GRAY TELEVISION INC - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report on Form 10-K contains and incorporates by reference “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 Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than those of historical fact. When used in this annual report, the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “will,” “may,” “should” and similar words and expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect our then-current expectations and are based upon data available to us at the time the statements are made. Forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, statements about the evolving and uncertain nature of novel coronavirus and its related disease (“COVID-19”) global pandemic and its impact on us, the media industry, and the economy in general, our strategies, expected results of operations, general and industry-specific economic conditions, the remediation of a material weakness and the ongoing effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, future pension plan contributions, future capital expenditures, future income tax payments, future payments of interest and principal on our long-term debt, assumptions underlying various estimates and estimates of future obligations and commitments, and should be considered in context with the various other disclosures made by us about our business. Readers 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 significant 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 in Item 1A. of this Annual Report and the other factors described from time to time in our SEC filings. The forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

PART I

In this annual report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”), unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, the words “Gray,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Gray Television, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Unless otherwise indicated, all station rank, in-market share and television household data herein are derived from reports prepared by The Nielsen Company US, LLC (“Nielsen”) and/or Comscore, Inc. (“Comscore”). While we believe this data to be accurate and reliable, we have not independently verified such data nor have we ascertained the underlying assumptions relied upon therein and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such data.

General

We are a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  We are the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States.  Our television stations serve 113 television markets that collectively reach approximately 36 percent of US television households.  This portfolio includes 79 markets with the top-rated television station and 101 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station.  We also own video program companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Media Group, PowerNation Studios, as well as the studio production facilities Assembly Atlanta and Third Rail Studios. 

Our operating revenues are derived primarily from broadcast and internet advertising and from retransmission consent fees. For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 our total revenue was $3.7 billion, $2.4 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.

Markets and Stations

We believe a key driver for our strong market position is our focus on strong local news and information programming. We believe that our market position and our strong local teams have enabled us to maintain more stable revenues compared to many of our peers.

We are diversified across our markets and network affiliations. In 2022, our largest market, by revenue, was Phoenix, Arizona, which contributed 5% of our revenue. In 2021, our largest markets, by revenue, were Cleveland-Akron, Ohio and Charlotte, North Carolina, which each contributed approximately 4% of our revenue. Our top 10 markets by revenue contributed approximately 26% and 23% of our total revenue in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2022, our CBS-affiliated channels accounted for approximately 39% of total revenue; our NBC-affiliated channels accounted for approximately 26% of total revenue; our FOX-affiliated channels accounted for approximately 14% of total revenue; and our ABC-affiliated channels accounted for approximately 11% of total revenue. We refer to CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX as the “Big Four” networks.

In each of our markets, we own and operate at least one television station broadcasting a primary channel affiliated with one of the Big Four networks. We also own additional stations in some markets, some of which also broadcast primary channels affiliated with one of the Big Four networks. Nearly all of our stations broadcast secondary digital channels that are affiliated with various networks or are independent of any network. The terms of our affiliations with broadcast networks are governed by network affiliation agreements. Each network affiliation agreement provides the affiliated station with the right to broadcast all programs transmitted by the affiliated network. Our network affiliation agreements with the Big Four broadcast networks currently expire at various dates through December 2025.

Television Industry Background

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) grants broadcast licenses to television stations. There are only a limited number of broadcast licenses available in any one geographic area. Each commercial television station in the US is assigned to one of 210 designated market areas (“DMAs”). These markets are ranked in size according to their number of television households, with the market having the largest number of television households ranked number one (New York City). Each DMA is an exclusive geographic area consisting of all counties (and in some cases, portions of counties) in which the home-market commercial television stations receive the greatest percentage of total viewing hours.

Television station revenue is derived primarily from local, regional and national advertising revenue (together “Core”) and retransmission consent fees. Television station revenue is also derived to a much lesser extent from studio and tower space rental fees and production activities. “Advertising” primarily refers to advertisements broadcast by television stations, but it also includes advertisements placed on a television station’s website and sponsorships of television programming and off-line content such as email messages, mobile applications, and other electronic content distributed by stations. Advertising rates are typically driven by: (i) the size of a station’s market; (ii) a station’s overall ratings; (iii) a program’s popularity among targeted viewers; (iv) the number of advertisers competing for available time; (v) the demographic makeup of the station’s market; (vi) the availability of alternative advertising media in the market; (vii) the presence of effective sales forces; and (viii) the development of projects, features and programs that tie advertiser messages to programming and/or digital content on a station’s website or mobile applications. Advertising rates can also be determined in part by the station’s ratings and market share among particular demographic groups that an advertiser may be targeting.

Because broadcast stations rely on advertising revenues, they are sensitive to cyclical changes in the economy. The sizes of advertisers’ budgets, which can be affected by broad economic trends, can affect the broadcast industry in general and the revenues of individual broadcast television stations.

Strategy

Our success is based on the following strategies:

Grow by Leveraging our Diverse National Footprint. We serve a diverse and national footprint of television stations. We currently operate in DMAs ranked between 6 and 209. We operate in many markets that we believe have the potential for significant political advertising revenue in periods leading up to elections. We are also diversified across our broadcast programming.

