pay any Class A common stock or Class A common stock dividends.

 

On January 2, 2019, we issued 11.5 million shares of our common stock at a price of $14.74 per share, the closing price for our common stock on the last trading day preceding the transaction, to certain former shareholders of Raycom as part of the total consideration paid for the Raycom Merger. We incurred transaction fees and expenses of approximately $0.1 million related to the issuance of these shares that were recorded as a reduction of the balance outstanding of our common stock in our balance sheets.


 

In each of March and November 2004, the Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to 2.02 million shares of the Company's common stock and Class A common stock. In March 2006, this authorization was increased to an aggregate of 5.05 million shares (the “2004-2006 Repurchase Authorization”). As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, 279,200 shares remainremained available for repurchase under this authorization, which has no expiration date. On November 6, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company to purchase up to an additional $75 million of our outstanding common stock prior to December 31, 2019 (the “2016 Repurchase Authorization”). The 2016 Repurchase Authorization prohibits the Company from purchasing shares directly from the Company’s officers, directors, or the Gray Television, Inc. Capital Accumulation Plan (the 401k401 Plan”(k) plan”). As ofDuring the Junenine-months ended September 30, 2019, $50 million remains available to purchaseunder the 2016 Repurchase Authorization, we purchased 651,593 shares of our common stock at an average purchase price, including related brokerage commissions, of $16.37 per share, for a total cost of $11 million. As of September 30, 2019, $39 million remained available to purchase shares under the 2016 Repurchase Authorization.


The extent to which the Company repurchases any of its shares, the number of shares and the timing of any repurchases will depend on general market conditions, regulatory requirements, alternative investment opportunities and other considerations. The Company is not required to repurchase a minimum number of shares, and the repurchase authorizations may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice.

 

Under our various employee benefit plans, we may, at our discretion, issue authorized and unissued shares, or previously issued shares held in treasury, of our common stock or Class A common stock. During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we issued 196,509 shares of our common stock, valued at $4 million, to the qualifying participants in our 401(k) plan for our discretionary profit sharing contribution for the year ended December 31, 2018. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we had reserved 6,163,6241,503,254 shares and 1,503,2546,163,624 shares of our Class A common stock and Class A common stock, respectively, for future issuance under various employee benefit plans.

 

 

7.     Preferred Stock

Preferred Stock

 

In connection with the Raycom Merger, on January 2, 2019, we issued 650,000 shares of our Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, with a stated face value and liquidation value of $1,000 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). Holders of shares of the Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive mandatory and cumulative dividends paid quarterly in cash or, at the Company’s option, paid quarterly in kind by issuance of additional shares of Series A Preferred Stock (“PIK Election Dividends”).Stock. The per-share amount of such quarterly mandatory and cumulative dividends will be calculated by multiplying the face value by 8% per annum if the dividends are to be paid in cash or 8.5% per annum if such dividends are to be paid in additional shares of Series A Preferred Stock.Stock (“PIK Election Dividends”). If the Company elects to pay any portion of accrued dividends with PIK Election Dividends, it will be prohibited from repurchasing, redeeming or paying dividends on any stock that is junior to the Series A Preferred Stock, through the end of that quarter and the subsequent two quarters, subject to certain exceptions.

 

With respect to the payment of dividends, the Series A Preferred Stock will rank senior to all classes and series of our common stock and all other equity securities designated as ranking junior to the Series A Preferred Stock, and no new issuances of common or preferred stock will rank on a parity with, nor senior to, the Series A Preferred Stock.

 

All or any portion of the outstanding Series A Preferred Stock may be redeemed at the Company’s option at any time, upon written notice to the holders of Series A Preferred Stock at least 30 and not more than 60 days prior to the date of such optional redemption. The per-share redemption price for Series A Preferred Stock will be equal to the sum of the liquidation value and the per-share amount of any unpaid dividends for the current quarterly dividend period, up to and including the date of redemption. Holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock redeemed will be paid in cash.

 

The Series A Preferred Stock is also subject to mandatory redemption upon the occurrence of certain change of control transactions or upon the sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of our assets. The holders of Series A Preferred Stock do not have any right to exchange or convert the shares into any other securities.

 

In general, the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock do not have any voting rights except as set forth in the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock or as otherwise required by law, in which case, each share of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to one vote.

 

The approval of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class, is required in order to authorize, create, issue new shares of Series A Perpetual Preferred stock (other than to pay dividends) or alter the rights of any other shares that are or would be equal to or senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, or to amend, alter or repeal the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation as amended from time to time if such amendment, alteration or repeal adversely affects the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock.


 

The Series A Preferred Stock does not have preemptive rights as to any of our other securities, or any warrants, rights, or options to acquire any of our securities.

 


In the event that the Company voluntarily or involuntarily liquidates, dissolves or winds up its affairs, holders of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive for each share of Series A Preferred Stock, out of the Company’s assets or proceeds thereof available for distribution to shareholders, subject to the rights of any creditors, payment in full in an amount equal to the liquidation value and the per-share amount of any unpaid dividends for the current quarterly dividend period. Holders of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive this amount before any distribution of assets or proceeds to holders of our common stock and any other stock whose rights are junior to the Series A Preferred Stock. If in any distribution described above, our assets are not sufficient to pay in full the amounts payable with respect to the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock or any stock whose rights are equal to the Series A Preferred Stock, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock would share ratably in any such distribution in proportion to the full respective distributions to which they are entitled. Shareholders are not subject to further assessments on their shares of the New Preferred Stock.

 

8.Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans

 

The components of our net periodic pension benefit are included in miscellaneous income in our income statement. During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the amount recorded as a benefit was not material, and we did not make a contribution to our defined benefit pension plan.material. During the remainder of nine-months ended September 30, 2019,we expect to contributecontributed $3 million to this plan.

 

During the three and sixnine-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we contributed $3$2 million and $7$9 million, respectively, in matching contributions to our 401(k) Plan. During the remainder of 2019, we estimate that our contributions will be approximately $6$3 million to this plan, excluding discretionary profit-sharing contributions.

 

 

9.

Stock-based

9.     Stock-based Compensation

 

We recognize compensation expense for stock-based payment awards made to our employees, consultants and directors. Our current stock-based compensation plans include our 2017 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2017 EICP”); our 2007 Long-Term Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2007 Incentive Plan”); and our Directors’ Restricted Stock Plan. The following table provides our stock-based compensation expense and related income tax benefit for the three and sixnine-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018 (in millions):

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Six Months Ended

  

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

September 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Stock-based compensation expense, gross

 $2  $1  $5  $3  $5  $2  $10  $6 

Income tax benefit at our statutory rate associated with stock-based compensation

  (1)  -   (1)  (1)

Forfeitures

 -  -  -  (1)

Income tax benefit at our statutory rate associated with share-based compensation

  (1)  (1)  (3)  (1)

Stock-based compensation expense, net

 $1  $1  $4  $2  $4  $1  $7  $4 

 

All shares of class A common stock and Class A common stock underlying outstanding options, restricted stock units and performance awards are counted as issued at target levels under the 2017 EICP, the 2007 Incentive Plan and the Directors’ Restricted Stock Plan for purposes of determining the number of shares available for future issuance.

