Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Business and Basis of Presentation

v3.22.1
Business and Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Business and Basis of Presentation
NOTE 1. BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Business
Salem Media Group, Inc. (“Salem,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “company”) is a domestic multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative content. Our media properties include radio broadcasting, digital media, and publishing entities. We have
three
operating segments: (1) Broadcast, (2) Digital Media, and (3) Publishing, which are discussed in Note 17 – Segment Data.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Salem include the company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Information with respect to the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 is unaudited. The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form
10-Q
and Article 10 of Regulation
S-X.
Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the company. The unaudited interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Annual Report for Salem filed on Form
10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2021. Our results are subject to seasonal fluctuations and therefore, the results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for a full year.
The balance sheet at December 31, 2021 included in this report has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior year financial statements to conform to the presentation in the current year, which had no impact on the previously reported financial statements.
Impact of the
COVID-19
Pandemic
The
COVID-19
global pandemic materially impacted our business. We experienced a rapid decline in revenue from advertising, programming, events, and book sales that began in March 2020. Several advertisers reduced or ceased advertising spending due to the outbreak and
stay-at-home
orders that effectively shut down many businesses. The revenue decline impacted our broadcast segment, which derives substantial revenue from local advertisers who were particularly hard hit due to social distancing and government interventions, and our publishing segment, which derives revenue from book sales through retail stores and live events.
While we see progress being made in revenue returning to
pre-pandemic
levels, the
COVID-19
pandemic continues to create significant uncertainty and disruption in the economy. These uncertainties could materially impact significant accounting estimates related to, but not limited to, allowances for doubtful accounts, impairments, and
right-of-use assets.
As a result, many estimates and assumptions require increased judgment and carry a higher degree of variability and volatility. These estimates may change as new events occur and additional information emerges, and such changes are recognized or disclosed in its consolidated financial statements.
During 2020 we implemented several measures to reduce costs and conserve cash to ensure that we had adequate liquidity to meet our debt servicing requirements. As the economy began to show signs of recovery, we reversed several of these cost reduction initiatives during 2021. We continue to operate with lower staffing levels where appropriate, we have not declared or paid equity distributions on our common stock, and the company 401(k) match was not reinstated until January 2022.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provided emergency economic assistance for individuals and businesses impacted by the
COVID-19
pandemic, including opportunities for additional liquidity, loan guarantees, and other government programs. On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act (“CAA”) that included a second relief package, which, among other things, provides for an extension of the Payroll Support Program established by the CARES Act. We utilized certain benefits of the CARES Act and the CAA, including:
 
   
We deferred $3.3 million of employer FICA taxes from April 2020 through December 2020, of which 50% was paid in December 2021 and the remaining 50% is payable in December 2022;
 
   
A relaxation of interest expense deduction limitation for income tax purposes;
 
   
We received Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans of $11.2 million in total during the first quarter of 2021 through the Small Business Association (“SBA”) based on the eligibility as determined on a
per-location
basis; and
 
   
In July 2021, the SBA forgave all but $20,000 of the PPP loans, with the remaining PPP loan repaid in July 2021.
Use of Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. These estimates require the use of judgment as future events, and the effect of these events cannot be predicted with certainty. The
COVID-19
pandemic created significant uncertainty and disruption in the global economy and financial markets. It is reasonably possible that these uncertainties could materially impact our estimates related to, but not limited to, revenue recognition, broadcast licenses, goodwill, and income taxes. As a result, many of our estimates and assumptions require increased judgment and carry a higher degree of variability and volatility.
Our estimates may change as new events occur and additional information emerges, and such changes are recognized or disclosed in our consolidated financial statements. We evaluate and update our assumptions and estimates on an ongoing basis and we may consult outside experts to assist as considered necessary.
Significant areas for which management uses estimates include:
 
   
revenue recognition;
 
   
asset impairments, including broadcasting licenses, goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets;
 
   
contingency reserves;
 
   
allowance for doubtful accounts;
 
   
barter transactions;
 
   
assessment of contract-based factors, asset-based factors, entity-based factors and market-based factors to determine the lease term impacting
Right-Of-Use
(“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities;
 
   
determining the Incremental Borrowing Rate (“IBR”) for calculating ROU assets and lease liabilities,