Maintain and Grow our Market Leadership Position. According to Nielsen, during 2022, our owned and operated television stations achieved the #1 ranking in overall audience in 79 of our 113 markets. In addition, our stations achieved the #1 and/or #2 ranking in overall audience in 101 of our 113 markets.

We believe there are significant advantages in operating the #1 or #2 television broadcasting stations in a local market. Strong audience and market share allow us to enhance our advertising revenue through price discipline and leadership. We believe a top-rated local news platform is critical to capturing incremental sponsorship and political advertising revenue. Our high-quality station group allows us to generate higher operating margins, which allows us additional opportunities to reinvest in our business to further strengthen our network and local news ratings. Furthermore, we believe operating the top ranked stations in our various markets allows us to attract and retain top talent.

We also believe that our local market leadership positions help us in negotiating more beneficial terms in our major network affiliation agreements, which currently expire at various dates through December 2025, and in our syndicated programming agreements. These leadership positions also give us additional leverage to negotiate retransmission contracts with cable system operators, telephone video distributors, direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”).

We intend to maintain our market leadership position through continued prudent investment in our local news and syndicated programs, as well as continued technological advances and workflow improvements. We expect to continue to invest in technological upgrades in the future. We believe the foregoing will help us maintain and grow our market leadership, thereby enhancing our ability to grow and further diversify our revenues and cash flows.

Continue to Pursue Strategic Growth and Accretive Acquisition Opportunities. Over the last several years, the television broadcasting industry has been characterized by a high level of acquisition activity. We believe that there are a number of television stations, and a few station groups, that have attractive operating profiles and characteristics, and that share our commitment to local news coverage in the communities in which they operate and to creating high-quality and locally driven content. On a highly selective basis, we may pursue opportunities for the acquisition of additional television stations or station groups that fit our strategic and operational objectives, and where we believe that we can improve revenue, efficiencies and cash flow through active management and cost controls. As we consider potential acquisitions, we primarily evaluate potential station audience and revenue shares and the extent to which the acquisition target would positively impact our existing station operations. We also consider the amount of leverage that an acquisition would entail and our ability to carry such additional leverage at and after the time of acquisition. Consistent with this strategy, we have completed several acquisition and divestiture transactions, including some that had a material impact on our results of operations, between late 2013 and early 2022. For more information on these transactions, see Note 3 “Acquisitions and Divestitures” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein. This note also describes the stations we acquired in each of 2022, 2021 and 2020, which we may also refer to collectively as our “acquisitions,” our “recent acquisitions” or “the acquisitions.”

Continue to Monetize Digital Spectrum. In addition to each station’s primary channel, we also broadcast a number of secondary channels. Certain secondary channels are simultaneously affiliated with more than one network. Our strategy includes expanding upon our digital offerings and sales. We continuously evaluate opportunities to use spectrum for future delivery of data to mobile devices using a new transmission standard.

Continue to Maintain Prudent Cost Management. Historically, we have closely managed costs to maintain and improve our margins. We believe that our market leadership position provides additional negotiating leverage that enables us to lower, on a relative basis, our syndicated programming costs. We have increased the efficiency of our stations by automating video production and back-office processes. We believe that we will be able to further benefit from cost and operational efficiencies as we continue to grow.

Further Strengthen our Balance Sheet. During the last several years, we have leveraged our strong cash flow and efficient operating model to grow our diverse national footprint. In 2022, we made principal payments totaling $315 million reducing the balance outstanding under our Senior Credit Facility including both voluntary and required payments. In 2021 and in other recent years, we acted to improve the terms of our debt by amending or replacing our long-term debt to secure favorable terms while interest rates were at historically low levels. During 2021, we completed the acquisition of all the equity interests of Meredith Corporation (“Meredith”) and of Quincy Media, Inc. (“Quincy”), and other transactions including divestitures resulting from the Meredith and Quincy acquisitions (collectively, the “2021 Acquisitions”) using a financing plan composed of our cash on hand, attractively priced fixed rate debt, proceeds from divestitures, and amended our Senior Credit Facility. We continually evaluate opportunities to improve our balance sheet. For more information regarding acquisition transactions, see Note 3 “Acquisitions and Divestitures” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein.

Stations

Our television stations serve local communities across the country. From our largest market in Atlanta, Georgia (DMA 6) to our smallest in North Platte, Nebraska (DMA 209), as tabulated by Nielsen, we inform, educate, entertain and connect each of these communities to their state, the nation and the whole world. Each of our stations have a local studio, tower, sales, technical and administrative personnel dedicated to their community. Our network affiliations include the Big Four networks and many more smaller networks. Nearly all stations also provide content through digital platforms including a local station website and one or more digital apps. For more information about our stations please visit our corporate website at www.gray.tv.

Cyclicality, Seasonality and Revenue Concentrations

Broadcast stations like ours rely on advertising revenue and are therefore sensitive to cyclical changes in the economy. Our political advertising revenue is generally not as significantly affected by economic slowdowns or recessions as non-political advertising revenue.