 

During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we granted under the 2017 EICP:

 

 

99,905 shares of restricted Classclass A common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $15.36 to an employee, of which 33,302 shares will vest on each of January 31, 2020 and 2021 and 33,301 shares will vest on January 31, 2022;


 

 

99,905 shares of restricted Classclass A common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $15.36 to an employee, subject to the achievement of certain performance measures, which will vest on January 31, 2022;

 


 

340,993 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $14.85 to certain employees that will vest on January 2, 2021;

 

 

277,048 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $16.55 to certain employees, of which 92,349 shares will vest on each of January 31, 2020 and 2021, and 92,350 shares will vest on January 31, 2022;

 

 

48,338 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $16.55 to an employee, subject to the achievement of certain performance measures, which will vest on January 31, 2022; and

 

 

11,223 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $17.83 to an employee that will vest on February 15, 2020.

 

 

41,181 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $22.10 to our non-employee directors that will vest on April 30, 2020.

 

 

Restricted stock units representing 398,000 shares of our common stock with a grant date fair value of $18.21 that will vest on June 1, 2020.

 

During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2018, we granted under the 2017 EICP:

 

 

110,040 shares of restricted Classclass A common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $12.65 to an employee, of which 36,680 shares vested on February 28, 2019, and 36,680 shares will vest on each of February 28, 2020 and 2021;

 

 

110,040 shares of restricted Classclass A common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $12.65 to an employee, subject to the achievement of certain performance measures, which will vest on February 28, 2021;

 

 

318,196 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value per share of $15.25 to certain employees; net of forfeitures, 131,106 shares vested on February 28, 2019; 69,651 shares will vest on February 28, 2020; and 69,652 shares will vest on February 28, 2021; and

 

 

73,640 shares of restricted common stock to our non-employee directors, all of which will vest on May 31, 2019.

 


 

A summary of restricted class A common stock, common stock and Class A commonrestricted stock units activity for the sixnine-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018 respectively, is as follows:

 

 

Six Months Ended

  

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30, 2019

  

June 30, 2018

  

September 30, 2019

  

September 30, 2018

 
     

Weighted-

     

Weighted-

      

Weighted-

     

Weighted-

 
     

average

     

average

      

average

     

average

 
     

Grant Date

     

Grant Date

      

Grant Date

     

Grant Date

 
 

Number of

 

Fair Value

 

Number of

 

Fair Value

  

Number of

 

Fair Value

 

Number of

 

Fair Value

 
 

Shares

  

Per Share

  

Shares

  

Per Share

 

Restricted stock - class A common:

         

Outstanding - beginning of period

 407,786  $11.82  462,632  $10.63 

Granted(1)

 199,810  $15.36  220,080  $12.65 

Vested

 (158,312) $11.38  (274,926) $10.48 

Forfeited

  -  $-   -  $- 

Outstanding - end of period

  449,284  $13.55   407,786  $11.82 
 

Shares

  

Per Share

  

Shares

  

Per Share

  

Restricted stock - common:

                  

Outstanding - beginning of period

 578,894  $13.14  503,685  $11.14  578,894  $13.14  503,685  $11.14 

Granted

 718,783  $16.08  391,836  $14.63  718,783  $16.08  391,836  $14.63 

Vested

 (352,810) $12.98  (225,570) $11.21  -  $-  (225,570) $11.21 

Forfeited

  -  $0.00   (91,057) $13.27   (352,810) $12.98   (91,057) $13.27 

Outstanding - end of period

  944,867  $15.44   578,894  $13.14   944,867  $15.44   578,894  $13.14 
  

Restricted stock - Class A common:

         

Outstanding - beginning of period

 407,786  $11.82  462,632  $10.63 

Granted

 199,810  $15.36  220,080  $12.65 

Vested

  (158,312) $11.38   (274,926) $10.48 

Outstanding - end of period

  449,284  $13.55   407,786  $11.82 
 

Restricted stock units - common stock:

                  

Outstanding - beginning of period

 -  $0.00  209,500  $15.70  -  $-  209,500  $15.70 

Granted

 398,000  $18.21  -  $0.00  398,000  $18.21  -  $- 

Vested

  -  $0.00   (209,500) $15.70  -  $-  (209,500) $15.70 

Forfeited

  -  $-   -  $- 

Outstanding - end of period

  398,000  $18.21   -  $0.00   398,000  $18.21   -  $- 

 

(1)

(1)     For awards subject to future performance conditions, amounts assume target performance.

 

At JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we had outstanding options to acquire 274,746 shares of our common stock, all of which were vested and exercisable. The exercise price of all outstanding stock options is $1.99 per share. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we didnotnothave any options outstanding for our Classclass A common stock. The aggregate intrinsic value of our outstanding stock options was approximately $4 million based on the closing market price of our common stock on JuneSeptember 30, 2019.

 

 

10.     Leases

 

Operating Leases

 

We lease various assets with non-cancellable lease terms that range between 1one and 99 years.ninety-nine years. Many of these leases have optional renewal periods ranging between 1one and 20 years.twenty years. We define the lease term as the original lease base period plus optional renewal periods that we reasonably expect to be exercised. We do not include renewal periods exercisable more than ten years from the commencement date in the lease term as we cannot reasonably expect to exercise an option that far into the future. Some of our leases have free rent periods, tenant allowances and/or fixed or variable rent escalators. We record operating lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Operating lease expense is included in operating expenses in our statements of operations.

 

We lease land, buildings, transmission towers, right of way easements, and equipment through operating leases. We generally lease land for the purpose of erecting transmission towers for our broadcast operations. Our building leases consist of office space and broadcast studios. For transmission towers we do not own, we lease space for our transmission equipment on third-party towers. We lease right of ways for various purposes including ingress and egress for tower locations and guyed wire space. Our equipment leases consist of office, transmission and production equipment.

 


 

We allocate consideration paid in the contract to lease and non-lease components based upon the contract or associated invoice received if applicable. Lease components include base rent, fixed rate escalators and in-substance fixed payments associated with the leased asset. Non-lease components include common area maintenance and operating expenses associated with the leased asset. We have not elected the practical expedient to combine lease and non-lease components. As such, we only include the lease component in the calculation of right-of-use asset and lease liability. The incremental borrowing rate we use for the calculation is the rate of interest that we would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term based upon our borrower risk profile.

 

Variable lease payments are not significant and are included in operating lease expense as a component of operating expense in our statement of operations. Variable lease payments are generally associated with usage basedusage-based leases and variable payment escalators such as consumer price index increases (CPI) incurred after the date of the adoption of ASC 842. Some of our land leases require us to pay a percentage of the revenue earned from leasing space on the towers we erect on the leased land. We included the payment level of CPI and percentage rent amounts at the time of the adoption of ASC 842 in the base rent for calculating the right-of-use asset and lease liability. CPI adjustments and percentage rent amounts that differ from the amount included in ASC 842 calculation are included in variable lease payments.

 

We recognize leases with an initial term of 12 months or less as short-term leases. Lease payments associated with short-term leases are expensed as incurred in our operating lease expense and are not included in our calculation of right-of-use assets or lease liabilities. Short-term leases generally consist of rentals of production or broadcast equipment for short periods of time.

 

Our operating lease costs, including variable lease costs, for the three and sixnine-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 were $3$2 million and $6$9 million, respectively. Our short-term lease costs for the three-month period ended and June 30, 2019 were notsignificant and for the sixnine-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 were $1 million.million and $2 million, respectively. Cash flows from operations included cash paid for operating leases of $7$11 million in the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019. Additional right of use assets recognized in the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 were not material. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the weighted average remaining term of our operating leases was 10.59.0 years. The weighted average discount rate used to calculate the values associated with our operating leases was 6.75%6.7%.

