Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

LONG-LIVED ASSETS

v3.8.0.1
LONG-LIVED ASSETS
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
LONG-LIVED ASSETS [Abstract]  
LONG-LIVED ASSETS
LONG-LIVED ASSETS
Definite-lived Intangible Assets
The following table presents the changes in the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization of definite-lived intangible assets for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:
 
Revenue-
generating
contracts
 
Client /
vendor
relationships
 
Trademarks
and
naming
rights
 
Non-compete
agreements
 
Technology
 
Venue
management
and
leaseholds
 
Other
 
Total
 
(in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2016:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gross carrying amount
$
760,398

 
$
402,009

 
$
94,338

 
$
65,992

 
$
53,078

 
$
54,001

 
$
4,014

 
$
1,433,830

Accumulated amortization
(316,800
)
 
(213,785
)
 
(23,724
)
 
(22,099
)
 
(13,637
)
 
(29,664
)
 
(2,090
)
 
(621,799
)
Net
443,598

 
188,224

 
70,614

 
43,893

 
39,441

 
24,337

 
1,924

 
812,031

Gross carrying amount:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Acquisitions— current year
—

 
22,635

 
—

 
—

 
12,037

 
820

 
—

 
35,492

Acquisitions— prior year
(6,724
)
 
—

 
35,464

 
—

 
1,120

 
—

 
—

 
29,860

Foreign exchange
21,823

 
9,069

 
1,402

 
2,229

 
2,170

 
2,513

 
22

 
39,228

Other(1)
(5,027
)
 
(3,009
)
 
—

 
(1
)
 
(305
)
 
—

 
(247
)
 
(8,589
)
Net change
10,072

 
28,695

 
36,866

 
2,228

 
15,022

 
3,333

 
(225
)
 
95,991

Accumulated amortization:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amortization
(63,368
)
 
(45,688
)
 
(10,008
)
 
(10,407
)
 
(9,860
)
 
(3,524
)
 
(540
)
 
(143,395
)
Foreign exchange
(8,966
)
 
(3,868
)
 
(499
)
 
(984
)
 
(718
)
 
(1,385
)
 
(6
)
 
(16,426
)
Other(1)
5,067

 
2,969

 
10

 
8

 
312

 
—

 
342

 
8,708

Net change
(67,267
)
 
(46,587
)
 
(10,497
)
 
(11,383
)
 
(10,266
)
 
(4,909
)
 
(204
)
 
(151,113
)
Balance as of September 30, 2017:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gross carrying amount
770,470

 
430,704

 
131,204

 
68,220

 
68,100

 
57,334

 
3,789

 
1,529,821

Accumulated amortization
(384,067
)
 
(260,372
)
 
(34,221
)
 
(33,482
)
 
(23,903
)
 
(34,573
)
 
(2,294
)
 
(772,912
)
Net
$
386,403

 
$
170,332

 
$
96,983

 
$
34,738

 
$
44,197

 
$
22,761

 
$
1,495

 
$
756,909

______________
(1) Other includes netdowns of fully amortized assets.
Included in the current year acquisitions amounts above are definite-lived intangible assets primarily associated with the acquisitions of an artist management business located in the United States, a concert promotion business located in Italy and various ticketing businesses located in the United States and the Czech Republic.
Included in the prior year acquisitions amounts above are changes primarily associated with the acquisitions of festival promotion businesses located in the United States and Australia.
The 2017 additions to definite-lived intangible assets from acquisitions have weighted-average lives as follows:
 
Weighted-
Average
Life (years)
Client/vendor relationships
6
Technology
4
Venue management and leaseholds
3
All categories
5

Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was $53.4 million and $47.8 million for each respective period, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was $143.4 million and $133.0 million, respectively. Amortization related to nonrecoupable ticketing contract advances for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was $20.1 million and $20.5 million, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was $54.9 million and $57.0 million, respectively.
As acquisitions and dispositions occur in the future and the valuations of intangible assets for recent acquisitions are completed, amortization may vary.
Goodwill
In 2016, the Company’s reportable segments were Concerts, Sponsorship & Advertising, Ticketing and Artist Nation. Beginning in 2017, the Company no longer presents Artist Nation as a reportable segment and now includes the business previously reported in the Artist Nation segment in the Concerts segment. See further discussion of the segment change in Note 6—Segment Data. The Company’s reporting units reviewed for goodwill impairment remain unchanged.
The following table presents the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill in each of the Company’s reportable segments for the nine months ended September 30, 2017:
 
Concerts
 
Sponsorship
& Advertising
 
Ticketing
 
Total
 
(in thousands)
Balance as of December 31, 2016:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Goodwill
$
1,017,020

 
$
395,826

 
$
739,105

 
$
2,151,951

Accumulated impairment losses
(404,863
)
 
—

 
—

 
(404,863
)
                 Net
612,157

 
395,826

 
739,105

 
1,747,088

Acquisitions—current year
8,259

 
—

 
11,239

 
19,498

Acquisitions—prior year
(22,095
)
 
(9,821
)
 
882

 
(31,034
)
Foreign exchange
9,765

 
9,573

 
9,622

 
28,960

Balance as of September 30, 2017:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Goodwill
1,012,949

 
395,578

 
760,848

 
2,169,375

Accumulated impairment losses
(404,863
)
 
—

 
—

 
(404,863
)
                 Net
$
608,086

 
$
395,578

 
$
760,848

 
$
1,764,512


Included in the current year acquisitions amounts above is goodwill associated with the acquisitions of various ticketing businesses located in the United States, an artist management business located in the United States and a concert promotion business located in Italy.
Included in the prior year acquisitions amounts above are changes primarily associated with the acquisitions of festival promotion businesses located in the United States and Australia.
The Company is in various stages of finalizing its acquisition accounting for recent acquisitions, which include the use of external valuation consultants, and the completion of this accounting could result in a change to the associated purchase price allocations, including goodwill and its allocation between segments.