Broadcast advertising revenue is generally highest in the second and fourth quarters. This seasonality results partly from increases in consumer advertising in the spring and retail advertising in the period leading up to, and including, the holiday season. Broadcast advertising revenue is also typically higher in even-numbered years due to spending by political candidates, political parties and special interest groups during the “on year” of the two-year election cycle. Political advertising spending is typically heaviest during the fourth quarter. In addition, the broadcast of the Olympic Games by our NBC-affiliated stations generally leads to increased viewership and revenue during those years.

Our broadcast advertising revenue is earned from the sale of advertisements broadcast by our stations. Although no single customer represented more than 5% of our broadcast advertising revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 or 2020, we derived a material portion of our non-political broadcast advertising revenue from advertisers in a limited number of industries, particularly the services sector, comprising financial, legal and medical advertisers, and the automotive industry. The services sector has become an increasingly important source of advertising revenue over the past few years. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 28%, 29% and 28%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to the services sector. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 17%, 17% and 21%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to automotive customers. Revenue from these industries may represent a higher percentage of total revenue in odd-numbered years due to, among other things, the increased availability of advertising time, as a result of such years being the “off year” of the two-year election cycle.

Station Network Affiliations. In addition to affiliations with ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, our secondary channels are affiliated with numerous smaller networks and program services including, among others, the CW Network or the CW Plus Network (collectively, “CW”), MY Network, the MeTV Network, Circle, Telemundo, Antenna TV and Cozi. Certain of our secondary digital channels are affiliated with more than one network simultaneously. We also broadcast independent and local news/weather channels in some markets.

The Big Four networks dominate broadcast television in terms of the amount of viewership that their original programming attracts. The “Big Three” major broadcast networks of CBS, NBC and ABC provide their respective network affiliates with a majority of the programming broadcast each day. FOX and CW provide their affiliates with a smaller portion of each day’s programming compared to the Big Three networks. The CW Plus Network generally provides programming for the entire broadcast day for CW affiliates in markets smaller than the top 100 DMAs.

We believe most successful commercial television stations obtain their brand identity from locally produced news programs; however, the affiliation of a station’s channels with one of the Big Four major networks can have a significant impact on the station’s programming, revenues, expenses and operations. A typical network provides an affiliate with network programming in exchange for a substantial majority of the advertising time available for sale during the airing of the network programs. The network then sells this advertising time and retains the revenue. The affiliate sells the remaining advertising time available within the network programming and non-network programming, and the affiliate retains most or all of these revenues. In seeking to acquire programming to supplement network-supplied programming, which we believe is critical to maximizing affiliate revenue, affiliates compete primarily with other affiliates and independent stations in their markets and, in certain cases, various national non-broadcast networks (“cable networks”) and various video streaming services that present competitive programming. The Big Four networks and CW charge fees to their affiliates for receiving network programming.

A television station may also acquire programming through barter arrangements. Under a programming barter arrangement, a national program distributor retains a fixed amount of advertising time within the program in exchange for the programming it supplies. The television station may pay a fixed fee for such programming.

We record revenue and expense for trade transactions involving the exchange of tangible goods or services with our customers. The revenue is recorded at the time the advertisement is broadcast and the expense is recorded at the time the goods or services are used. The revenue and expense associated with these transactions are based on the fair value of the assets or services received.

Affiliates of FOX and CW must purchase or produce a greater amount of programming for their non-network time periods, generally resulting in higher programming costs. However, affiliates of FOX and CW retain a larger portion of their advertising time inventory and the related revenues compared to Big Three affiliates.

Competition

Television stations compete for audiences, certain programming (including news) and advertisers. Cable network programming is a significant competitor of broadcast television programming. No single cable network regularly attains audience levels comparable to any major broadcast network. Despite increasing competition from cable channels, streaming services, digital platforms, social media, and internet-delivered video channels, television broadcasting remains the dominant distribution system for mass-market television advertising. In addition, signal coverage and carriage on MVPD systems materially affect a television station’s competitive position.

Audience. Stations compete for audience based on broadcast program popularity, which has a direct effect on advertising rates. Networks supply a substantial portion of our affiliated stations’ daily programming. Affiliated stations depend on the performance of the network programs to attract viewers. There can be no assurance that any such current or future programming created by our affiliated networks will achieve or maintain satisfactory viewership levels. Stations program non-network time periods with a combination of locally produced news, public affairs and entertainment programming, including national news or syndicated programs purchased for cash, cash and barter, or barter only.

MVPD systems have significantly altered the competitive landscape for audience in the television industry. Specifically, MVPD systems can increase a broadcasting station’s competition for viewers in a market by providing both cable networks and distant television station signals not otherwise available to the station’s audience.

Other sources of competition for audiences, programming and advertisers include streaming services, connected televisions, internet websites, mobile applications and wireless carriers, direct-to-consumer video distribution systems, and home entertainment systems.