 

The maturities of operating lease liabilities as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, for the remainder of 2019 and the succeeding years were as follows (in millions):

 

Year ending

December 31,

 

Operating Leases

   

Operating Leases

 

2019

 $5 

2019

 $2 

2020

 10 

2020

 10 

2021

 9 

2021

 9 

2022

 9 

2022

 9 

2023

 9 

2023

 7 

Thereafter

  53 

Thereafter

  36 

Total lease payments

 95 

Total lease payments

 73 

Less: Imputed interest

  (28)

Less: Imputed interest

  (19)

Present value of lease liabilties

 $67 

Present value of lease liabilties

 $54 

 


 

We had no material capital leases as of December 31, 2018. Our aggregate minimum lease payments under operating leases as of December 31, 2018 were as follows (in millions):

 

Year ending

December 31,

 

Operating Leases

   

Operating Leases

 

2019

 $3 

2019

 $3 

2020

 3 

2020

 3 

2021

 3 

2021

 3 

2022

 3 

2022

 3 

2023

 2 

2023

 2 

Thereafter

  12 

Thereafter

  12 

Total

 $26 

Total

 $26 

 

Our aggregate lease payments under operating leases as of December 31, 2018 are based on ASC 840 that was superseded upon the adoption of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019. Our maturities of operating lease liabilities as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 was significantly higher than our aggregate lease payments under operating leases as of December 31, 2018 due primarily to our completion of the Raycom Merger on January 2, 2019.

 

Financing Leases

 

We lease certain vehicles through a financing master lease. The weighted average remaining lease term of the vehicles under this lease is 2.32.2 years. The interest rate for each vehicle leased is 4.25%4.0%. We recorded a right-of-use asset and lease liability of $2 million, respectively, upon the adoption of ASC 842 related to these financing leases. The right-of-use asset is recorded in other noncurrent assets in our balance sheets. The current portion of the lease liability is recorded in the balance of other accrued expenses in current liabilities and the long termlong-term portion is recorded in the balance of other liabilities in non-current liabilities in our balance sheets.

 

Amortization expense associated with this lease is included in amortization expense as a component of operating expense, and interest expense is included in interest expense in our statement of operations. Amortization and interest expenses were not material in the three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019. Cash paid for financing leases is included in our cash flows from financing activities and cash paid for interest on financing leases is included in our cash flow from operating activities.

 

For the three and sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, cash paid for amounts included in measurement of liabilities for operating cash flows from finance leases and financing cash flows from finance leases as well as ROU assets obtained in exchange for lease liabilities were not material.

 

 

11.

11. Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

 

Legal Proceedings and Claims

 

We are and expect to continue to be subject to legal actions, proceedings and claims that arise in the normal course of our business. In the opinion of management, the amount of ultimate liability, if any, with respect to these actions, proceedings and claims will not materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows, although legal proceedings are subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings or events could have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Pending Acquisitions and Divestitures

On May 1, 2018, we entered into an agreement to acquire KDLT-TV (NBC), in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota market (DMA 115), for $32.5 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Pending such approvals and acquisitions, we expect that this transaction will close later in 2019, using cash on hand.

 


 

On February 28, 2019, 12we entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of WVIR-TV (NBC) in the Charlottesville, Virginia market (DMA 183) from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation for $12.0 million. On May 31, 2019, we pre-paid this purchase price to the seller. Also on February 28, 2019, in order to meet regulatory requirements, we agreed to divest our stations in that market, WCAV-TV (CBS/FOX). Goodwill and WVAW-TV (ABC). We expect these transactions will close later in 2019.

12.Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

 

During the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we completed the 2019 Acquisitions that included the acquisition of goodwill, broadcast licenses and finite-lived intangible assets. See Note 3 “Acquisitions and Divestitures” for more information regarding these transactions. A summary of changes in our goodwill and other intangible assets, on a net basis, for the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 is as follows (in millions):

 

 

Net Balance at

                 

Net Balance at

  

Net Balance at

 

Acquisitions

         

Net Balance at

 
 

December 31,

                 

June 30,

  

December 31,

 

And

         

September 30,

 
 

2018

  

Additions

  

Dispositions

  

Impairments

  

Amortization

  

2019

  

2018

  

Adjustments, Net

  

Impairments

  

Amortization

  

2019

 
            

Goodwill

 $612  $1,069  $(229) $-  $-  $1,452  $612  $837  $-  $-  $1,449 

Broadcast licenses

 1,530  2,028  -  -  -  3,558  1,530  2,028  -  -  3,558 

Finite-lived intangible assets

  53   501   -   -   (57)  497 

Definite lived intangible assets

  53   502   -   (86)  469 

Total intangible assets net of accumulated amortization

 $2,195  $3,598  $(229) $-  $(57) $5,507  $2,195  $3,367  $-  $(86) $5,476 

 

A summary of the changes in our goodwill, on a gross basis, for the sixnine-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, is as follows (in millions):

 

  

As of

              

As of

 
  

December 31,

              

June 30,

 
  

2018

  

Additions

  

Dispositions

  

Impairments

  

2019

 
                     

Goodwill, gross

 $711  $1,069  $(229) $-  $1,551 

Accumulated goodwill impairmant

  (99)  -   -   -   (99)

Goodwill, net

 $612  $1,069  $(229) $-  $1,452 


  

As of

          

As of

 
  

December 31,

  Net      

September 30,

 
  

2018

  

Additions

  

Impairments

  

2019

 
                 

Goodwill, gross

 $711  $837  $-  $1,548 

Accumulated goodwill impairmant

  (99)  -   -   (99)

Goodwill, net

 $612  $837  $-  $1,449 

 

As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, our intangible assets and related accumulated amortization consisted of the following (in millions):

 

 

As of June 30, 2019

  

As of December 31, 2018

  

As of September 30, 2019

  

As of December 31, 2018

 
     

Accumulated

         

Accumulated

         

Accumulated

         

Accumulated

    
 

Gross

  

Amortization

  

Net

  

Gross

  

Amortization

  

Net

  

Gross

  

Amortization

  

Net

  

Gross

  

Amortization

  

Net

 

Intangible assets not currently subject to amortization:

                          

Broadcast licenses

 $3,612  $(54) $3,558  $1,583  $(53) $1,530  $3,612  $(54) $3,558  $1,583  $(53) $1,530 

Goodwill

  1,452   -   1,452   612   -   612   1,449   -   1,449   612   -   612 
 $5,064  $(54) $5,010  $2,195  $(53) $2,142  $5,061  $(54) $5,007  $2,195  $(53) $2,142 
  

Intangible assets subject to amortization:

                          

Network affiliation agreements

 $54  $(11) $43  $6  $(6) $-  $54  $(14) $40  $6  $(6) $- 

Other definite lived intangible assets

  596   (142)  454   143   (90)  53   596   (167)  429   143   (90)  53 
 $650  $(153) $497  $149  $(96) $53  $650  $(181) $469  $149  $(96) $53 
  

Total intangibles

 $5,714  $(207) $5,507  $2,344  $(149) $2,195  $5,711  $(235) $5,476  $2,344  $(149) $2,195 

 

Amortization expense for the sixnine-months-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018 was $57$86 million and $11$16 million, respectively. Based on the current amount of intangible assets subject to amortization as of September 30, 2019, we expect that amortization expense for the remainder of 2019 willwould be approximately $56$28 million, and, for the succeeding five years, amortization expense will be approximately as follows: 2020, $99 million; 2021, $95 million; 2022, $91 million; 2023, $85 million; and 2024, $22 million. If and when acquisitions and dispositions occur in the future, actual amounts may vary materially from these estimates.