Recent developments by many companies, including internet streaming service providers and internet website operators, have expanded, and are continuing to expand, the variety and quality of broadcast and non-broadcast video programming available to consumers via the internet. Internet companies have developed business relationships with companies that have traditionally provided syndicated programming, network television and other content. As a result, additional programming has, and is expected to further become, available through non-traditional methods, which can directly impact the number of TV viewers, and thus indirectly impact station rankings, popularity and revenue possibilities of our stations.

Programming. Competition for non-network programming involves negotiating with national program distributors, or syndicators, that sell “first run” and “off network” or rerun programming packages. Each station competes against the other broadcast stations in its market for exclusive access to first run programming (such as Wheel of Fortune) and off network reruns (such as The Big Bang Theory). Broadcast stations also compete for exclusive news stories and features. Cable networks and internet service providers compete with local stations for programming.

Advertising. Advertising revenues comprise the primary source of revenues for our stations. Our stations compete for advertising revenues in their respective markets with other television stations, digital platforms including Google and Facebook, local cable and other MVPD systems, as well as local newspapers, radio stations, magazines, outdoor advertising, transit advertising, yellow page directories and direct mail.

Federal Regulation of the Television Broadcast Industry

General. Under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (“Communications Act”), television broadcast operations such as ours are subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC. Among other things, the Communications Act empowers the FCC to: (i) issue, revoke and modify broadcasting licenses; (ii) regulate stations’ operations and equipment; and (iii) impose penalties for violations of the Communications Act or FCC regulations. The Communications Act prohibits the assignment of a license or the transfer of control of a licensee without prior FCC approval.

License Grant and Renewal. The FCC grants broadcast licenses to television stations for terms of up to eight years. Broadcast licenses are of paramount importance to the operations of television stations. The Communications Act requires the FCC to renew a licensee’s broadcast license if the FCC finds that: (i) the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity; (ii) there have been no serious violations of either the Communications Act or the FCC’s rules and regulations; and (iii) there have been no other violations which, taken together, would constitute a pattern of abuse. Historically the FCC has renewed broadcast licenses in substantially all cases. While we are not currently aware of any facts or circumstances that might prevent the renewal of our stations’ licenses at the end of their respective license terms, we cannot provide any assurances that any license will be renewed. Failure to renew any licenses upon the expiration of any license term could have a material adverse effect on our business. Under the Communications Act, the term of a broadcast license is automatically extended pending the FCC’s processing of a renewal application. For further information regarding the expiration dates of our stations’ current licenses and renewal application status, see the table under the heading “Stations”.

Media Ownership Restrictions and FCC Proceedings. The FCC’s broadcast ownership rules affect the number, type and location of broadcast properties that we may hold or acquire. As part of its requirement to review its media ownership rules every four years, in late 2017 the FCC adopted significant changes to its ownership rules, which took effect in February 2018. The updated rules were temporarily vacated by a lower appeals court in 2019, but ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States and reinstated by the FCC in June 2021. The FCC’s current ownership rules generally prohibit an entity from acquiring “attributable” interests in two television stations in the same market if both are ranked among the top-four stations in the market. The FCC will consider waiver requests on a case-by-case basis. The rules also limit the aggregate national audience reach of television stations that may be under common ownership, operation and control, or in which a single person or entity may hold an official position or have more than a specified interest or percentage of voting power. The FCC’s rules also define the types of positions and interests that are considered attributable for purposes of the ownership limits, and thus also apply to our principals and certain investors.

The FCC is required by statute to review all of its broadcast ownership rules every four years to determine if such rules remain necessary in the public interest. Although the FCC has yet to adopt any final rules as a result of its 2018 review, in December 2022, the FCC began a new quadrennial review of its ownership rules with the issuance of a Public Notice seeking comments on competition in the local television marketplace, including, among other things: (i) ongoing trends or developments in the media marketplace; (ii) impact of the ownership rules on the American public as consumers of media, including whether adjustments should be made to the rules to account for changes in consumer behavior like the use of streaming services; (iii) the barriers to minority and female ownership of broadcast stations; and (iv) any additional legal or economic factors the FCC should consider beyond its traditional public policy goals of competition, localism, and diversity. Comments and reply comments in the 2022 quadrennial review will be due in early 2023.

Local TV Ownership Rules. The FCC’s current television ownership rules allow one entity to acquire two commercial television stations in a DMA as long as no more than one station is ranked among the top-four stations in the market (the “top-four” prohibition). An entity may retain ownership of the second station if it obtains top-four status after it is acquired. Waivers of the top-four prohibition will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

National Television Station Ownership Rule. The maximum percentage of US households that a single owner can reach through commonly owned television stations is 39 percent. This limit was specified by Congress in 2004. The FCC applies a 50 percent “discount” for ultra-high frequency (“UHF”) stations. In December 2017, the FCC issued an NPRM seeking comment on whether it should modify or eliminate the national cap, including the UHF discount. Comments and reply comments were filed in 2018, and the proceeding remains open.

Conclusion. The FCC’s media ownership proceedings are on-going and, in many cases, are or will be subject to further judicial and potentially Congressional review. We cannot predict the outcome of any of these current or potential proceedings.