 

Impairment of goodwill and broadcast licenses

 

Our intangible assets are primarily comprised of broadcast licenses. There were no0 triggering events that required a test of our goodwill or intangible assets for impairment during the sixnine-month period-months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019.2019 or 2018.

 

 

13.     Income Taxes

Income Taxes

 

For the three-month and sixnine-month periods ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, our income tax expense and effective income tax rates were as follows (dollars in millions):

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Six Months Ended

  

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 
 

June 30,

  

June 30,

  

September 30,

  

September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Income tax expense

 $18  $15  $21  $21  $23  $22  $44  $43 

Effective income tax rate

 29% 27% 45% 26% 28% 27% 34% 26%

 

We estimate our differences between taxable income or loss and recorded income or loss on an annual basis. Our tax provision for each quarter is based upon these full year projections, which are revised each reporting period. These projections incorporate estimates of permanent differences between U.S. GAAP income or loss and taxable income or loss, state income taxes and adjustments to our liability for unrecognized tax benefits to adjust our statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% to our effective income tax rate. For the sixnine-months-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, these estimates increased or decreased our statutory Federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate of 45%34% as follows: state income taxes added 5%, permanent differences between our U.S. GAAP income and taxable income resulted in an increase of 3%. Restricted stock vesting resulted in an decrease of 1%. Divestitureadded 2% and divestiture of component 2 goodwill resulted in aan increase of 17%6%. For the sixnine-months-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2018, these estimates increased or decreased our statutory Federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate of 26% as follows: state income taxes added 5%, and permanent differences between our U.S. GAAP income and taxable income added 1%, and a discrete share-based compensation adjustment resulted in a reduction of 1%.

 


We made income tax payments (net of refunds) of approximately $12 million and $27 million during the nine-months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

 

We have approximately $770$776 million of federal operating loss carryforwards, that expire during the years 2021 through 2037. We expect to have federal taxable income in the carryforward periods, therefore we believe that it is more likely than not that these federal operating loss carryforwards will be fully utilized. Additionally, we have an aggregate of approximately $858$837 million of various state operating loss carryforwards, of which we expect that the majorityapproximately $564 million will be utilized.


 

14.     Segment information

Segment information

 

The Company operates in two2 business segments: broadcasting and production companies. The broadcasting segment operates television stations located across 93 local markets in the United States. The production companies segment includes the production of television and event content. Costs identified as other are primarily corporate and administrative expenses. The following tables present certain financial information concerning the Company’s operating segments (in millions):

 

      

Production

         

As of and for the six months ended June 30, 2019:

 

Broadcast

  

Companies

  

Other

  

Consolidated

 
                 

Revenue (less agency commissions)

 $980  $46  $-  $1,026 

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net:

  670   44   69   783 

Depreciation and amortization

  90   6   1   97 

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net

  (13)  -   -   (13)

Operating expenses

  747   50   70   867 

Operating income

 $233  $(4) $(70) $159 
                 

Interest expense

 $-  $-  $116  $116 

Capital expenditures (excluding business combinations)

 $39  $-  $5  $44 

Goodwill

 $1,412  $40  $-  $1,452 

Total Assets

 $6,505  $131  $365  $7,001 
                 

For the six months ended June 30, 2018:

                
                 

Revenue (less agency commissions)

 $477  $-  $-  $477 

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net:

  292   -   19   311 

Depreciation and amortization

  37   -   1   38 

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net

  (2)  -   -   (2)

Operating expenses

  327   -   20   347 

Operating income

 $150  $-  $(20) $130 
                 

Interest expense

 $-  $-  $49  $49 

Capital expenditures (excluding business combinations)

 $20  $-  $-  $20 
                 

As of December 31, 2018:

                
                 

Goodwill

 $612  $-  $-  $612 

Total Assets

 $3,242  $-  $971  $4,213 


      

Production

         

As of and for the Nine months ended September 30, 2019:

 

Broadcast

  

Companies

  

Other

  

Consolidated

 
                 

Revenue (less agency commissions)

 $1,481  $62  $-  $1,543 

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net:

  986   57   83   1,126 

Depreciation and amortization

  135   9   2   146 

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net

  (27)  -   -   (27)

Operating expenses

  1,094   66   85   1,245 

Operating income

 $387  $(4) $(85) $298 
                 

Interest expense

 $-  $-  $173  $173 

Capital expenditures (excluding business combinations)

 $69  $-  $4  $73 

Goodwill

 $1,409  $40  $-  $1,449 

Total Assets

 $6,906  $142  $56  $7,104 
                 

For the Nine months ended September 30, 2018:

                
                 

Revenue (less agency commissions)

 $756  $-  $-  $756 

Operating expenses before depreciation, amortization and (gain) loss on disposal of assets, net:

  437   -   30   467 

Depreciation and amortization

  56   -   1   57 

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net

  (6)  -   -   (6)

Operating expenses

  487   -   31   518 

Operating income

 $269  $-  $(31) $238 
                 

Interest expense

 $-  $-  $74  $74 

Capital expenditures (excluding business combinations)

 $35  $-  $-  $35 
                 

As of December 31, 2018:

                
                 

Goodwill

 $612  $-  $-  $612 

Total Assets

 $3,242  $-  $971  $4,213 

 

 

15.     Subsequent Events

Acquisition and Divestiture

On October 1, 2019, we acquired the assets of WVIR-TV (NBC) in the Charlottesville, Virginia market (DMA 183) from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation for $12 million using cash on hand (the “Charlottesville Acquisition”). Also, on October 1, 2019, in order to meet regulatory requirements, we divested our legacy stations in that market, WCAV-TV (CBS/FOX) and WVAW-TV (ABC). We expect that the divestitures will result in a gain of approximately $19 million that will be reported in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Due to the proximity of the closing dates of the Sioux Falls Acquisition and Charlottsville Acquisition to the the filing date of this quarterly report, we are unable to present a preliminary purchase price allocation for the acquired businesses. Fair value estimates of assets acquired, liabilities assumed and resulting goodwill will be based upon management’s estimate of the fair values using valuation techniques including income, cost and market approaches. In estimating the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed, the fair value estimates will be based on, among other factors, expected future revenue and cash flows, expected future growth rates, and estimated discount rates.

Pre-payment of Long-term Debt

On November 1, 2019, we made a voluntary pre-payment of $100 million of our 2019 Term Loan, using cash on hand. This pre-payment reduced the lenders’ total loan commitment for the 2019 Term Loan by an equal amount and relieved our obligation to make future quarterly principal payments until the maturity of the 2019 Term Loan.

Stock Repurchase Authorization

On November 6, 2019, the Board of Directors authorized the Company to repurchase up to $150 million of outstanding common stock (GTN) and/or Class A common stock (GTN.A) through December 31, 2022.  This new authorization supersedes the 2004-2006 Repurchase Authorization and the 2016 Repurchase Authorization.  The Company has not yet repurchased any shares under this new plan.

Share repurchases would be implemented through purchases made from time to time in either the open market or private transactions.  The extent to which the Company repurchases any of its shares, the number of shares and the timing of any repurchases will depend on general market conditions, regulatory requirements, alternative investment opportunities and other considerations. The Company is not required to repurchase a minimum number of shares, and the repurchase authorizations may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice.


Item 2.     Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

Executive Overview

Introduction

The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of Gray Television, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (except as the context otherwise provides, “Gray,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) should be read in conjunction with our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere herein, as well as with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Form 10-K”) filed with the SEC.

 

Business Overview

 

We are a television broadcast company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that is the largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. Currently, we own television stations and locally focused digital platforms in 93 television markets broadcasting over 400 separate programming streams, including approximately 150 affiliates of the Big Four TV networks. Our station portfolio reaches approximately 24% of total United States television households. We also own video program production, marketing, and digital businesses including Raycom Sports, Tupelo-Raycom, and RTM Studios, the producer of PowerNation programs and content which we refer to collectively as the “production companies”.companies.”

 

Between December 2017 and November 2018, our television stations achieved the #1 ranking in overall audience in 69 of our 93 markets. In addition, our stations achieved the #1 or #2 ranking in overall audience in 87 of our 93 markets among all local television stations.

 

Acquisitions

 

On January 2, 2019, we completed the Raycom Merger. Net of station divestitures due to market overlaps, this transaction added television stations in 34 new markets. In addition to the high qualityhigh-quality television stations acquired as part of the Raycom Merger, we also acquired businesses that provide sports marketing and production services that we believe has resulted in us becoming a more diversified media company. The Raycom Merger completed our transformation from a small, regional broadcaster to a leading media company with nationwide scale based on high-quality stations with exceptional talent in attractive markets. By combining these two companies, we now own and operate television stations and leading digital properties in television markets from Alaska and Hawaii to Maine and Florida.

 

Upon consummation of the Raycom Merger, all outstanding shares of Raycom capital stock, and options and warrants to purchase Raycom capital stock, were cancelled, and all outstanding indebtedness was repaid, in exchange for aggregate consideration consisting of: (i) 11.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock then valued at $170 million, for which we filed a registration statement in January 2019, covering the resale of the shares issued; (ii) $2.84 billion in cash; and (iii) 650,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock of the Company, with a stated face value of $1,000 per share or $650 million, issued to holders of warrants to purchase shares of Raycom. The Series A Preferred Stock accrues dividends at 8% per annum payable in cash or 8.5% per annum payable in the form of additional Series A Preferred Stock, at the election of Gray. The holders of Series A Preferred Stock are not entitled to vote on any matter submitted to the stockholders of the Company for a vote, except as required by Georgia law. Upon a liquidation of the Company, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a liquidation preference equal to $1,000 per share plus all accrued and unpaid dividends.

 

On May 1, 2019, we acquired the assets of WWNY-TV (CBS) and WNYF-CD (FOX) in Watertown, New York (DMA 178) and KEYC-TV (CBS/FOX) in Mankato, Minnesota (DMA 199) from United Communications Corporation (the “United Acquisition” and, together with the Raycom Merger, the “2019 Acquisitions”) for an adjusted purchase price of $48 million, excluding transaction related expenses. We began operating those stations on March 1, 2019 under a local programming and marketing agreement and increased the total number of our markets to 93.

 


 

The 2019 Acquisitions have materially affected our operations, liquidity and capital expenditures. In addition to the effects on our balance sheet from the financing transactions described below, our results of operations and cash flows have increased substantially. We also expect that the 2019 Acquisitions will create opportunities to reduce or eliminate redundancies in our combined operations, and that these synergies will be implemented in phases over several years. Please see Note 3 “Acquisitions and Divestitures” and Note 4 “Long-term Debt” of our condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for additional information on the Raycom Merger including on any financing transaction completed in connection therewith.

Revenues, Operations, Cyclicality and Seasonality

 

OurDuring the nine-months ending September 30, 2019, our operating revenues are derived primarily from broadcast and internet advertising and retransmission consent fees and, to a lesser extent, from other sources such as production of sporting events and related television content, tower rentals and management fees.

 

Broadcast advertising is sold for placement either preceding or following a television station’s network programming and within local and syndicated programming. Broadcast advertising is sold in time increments and is priced primarily on the basis of a program’s popularity among the specific audience an advertiser desires to reach. In addition, broadcast advertising rates are affected by the number of advertisers competing for the available time, the size and demographic makeup of the market served by the station and the availability of alternative advertising media in the market area. Broadcast advertising rates are generally the highest during the most desirable viewing hours, with corresponding reductions during other hours. The ratings of a local station affiliated with a major network can be affected by ratings of network programming. Most advertising contracts are short-term, and generally run only for a few weeks.

 

We also sell internet advertising on our stations’ websites. These advertisements may be sold as banner advertisements, pre-roll advertisements or video and other types of advertisements or sponsorships.

 

Our broadcast and internet advertising revenues are affected by several factors that we consider to be seasonal in nature. These factors include:

 

 

Spending by political candidates, political parties and special interest groups increases during the even-numbered “on-year” of the two-year election cycle. This political spending typically is heaviest during the fourth quarter of such years;

 

 

Broadcast advertising revenue is generally highest in the second and fourth quarters each year. This seasonality results partly from increases in advertising in the spring and in the period leading up to and including the holiday season;

 

 

Local and national advertising revenue on our NBC-affiliated stations increases in even numbered years as a result of broadcasts of the Olympic Games; and

 

 

Because our stations and markets are not evenly divided among the Big 4 broadcast networks, our local and national advertising revenue can fluctuate between years related to which network broadcasts the Super Bowl.

 

Automotive advertisers have traditionally accounted for a significant portion of our revenue. For the six-monthsnine- months ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 and 2018, we derived approximately 24% and 21%, in each period,respectively, of our total broadcast advertising revenue from customers in the automotive industry. Strong demand for our advertising inventory from political advertisers can require significant use of available inventory, which in turn can lower our advertising revenue from our non-political advertising revenue categories in the even numbered “on-year” of the two-year election cycle. These temporary declines are expected to reverse themselves in the following “off-year” of the two-year election cycle.

 

While our total revenues have increased in recent years as a result of our acquisitions, they have also experienced a gradual improvement as a result of improvements in general economic conditions. However, revenue remains under pressure from the internet as a competitor for advertising spending. We continue to enhance and market our internet websites in an effort to generate additional revenue. Our aggregate internet revenue is derived from both advertising and sponsorship opportunities directly on our websites.

 


 

Our primary broadcasting operating expenses are employee compensation, related benefits and programming costs. In addition, the broadcasting operations incur overhead expenses, such as maintenance, supplies, insurance, rent and utilities. A large portion of the operating expenses of our broadcasting operations is fixed. We continue to monitor our operating expenses and seek opportunities to reduce them where possible.

 

Please see our “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” sections below for further discussion of our operating results.