Attribution Rules. Under the FCC’s ownership rules, a direct or indirect purchaser of certain types of our securities could violate FCC regulations if that purchaser owned or acquired an “attributable” interest in another television broadcast station in the same area as one or more of our stations. Pursuant to FCC rules, the following relationships and interests are generally considered attributable for purposes of media ownership restrictions: (i) all officers and directors of a corporate licensee and its direct or indirect parent(s); (ii) voting stock interests of at least five percent; (iii) voting stock interests of at least 20 percent, if the holder is a passive institutional investor (such as an investment company, as defined in 15 U.S.C. 80a-3, a bank holding stock through its trust department, or an insurance company); (iv) any limited partnership interest or interest in a limited liability company, unless properly “insulated” from management activities; (v) equity and/or debt interests that in the aggregate exceed 33 percent of a licensee’s total assets, if the interest holder supplies more than 15 percent of the station’s total weekly programming or is a same-market television broadcast company; and (vi) time brokerage of a television broadcast station by a same-market television broadcast company providing more than 15 percent of the station’s weekly programming.

Management services agreements and other types of shared services arrangements between same-market stations that do not include attributable time brokerage components generally are not deemed attributable under the FCC’s current rules and policies. However, the FCC previously requested comment on whether local news service agreements and/or shared services agreements should be considered attributable for purposes of applying the media ownership rules. The DOJ has taken steps under the antitrust laws to block certain transactions involving joint sales or other services agreements.

To our knowledge, no officer, director or five percent or greater shareholder currently holds an attributable interest in another television station that is inconsistent with the FCC’s ownership rules and policies or with our ownership of our stations.

Alien Ownership Restrictions. The Communications Act restricts the ability of foreign entities or individuals to own or hold interests in broadcast licenses. The Communications Act bars the following from holding broadcast licenses: foreign governments, representatives of foreign governments, non-citizens, representatives of non-citizens, and corporations or partnerships organized under the laws of a foreign nation. Foreign individuals or entities, collectively, may directly or indirectly own or vote no more than 20 percent of the capital stock of a licensee or 25 percent of the capital stock of a corporation that directly or indirectly controls a licensee. The 20 percent limit on foreign ownership of a licensee may not be waived. In September 2016, the Commission adopted an Order that allows broadcast licensees to file a petition for declaratory ruling seeking FCC approval to exceed the 25 percent foreign ownership benchmark for a parent company. The Commission also clarified the methodology for publicly traded broadcasters to assess compliance with the foreign ownership limits.

We serve as a holding company for our subsidiaries, including subsidiaries that hold station licenses. Therefore, absent a grant of a declaratory ruling, we may be restricted from having more than one-fourth of our stock owned or voted directly or indirectly by non-citizens, foreign governments, representatives of non-citizens or foreign governments, or foreign corporations.

Programming and Operations. Rules and policies of the FCC and other federal agencies regulate certain programming practices and other areas affecting the business or operations of broadcast stations.

The Children’s Television Act of 1990 limits commercial matter in children’s television programs and requires stations to present educational and informational children’s programming. Broadcasters are effectively required through license renewal processing guidelines to provide a certain amount of children’s educational programming per week on their primary channels. In July 2019, the FCC issued an Order that adopted sweeping changes to the current children’s programming rules giving broadcasters increased flexibility in how they choose to serve the educational and informational needs of children.

Over the past several years, the FCC has increased its enforcement efforts regarding broadcast indecency and profanity and the statutory maximum fine for broadcasting indecent material is more than $500,000 per incident. The FCC has sought comment on whether it should modify its indecency policies but has not yet issued a decision in this proceeding. The outcome of this proceeding could affect future FCC policies in this area, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

EEO Rules. The FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) rules impose job information dissemination, recruitment, documentation and reporting requirements on broadcast station licensees. Broadcasters are subject to random audits to ensure compliance with EEO rules and may be sanctioned for noncompliance.

MVPD Retransmission of Local Television Signals. Under the Communications Act and FCC regulations, each television station generally has a so-called “must-carry” right to carriage of its primary channels on all cable systems and direct broadcast satellite systems serving its market. Each commercial television station may elect between invoking its “must carry” right or invoking a right to prevent an MVPD system from retransmitting the station’s signal without its consent (“retransmission consent”). Stations must make this election by October 1 every three years. Such elections are binding throughout the three-year cycle that commences on the subsequent January 1. The current election cycle commenced on January 1, 2021 and ends on December 31, 2023. During this period, our stations elected retransmission consent and have entered into retransmission consent contracts with virtually all MVPD systems serving their markets.

In accordance with STELAR, the FCC has promulgated rules that: (i) grant DBS providers the right to seek market modifications based on factors similar to those used in the cable industry; (ii) broaden the FCC’s prohibition against joint retransmission negotiations by prohibiting joint retransmission negotiations by any stations in the same DMA not under common control; (iii) prohibit a television station from limiting the ability of an MVPD to carry into its local market television signals that are deemed significantly viewed; and (iv) eliminate the “sweeps prohibition,” which precluded cable operators from deleting or repositioning local commercial television stations during “sweeps” ratings periods.