 

Revenue

Set forth below are the principal types of revenue, less agency commissions, earned by us for the periods indicated and the percentage contribution of each type of revenue to our total revenue (dollars in millions):

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

  

Six Months Ended June 30,

  

Three Months Ended September 30,

  

Nine Months Ended September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 
     

Percent

     

Percent

     

Percent

     

Percent

      

Percent

     

Percent

     

Percent

     

Percent

 
 

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

  

Amount

  

of Total

 

Revenue:

                                                

Local (including internet/ digital/mobile)

 $226  44.5% $113  45.1% $437  42.6% $219  45.8%

Local (including internet/digital/mobile)

 $218  42.2% $106  38.0% $655  42.4% $325  43.0%

National

 56  11.0% 30  11.9% 106  10.3% 54  11.4% 56  10.8% 29  10.4% 162  10.5% 84  11.1%

Political

 5  1.0% 18  7.2% 8  0.8% 24  5.0% 22  4.3% 48  17.2% 30  1.9% 72  9.5%

Retransmission consent

 201  39.6% 85  34.1% 405  39.5% 171  35.8% 196  37.9% 92  33.0% 601  39.0% 262  34.7%

Production companies

 9  1.8% -  0.0% 46  4.5% -  0.0% 16  3.1% -  0.0% 62  4.0% -  0.0%

Other

  11   2.1%  4   1.7%  24   2.3%  9   2.0%  9   1.7%  4   1.4%  33   2.2%  13   1.7%

Total

 $508   100.0% $250   100.0% $1,026   100.0% $477   100.0% $517   100.0% $279   100.0% $1,543   100.0% $756   100.0%

 

Results of Operations

 

Three-Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 (“the 2019 three-month period”) Compared to Three-Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2018 (“the 2018 three-month period”)

 

Revenue. Total revenue increased $258$238 million, or 103%85%, to $508$517 million in the 2019 three-month period from the 2018 three-month period. The 2019 Acquisitions accounted for approximately $264$274 million of the increase in our total revenue in the 2019 three-month period compared to the 2018 three-month period. Excluding the 2019 Acquisitions, total revenue increaseddecreased by $35 million primarily due to increasesa decrease of $40 million in local and retransmission consent revenue. Politicalpolitical advertising revenue decreased in theas a result of 2019 three-month period compared to the 2018 three-month period, because 2019 isbeing the “off-year” of the two-year political advertising cycle.election cycle, partially offset by an increase in retransmission consent revenue. Excluding the 2019 Acquisitions, retransmission consent revenue increased $7 million due to increases in rates.

 

Broadcast Expenses. Broadcast expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss on disposal of assets) increased $172$171 million, or 121%118%, to $314$316 million in the 2019 three-month period compared tofrom the 2018 three-month period. The 2019 Acquisitions accounted for nearly all$165 million of the increase in these expenses in the 2019 three-month period compared to the 2018 three-month period. The 2019 three-month period included approximately $1 million of transaction related expenses incurred as a result ofremaining difference represented an increase in retransmission expense, consistent with the 2019 Acquisitions.increased retransmission consent revenue. Non-cash stock based compensation included in broadcast expenses was $1$2 million in the 2019 three-month period, but was not significant in the 2018 three-month period.

 

Production company expenses. Production company operating expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss on disposal of assets), related to the production companies acquired in the Raycom Merger, were $9$13 million in the 2019 three-month period. Approximately half of these operating expenses were for personnel costs and half for operating costs at sporting events.

 


Corporate and Administrative Expenses. Corporate and administrative expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss on disposal of assets), increased by $10 million, or 91%, to $21 million. Non-compensation expense increased by $3 million, including increases ofor 27%, to $14 million. Non-compensation expense decreased $1 million of professional fees and other Transaction Related Expenses related to the 2019 Acquisitions and $1 million of expenses for other corporate events. Compensation expense increases of $7 million, primarily due to $3 million of severance pay, $1 million of incentive compensation and $2 million of increases in regular salaries and wages of which a portion wasas a result of decreases in professional fees related to acquisition activities. Professional fees related to our acquisition activities were $1 million in the 2019 Acquisitions. Non-cash stock basedthree-month period. Compensation expense increased $4 million primarily as a result of increased base and incentive compensation included incosts. We recorded corporate and administrative expenses wasnon-cash stock-based amortization expense of $2 million and $1 million in the 2019 and 2018 three-month periods, respectively.


Depreciation. Depreciation of property and equipment totaled $20 million and $13 million forin the 2019 three-month period and the 2018 three-month period,periods, respectively. Depreciation increased primarily due to the addition of depreciable assets acquired as a part of the 2019 Acquisitions.

 

Amortization. Amortization of intangible assets increased $23totaled $29 million or 460%, to $28and $5 million in the 2019 three-month period compared toand the 2018 three-month period.periods, respectively. Amortization increased primarily due to the definite-lived intangible assets acquired as a part of the 2019 Acquisitions.

 

Interest Expense. Interest expense increased $33$32 million, or 132%128%, to $58$57 million for the 2019 three-month period compared to the 2018 three-month period. This increase was attributable to borrowings to finance the Raycom Merger, including, $1.4 billion under our 2019 Senior Credit Facility and $750 million of our 2027 Notes. The average interest rate on our total outstanding debt balance was 5.5%5.4% and 5.1%5.2% during the 2019 three-month period and the 2018 three-month period,periods, respectively. Our average outstanding debt balance was $4.0 billion and $1.8 billion during the 2019 three-month period and $1.9 billion during the 2018 three-month period.periods, respectively.

 

Income Tax Expense.Expense. We recognized income tax expense of $18$23 million and $15$22 million in the 2019 three-month period and the 2018 three-month period,periods, respectively. For the 2019 three-month period and the 2018 three-month period, ourOur effective income tax rates were 29%28% and 27%, in the 2019 and 2018 three-month periods, respectively. We estimate our differences between taxable income or loss and recorded income or loss on an annual basis. Our tax provision for each interim period is based upon these full year projections that are revised each reporting period. These projections incorporate estimates of permanent differences between U.S. GAAP income or loss and taxable income or loss, state income taxes and adjustments to our liability for unrecognized tax benefits. For the 2019 three-month period, these estimates increased our statutory federalFederal income tax rate of 21% to our effective income tax rate of 29%28% as follows: state income taxes added 5% and permanent differences between our U.S. GAAP income and taxable income added 3%2%.

Six-months

Nine-Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019 (“the 2019 six-monthnine-month period”) Compared to Six-monthsNine-Months Ended JuneSeptember 30, 2018 (“the 2018 six-monthnine-month period”)

 

Revenue. Total revenue increased $549$787 million, or 115%104%, to $1.026$1.5 billion in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared tofrom the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. The 2019 Acquisitions accounted for approximately $545$819 million of the increase in our total revenue in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. Excluding the 2019 Acquisitions, total revenue increaseddecreased by $32 million primarily due to increasesa decrease of $59 million in retransmission consent revenue. Politicalpolitical advertising revenue decreased in theas a result of 2019 six-month period compared to the 2018 six-month period, as 2019 isbeing the “off-year” of the two-year political advertising cycle.election cycle partially offset by an increase in retransmission consent revenue. Excluding the 2019 Acquisitions, retransmission consent revenue increased $37 million due to increases in rates.

 

LocalExcluding the 2019 Acquisitions local and national advertising revenue also increased, in part, due to the $5 million ofdeclined slightly, but was partially offset by revenue we earned from the broadcast of the 2019 Super Bowl on our CBS-affiliated stations of approximately $5 million, compared to $2 million that we earned from the broadcast of the 2018 Super Bowl on our NBC-affiliated stations. This increaseIn addition, this decrease was offset due toalso partly the result of no revenue from Olympic broadcastsGames taking place in 2019, compared to $6 million of revenue from the broadcast of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on our NBC-affiliated stations.

 

Broadcast Expenses. Broadcast expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss (gain) on disposal of assets) increased $378$549 million, or 129%126%, to $670 million in the 2019 six-month period.$986 million. The 2019 Acquisitions accounted for nearly all of the increase in our total broadcast expenses in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. The remaining difference represented an increase in retransmission expense, consistent with the increased retransmission consent revenue. Broadcast expenses also included transaction related expenses including $29 million of charges for termination of certain sales representation agreements and $8$9 million of incentive compensation and severance costs each related to the 2019 Acquisitions in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period. Non-cash stock based compensation included in broadcast expenses was $1$3 million and $2 million, respectively, in each of the 2019 and 2018 six-monthnine-month periods.