We currently are not a party to any agreements that delegate our authority to negotiate retransmission consent for any of our television stations or that grant us authority to negotiate retransmission consent for any other television station. Nevertheless, we cannot predict how the FCC’s restriction on joint negotiation might impact future opportunities.

The FCC has sought comment on whether it should modify or eliminate the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. In March 2020, the FCC sought comment on whether it should modernize its methodology for determining whether a television station is significantly viewed in a community outside of its local television market. Under exceptions to the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules, cable operators and satellite carriers are not required to delete the duplicating network or syndicated programming where the signal of the otherwise distant station is determined to be significantly viewed in the relevant community. We cannot predict the outcome of these proceedings. If, however, the FCC eliminates or relaxes its rules enforcing our program exclusivity rights, it could affect our ability to negotiate future retransmission consent agreements, and it could harm our ratings and advertising revenue if cable and satellite operators import duplicative programming.

Certain online video distributors (“OVDs”) have explored streaming broadcast programming over the internet without the consent of the copyright owner of the programming. The majority of federal courts have sided with broadcasters and enjoined OVDs from streaming broadcast programming without obtaining such copyright clearance.

On December 19, 2014, the FCC issued an NPRM seeking comment on its proposal to modernize the term “MVPD” to be technology neutral. If the NPRM proposal is adopted, an entity that uses the internet to distribute multiple streams of linear programming would be considered an MVPD and would have the same retransmission consent rights and obligations as other MVPDs, including the right to negotiate with television stations to carry their broadcast signals. The FCC also asked about the possible copyright implications of this proposal. We cannot predict the outcome of the FCC’s interpretive proceedings. Currently, a number of OVDs have obtained appropriate copyright authority and are retransmitting broadcast programming over the Internet, but have not been required to obtain separate retransmission consent from the broadcast stations being retransmitted.

In December 2019, the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 and the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019 (the “TVPA of 2019”) were signed into law. Among other things, these acts (i) made permanent the copyright license set out in Section 119 of the Copyright Act; (ii) limited eligibility for use of the Section 119 license to retransmit the signals of network television broadcast stations to unserved households to those satellite operators who provide local-into-local service to all DMAs; and (iii) modified the definition of unserved households to those households located in a “short market” (which, in turn, was defined as a local market in which programming of one or more of the top four networks is not offered on either the primary or multicast stream by any network station in that market). The TVPA of 2019 also made permanent the requirement that broadcasters and MVPDs negotiate in good faith and adds a provision that (i) allows MVPDs to designate a buying group to negotiate retransmission consent agreements on their behalf and (ii) requires large stations groups, such as us, to negotiate for retransmission consent in good faith with a qualified MVPD buying group. The rules that the FCC promulgated to implement those provisions of the TVPA of 2019 became effective in July 2020.

The foregoing does not purport to be a complete summary of the Communications Act, other applicable statutes, or the FCC’s rules, regulations or policies. Proposals for additional or revised regulations and requirements are pending before, are being considered by, and may in the future be considered by, Congress and federal regulatory agencies from time to time. We cannot predict the effect of any existing or proposed federal legislation, regulations or policies on our business. Also, several of the foregoing matters are now, or may become, the subject of litigation, and we cannot predict the outcome of any such litigation or the effect on our business.

Human Capital

Successful execution of our strategy is dependent on attracting, developing and retaining key employees and members of our management team. We believe the substantial skills, experience and industry knowledge of our employees and our training of our customer-facing employees benefit our operations and performance. There are several ways in which we attract, develop, and retain highly qualified talent, including:

Employees

As of February 17, 2023, we had 8,942 full-time employees and 452 part-time employees, of which 517 full-time and 24 part-time employees at 14 stations were represented by various unions. We consider our relations with our employees to be good.

Corporate Information

Gray Television, Inc. is a Georgia corporation, incorporated in 1897 initially to publish the Albany Herald in Albany, Georgia. We entered the broadcast industry in 1953. Our executive offices are located at 4370 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30319, and our telephone number at that location is (404) 504-9828. Our website address is http://www.gray.tv. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference or part of this or any other report we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We make the following reports filed or furnished, as applicable, with the SEC available, free of charge, on our website under the heading “SEC Filings” as soon as practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC: our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to any of the foregoing.

A Code of Ethics (“Code”) applies to all of our directors, executive officers and employees. The Code is available on our website in the Investor Relations section under the subheading Governance Documents. If any waivers of the Code are granted to an executive officer or director, the waivers will be disclosed in an SEC filing on Form 8-K.

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS 

In addition to the other information contained in, incorporated by reference into or otherwise referred to in this annual report on Form 10-K, you should consider carefully the following factors when evaluating our business. Any of these risks, or the occurrence of any of the events described in these risk factors, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and the results of operations. In addition, other risks or uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently do not deem material could arise, any of which could also materially adversely affect us. This annual report on Form 10-K also contains and incorporates by reference forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the occurrence of one or more of the following risk factors.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

We have substantial debt and have the ability to incur significant additional debt. The principal and interest payment obligations on such debt may restrict our future operations and impair our ability to meet our long-term obligations.

Currently we have a $6.5 billion in aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness, excluding intercompany debt and deferred financing costs. Subject to our ability to meet certain borrowing conditions under our Fifth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Senior Credit Facility”), we have the ability to incur significant additional debt, including secured debt under our $500 million revolving credit facility. The terms of the indenture (the “2031 Notes Indenture”) governing our outstanding 5.375% senior notes due 2031 (the “2031 Notes”), the indenture (the “2030 Notes Indenture”) governing our outstanding 4.750% senior notes due 2030 (the “2030 Notes”), the indenture (the “2027 Notes Indenture”) governing our outstanding 7.0% senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”) and the indenture (the “2026 Notes Indenture”) governing our outstanding 5.875% senior notes due 2026 (the “2026 Notes”) and, together with the 2031 Notes Indenture, the 2030 Notes Indenture and the 2027 Notes Indenture, the “Existing Indentures” or the “Indentures” also permit us to incur additional indebtedness, subject to our ability to meet certain borrowing conditions.

Our substantial debt may have important consequences. For instance, it could:

Our ability to service our significant financial obligations depends on our ability to generate significant cash flow. This is partially subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate cash flow from operations, that future borrowings will be available to us under our Senior Credit Facility or any other credit facilities, or that we will be able to complete any necessary financings, in amounts sufficient to enable us to fund our operations or pay our debts and other obligations, or to fund other liquidity needs. If we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our obligations, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. Additional debt or equity financing may not be available in sufficient amounts, at times or on terms acceptable to us, or at all. Specifically, volatility in the capital markets may also impact our ability to obtain additional financing, or to refinance our existing debt, on terms or at times favorable to us. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to service our debt or other obligations, which could result in us being in default thereon, in which circumstances our lenders could cease making loans to us, and lenders or other holders of our debt could accelerate and declare due all outstanding obligations due under the respective agreements, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

The agreements governing our various debt obligations impose restrictions on our operations and limit our ability to undertake certain corporate actions.

The agreements governing our various debt obligations, including our Senior Credit Facility and the Existing Indentures, include covenants imposing significant restrictions on our operations. These restrictions may affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. These covenants place, or will place, restrictions on our ability to, among other things:

Any of these restrictions and limitations could make it more difficult for us to execute our business strategy.

The Existing Indentures and our Senior Credit Facility require us to comply with certain financial ratios or other covenants; our failure to do so would result in a default thereunder, which would have a material adverse effect on us.

We are required to comply with certain financial or other covenants under the Existing Indentures and our Senior Credit Facility. Our ability to comply with these requirements may be affected by events affecting our business, but beyond our control, including prevailing general economic, financial and industry conditions. These covenants could have an adverse effect on us by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, investment, acquisition or other corporate opportunities. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under the Existing Indentures or our Senior Credit Facility.

Upon a default under any of our debt agreements, the lenders or debtholders thereunder could have the right to declare all amounts outstanding, together with accrued and unpaid interest, to be immediately due and payable, which could, in turn, trigger defaults under other debt obligations and could result in the termination of commitments of the lenders to make further extensions of credit under our Senior Credit Facility. If we were unable to repay our secured debt to our lenders, or were otherwise in default under any provision governing our outstanding secured debt obligations, our secured lenders could proceed against us and our subsidiary guarantors and against the collateral securing that debt. Any default resulting in an acceleration of outstanding indebtedness, a termination of commitments under our financing arrangements or lenders proceeding against the collateral securing such indebtedness would likely result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our annual debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under our Senior Credit Facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If the rates on which our borrowings are based were to increase from current levels, our debt service obligations on our variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash available to service our other obligations would decrease.

In addition, certain of our variable debt uses the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") as a benchmark for establishing the interest rate. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced in 2017 that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. In March 2021, the ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, the administrator of LIBOR, extended the transition dates of certain commonly used LIBOR tenors to June 30, 2023, after which LIBOR reference rates will cease to be provided. Despite this deferral, the LIBOR administrator has advised that no new contracts using U.S. Dollar LIBOR should be entered into after December 31, 2021. It is unknown whether any banks will continue to voluntarily submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR, or whether LIBOR will continue to be published by its administrator based on these submissions, or on any other basis, after June 30, 2023. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of market participants convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as the recommended alternative to LIBOR.

The replacement of LIBOR or any other benchmark rates may have an unpredictable impact on contractual mechanics in the credit markets or cause disruption to the broader financial markets. Uncertainty as to the nature of such potential discontinuation, reform or replacement may negatively impact the cost of our variable rate debt.

Risks Related to Our Business

Operating Risks

The COVID-19 global pandemic has had and may continue to have an adverse impact on our business.

The COVID-19 global pandemic negatively impacted the global economy, disrupted consumer spending and created significant volatility and disruption of financial markets over the past three years. At some point during that time period, the COVID-19 global pandemic caused, and, in the future may again cause, adverse impacts on our clients that could result in a decrease in advertising spend and/or heighten the risk with respect to the collectability of our receivables. Consumer spending and changes in advertising generally may also be negatively impacted by general macroeconomic conditions, consumer confidence, supply chain disruptions, macroeconomic inflation and efforts to curtail inflation. All of these factors and more may negatively impact revenues. In addition, disruption of global financial markets as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic and macroeconomic conditions has had, and could in the future, have a negative impact on our ability to access capital and/or access capital at the interest rates that are acceptable to us.