 

Production Company Expenses. Production company expenses (before depreciation, amortization and loss (gain) on disposal of assets) related to the production companies acquired in the Raycom Merger, were $44$57 million in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period. Non-compensation expenses were $33$41 million, of which the primary components included the costs for the rights to broadcast sporting events of $23$26 million and professional services of $5$9 million. Total compensation expenses were $11$16 million.


 

Corporate and Administrative Expenses. Corporate and administrative expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss (gain) on disposal of assets) increased $50by $53 million, or 263%177%, to $69$83 million in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to the 2018 six-monthnine-month period primarily as a result of transaction related expenses including $23$24 million in professional fees related to the 2019 Acquisitions andAcquisitions. We also incurred $10 million of incentive compensation and severance compensation related to the elimination2019 Acquisitions. We recorded corporate non-cash stock-based amortization expense of redundant positions. Non-cash stock based compensation included in corporate and administrative expenses was $4$7 million and $2$4 million in the 2019 and 2018 six-monthnine-month periods, respectively.

 

Depreciation. Depreciation of property and equipment totaled $40$60 million and $27$41 million forin the 2019 six-month period and the 2018 six-month period,nine-month periods, respectively. Depreciation increased primarily due to the addition of depreciable assets acquired as a part of the 2019 Acquisitions.

 

Amortization. Amortization of intangible assets increased $46totaled $86 million or 418%, to $57and $16 million in the 2019 six-month period compared toand the 2018 six-month period.nine-month periods, respectively. Amortization increased primarily due to the definite-lived intangible assets acquired as a part of the 2019 Acquisitions.

 

(Gain) Loss on Disposals of Assets, Net.Net. We reported gains on disposals of assets of $13$27 million in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period and $2$6 million in the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. These gains were primarily related to assets disposals from the FCC Repack process.

 

Interest Expense. Interest expense increased $67$99 million, or 137%134%, to $116$173 million for the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. This increase was attributable to borrowings to finance the Raycom Merger, including, $1.4 billion under our senior credit facility and $750 million of our 2027 Notes. The average interest rate on our total outstanding debt balance was 5.5% and 5.0%5.1% during the 2019 six-month period and the 2018 six-month period,nine-month periods, respectively. Our average outstanding debt balance was $4.0 billion and $1.8 billion during the 2019 six-month period and $1.9 billion in the 2018 six-month period.nine-month periods, respectively.

 

Income Tax Expense.Expense. We recognized income tax expense of $21$44 million and $43 million in each of the 2019 and 2018 six-month periods. For the 2019 six-month period and the 2018 six-month period, ournine-month periods, respectively. Our effective income tax rate was 45%rates were 34% and 26%, in the 2019 and 2018 nine-month periods, respectively. We estimate our differences between taxable income or loss and recorded income or loss on an annual basis. Our tax provision for each interim period is based upon these full year projections that are revised each reporting period. These projections incorporate estimates of permanent differences between U.S. GAAP income or loss and taxable income or loss, state income taxes and adjustments to our liability for unrecognized tax benefits. For the 2019 six-monthnine-month period, these estimates increased or decreased our statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% to our effective income tax rate of 45%34% as follows: state income taxes added 5%, permanent differences between our U.S. GAAP income and taxable income resulted in an increase of 3%, restricted stock vesting resulted in a decrease of 1%added 2% and divestiture of component 2 goodwill resulted in an increase of 17%6%.

We have approximately $770 million of federal operating loss carryforwards, that expire during the years 2021 through 2037. We expect to have federal taxable income in the carryforward periods, therefore we believe that it is more likely than not that these federal operating loss carryforwards will be fully utilized. Additionally, we have an aggregate of approximately $858 million of various state operating loss carryforwards, of which we expect that the majority will be utilized.

 


 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

General

 

The following table presents data that we believe is helpful in evaluating our liquidity and capital resources (in millions):

 

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

  

Nine Months Ended September 30,

 
 

2019

  

2018

  

2019

  

2018

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 $105  $98  $255  $186 

Net cash used in investing activities

 (2,599) (22) (2,646) (33)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

  1,326   (27)  1,298   (64)

(Decrease) increase in cash

 $(1,168) $49 

Net (decrease) increase in cash

 $(1,093) $89 

 

 

As of

  

As of

 
 

June 30, 2019

  

December 31, 2018

  

September 30, 2019

  

December 31, 2018

 

Cash

 $251  $667  $326  $667 

Restricted cash

 $-  $752 

Restricted Cash

 $-  $752 

Long-term debt, including current portion

 $3,895  $2,549  $3,895  $2,549 

Borrowing availability under Revolving Credit Facility

 $200  $100  $200  $100 

Net Cash Provided By (Used(Used In) Operating, Investing and Financing Activities

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $105$255 million in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared $98to $186 million in the 2018 six-month period, a netnine-month period. The increase of $7 million. During$69 million in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period we experiencedwas the result of a $38 million decrease in net income, of $35 million that was offset by a $49$66 million net increase in net non-cash gains and expenses, primarily depreciation of fixed assets and amortization of definite-lived intangible assets related to the Raycom Merger. Approximately $7$41 million of cash was usedprovided by changes in net working capital, also related to the Raycom Merger.capital.

 

Net cash used in investing activities was $2.6 billion in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to net cash used in investing activities of $22$33 million for the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. The increase was due to an increase in cash used for acquisition activity, net of proceeds received from divestitures in the 2019 Acquisitions in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period.

 

Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $1.3 billion in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period compared to net cash used in financing activities of $27$64 million in the 2018 six-monthnine-month period. The change to cash provided in the 2019 six-monthnine-month period, compared to cash used in the 2018 six-monthnine-month period, was due largely to financing activity for the 2019 Acquisitions. In the 2019 and 2018 six-month period our primary usenine-month periods we used $11 million and $20 million of cash, for financing activities was therespectively, to repurchase of $20 millionshares of our common stock.

 

Liquidity

 

We haveAs of September 30, 2019 we had $14 million in debt principal payments due over the next twelve months. WeOn November 1, 2019, we made a voluntary pre-payment of $100 million of our 2019 Term Loan, using cash on hand. This pre-payment reduced the lenders’ total loan commitment for the 2019 Term Loan by an equal amount and relieved our obligation to make quarterly payments of loan principal on the 2019 Term Loan. Currently we estimate that we will make approximately $218$202 million in debt interest payments over the twelve months immediately following JuneSeptember 30, 2019.

 

Although our cash flows from operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, we anticipate that our cash on hand, future cash expected to be generated from operations, borrowings from time to time under the 2019 Senior Credit Facility (or any such other credit facility as may be in place at the appropriate time) and, potentially, external equity or debt financing, will be sufficient to fund any debt service obligations, estimated capital expenditures, preferred stock dividends and acquisition-related obligations. Any potential equity or debt financing would depend upon, among other things, the costs and availability of such financing at the appropriate time. We also believe that our future cash expected to be generated from operations and borrowing availability under the 2019 Senior Credit Facility (or any such other credit facility) will be sufficient to fund our future capital expenditures and long-term debt service obligations until at least February 7, 2024, which is the maturity date of the term loans under the 2019 Senior Credit Facility.

 


 

Capital Expenditures

 

In April 2017, the FCC began the process of requiring certain television stations to change channels and/or modify their transmission facilities (“Repack”). Capital expenditures, including Repack, for the 2019 and 2018 six-monthnine-month periods were $44$73 million and $20$35 million, respectively. Excluding Repack, our capital expenditures for the 2019 and 2018 nine months periods were $14$38 million and $10$16 million, respectively. Our capitalized Repack costs and associated reimbursements for the 2019 and 2018 six-monthnine-month periods were $30$34 million and $10$17 million, respectively. As of JuneSeptember 30, 2019, the amount requested from the FCC for Repack, but not yet received, was approximately $13$8 million. Excluding Repack, we expect that our capital expenditures will be approximately $80$35 million to $37 million during the remainder of 2019. In addition, capital expenditures for Repack during the remainder of 2019 are expected to range between approximately $26$2 million and $30$3 million and we anticipate being reimbursed for the majority of these Repack costs. However, reimbursement may be received in periods subsequent to those in which they were expended.

 

PendingSubsequent AcquisitionsAcquisition and DivestituresDivestiture

 

On MayOctober 1, 2018, we entered into an agreement to acquire KDLT-TV (NBC), in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota market (DMA 110), for $32.5 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Pending such approvals and acquisitions, we expect that this transaction will close later in 2019, using cash on hand.

On February 28, 2019, we entered into an agreement to acquireacquired the assets of WVIR-TV (NBC) in the Charlottesville, Virginia market (DMA 183) from Waterman Broadcasting Corporation for $12.0 million. On May 31, 2019 we pre-paid this purchase price to the seller.$12 million using cash on hand (the “Charlottesville Acquisition”). Also, on February 28,October 1, 2019, in order to meet regulatory requirements, we agreed to divestdivested our legacy stations in that market, WCAV-TV (CBS/FOX) and WVAW-TV (ABC). We expect these transactionsthat the divestiture will close laterresult in a gain of approximately $19 million that will be reported in the fourth quarter of 2019.

 

Other

 

We file a consolidated federal income tax return and such state and local tax returns as are required. As a result of our utilization of certain of our net operating loss carryforwards, we have begun, and expect to continue, to pay more significant amounts of income taxes. We made income tax payments (net of refunds) of approximately $8$12 million and $12$27 million in the 2019 six-month period and the 2018 six-month period,nine-month periods, respectively. We anticipate making income tax payments (net of refunds) of approximately $3$13 million during the remainder of 2019.

 

We have approximately $770$776 million ofin federal operating loss carryforwards, that expire during the years 2021 through 2037. We expect to have federal taxable income in the carryforward periods, therefore we believe that it is more likely than not that these federal operating loss carryforwards will be fully utilized. Additionally, we have an aggregate of approximately $858$837 million of various state operating loss carryforwards, of which we expect that the majorityapproximately $564 million will be utilized.

 

During the 2019 six-monthnine-month period, we did not make a contributioncontributed $3 million to our defined benefit pension plan. During the remainder of 2019, we expect to contribute $3 million to this pension plan.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make judgments and estimations that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We consider our accounting policies relating to intangible assets and income taxes to be critical policies that require judgments or estimations in their application where variances in those judgments or estimations could make a significant difference to future reported results. These critical accounting policies and estimates are more fully discussed in our 2018 Form 10-K.


 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (this “Quarterly Report”) contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than those of historical fact. When used in this Quarterly Report, the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “will,” “may,” “should” and similar words and expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Among other things, statements that describe our expectations regarding our results of operations, general and industry-specific economic conditions, future pension plan contributions, income tax payments, the expected impact of acquisitions and divestitures the expected closing dated for future transactions and capital expenditures are forward-looking statements. Readers of this Quarterly Report are cautioned that any forward-looking statements, including those regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of our management, are not guarantees of future performance, results or events and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results and events may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including, but not limited to, those listed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our 2018 Form 10-K and as may be described in subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as the other factors described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

 


IItem 3.     tem 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk

 

We believe that the market risk of our financial instruments as of JuneSeptember 30, 2019 has not materially changed since December 31, 2018. OurThe market risk profile onas of December 31, 2018 is disclosed in our 2018 Form 10-K.

 

Item 4.     Controls and Procedures

 

As of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report, an evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, the CEO and the CFO have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or furnish under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms, and to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. No system of controls, no matter how well designed and implemented, can provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the system of controls are met and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected.

 

During the six-monthnine-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we implemented changes in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with the adoption of ASU 2016-02 – Leases (Topic 842). These changes included controls related to the collection of data for the amounts that we disclose in the footnotes to our financial statements. Our evaluation included controls that may have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

During the six-monthnine-month period ended JuneSeptember 30, 2019, we began implementing changes in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with the Raycom Merger. These changes will continue to be identified and implemented during the remainder of 2019.

 


PART II.OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1A.Risk Factors

 

Please refer to the information set out under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A in our 2018 Form 10-K for a description of risk factors that we determined to be most material to our financial condition and results of operations. We do not believe there have been any material changes in these risk factors. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we do not currently consider material may also materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations in the future.

 

Item 2.     Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

None.In each of March and November 2004, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company to repurchase up to 2 million shares of the Company's common stock or Class A common stock. In March 2006, this authorization was increased to an aggregate of 5 million shares (the “2004-2006 Repurchase Authorization”). As of September 30, 2019, 279,200 shares remain available for repurchase under this authorization, which has no expiration date.


On November 6, 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company to purchase up to an additional $75 million of our outstanding common stock prior to December 31, 2019 (the “2016 Repurchase Authorization”).

The extent to which the Company repurchases any of its shares, the number of shares and the timing of any repurchases will depend on general market conditions, regulatory requirements, alternative investment opportunities and other considerations. The Company is not required to repurchase a minimum number of shares, and the repurchase authorizations may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice.

The following table summarizes repurchases of our common stock in the three-months ended September 30, 2019, all of which were pursuant to the 2016 Repurchase Authorization:

Period

 

Total Number

of Shares

Purchased

(1)

  

Average

Price Paid

per Share

(2)

  

Total Number of

Shares

Purchased as

Part of Publicly

Announced Plans

  

Maximum Number of

Shares (or

Approximate Dollar

Value) that May Yet

Be Purchased Under

the Plans or

Programs (3)

 
                 

July 1, 2019 through July 31, 2019:

  -  $0.00   -  $54,153,513 
                 

August 1, 2019 through August 31, 2019:

  -  $0.00   -  $53,952,489 
                 

September 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019:

  651,593  $16.37   651,593  $43,460,063 
                 

Total

  651,593  $16.67   651,593     

(1)

All shares purchased were shares of common stock.

(2)

Amount excludes brokerage commissions.

(3)

The amounts presented at each respective month-end include the aggregate of the remaining dollar value available to purchase our common stock under the 2016 Repurchase Authorization and the approximate dollar value available for repurchase of our Class A common stock or our common stock, under the 2004-2006 Repurchase Authorization.


 

Item 6.     Exhibits

 

The following exhibits are filed as part of this Quarterly Report:

 

Exhibit

Number

 

Description of Document

   

31.1

 

Rule 13(a) – 14(a) Certificate of Chief Executive Officer

31.2

 

Rule 13(a) – 14(a) Certificate of Chief Financial Officer

32.1

 

Section 1350 Certificate of Chief Executive Officer

32.2

 

Section 1350 Certificate of Chief Financial Officer

101.SCH

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

101.DEF

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

101.LAB

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE

 

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)

 


 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

GRAY TELEVISION, INC.

(Registrant)

 

 

 

 

 

Date: November 7, 2019

By:

/s/ James C. Ryan

 James C. Ryan

 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

Date: August 7, 2019 

By:

/s/ James C. Ryan

James C. Ryan

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

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