The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on our business, including our ability to execute our near-term and long-term business strategies and initiatives in the expected time frame, will depend on numerous evolving factors that we cannot accurately predict or assess, including the the negative impact it has on global and regional economies and economic activity; changes in advertising customers and consumer behavior; and its short and longer-term impact on the levels of consumer confidence. Any of these events could exacerbate the other risks and uncertainties described herein, or in other reports filed with the SEC from time to time, and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or stock price.

The success of our business is dependent upon advertising revenues, which are seasonal and cyclical, and also fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control.

Our main source of revenue is the sale of advertising time and space. Our ability to sell advertising time and space depends on, among other things:

Our results are also subject to seasonal and cyclical fluctuations. Seasonal fluctuations typically result in higher revenue and broadcast operating income in the second and fourth quarters rather than in the first and third quarters of each year. This seasonality is primarily attributable to advertisers’ increased expenditures in the spring and in anticipation of holiday season spending in the fourth quarter and an increase in television viewership during these periods. In addition, we typically experience fluctuations in our revenue and broadcast operating income between even-numbered and odd-numbered years. In years in which there are impending elections for various state and national offices, which primarily occur in even-numbered years, political advertising revenue tends to increase, often significantly, and particularly during presidential election years. We consider political broadcast advertising revenue to be revenue earned from the sale of advertising to political candidates, political parties and special interest groups of advertisements broadcast by our stations that contain messages primarily focused on elections and/or public policy issues. In even-numbered years, we typically derive a material portion of our broadcast advertising revenue from political broadcast advertisers. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we derived approximately 14% and 2%, respectively, of our total revenue from political broadcast advertisers. If political broadcast advertising revenues declined, especially in an even-numbered year, our results of operations and financial condition could also be materially adversely affected. Also, our stations affiliated with the NBC Network broadcast Olympic Games and typically experience increased viewership and revenue during those broadcasts. As a result of the seasonality and cyclicality of our revenue and broadcast operating income, and the historically significant increase in our revenue and broadcast operating income during even-numbered years, it has been, and is expected to remain, difficult to engage in period-over-period comparisons of our revenue and results of operations.

Continued uncertain financial and economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Financial and economic conditions continue to be uncertain over the longer term and the continuation or worsening of such conditions could reduce consumer confidence and have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition. If consumer confidence were to decline, this decline could negatively affect our advertising customers’ businesses and their advertising budgets. In addition, volatile economic conditions could have a negative impact on our industry or the industries of our customers who advertise on our stations, resulting in reduced advertising sales. Furthermore, it may be possible that actions taken by any governmental or regulatory body for the purpose of stabilizing the economy or financial markets will not achieve their intended effect. In addition to any negative direct consequences to our business or results of operations arising from these financial and economic developments, some of these actions may adversely affect financial institutions, capital providers, advertisers or other consumers on whom we rely, including for access to future capital or financing arrangements necessary to support our business. Our inability to obtain financing in amounts and at times necessary could make it more difficult or impossible to meet our obligations or otherwise take actions in our best interests.

Our dependence upon a limited number of advertising categories could adversely affect our business.

We consider broadcast advertising revenue to be revenue earned primarily from the sale of advertisements broadcast by our stations. Although no single customer represented more than 5% of our broadcast advertising revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we derived a material portion of non-political broadcast advertising revenue from advertisers in a limited number of industries, particularly the services sector, comprising financial, legal and medical advertisers, and the automotive industry. The services sector has become an increasingly important source of advertising revenue over the past few years. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 28%, 29% and 28%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to the services sector. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 17%, 17% and 21%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to automotive customers. Our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected if broadcast advertising revenue from the services sector, automotive or certain other industries, such as the medical, restaurant, communications, or furniture and appliances industries, declined.

We intend to continue to evaluate growth opportunities through strategic acquisitions, and there are significant risks associated with an acquisition strategy.

We intend to continue to evaluate opportunities for growth through selective acquisitions of television stations or station groups, subject to our commitment to reducing our leverage ratio over time. There can be no assurances that we will be able to identify any suitable acquisition candidates, and we cannot predict whether we will be successful in pursuing or completing any acquisitions, or what the consequences of not completing any acquisitions would be. Consummation of any proposed acquisition at any time may also be subject to various conditions such as compliance with FCC rules and policies. Consummation of acquisitions may also be subject to antitrust or other regulatory requirements. In addition, as we operate in a highly regulated industry, we could be subject to litigation, government investigations and enforcement actions on a variety of matters, the result of which could limit our acquisition strategy.

An acquisition strategy involves numerous other risks, including risks associated with:

Our failure to identify suitable acquisition candidates, or to complete any acquisitions and integrate any acquired business, or to obtain the expected benefits therefrom, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may fail to realize any benefits and incur unanticipated losses related to any acquisition.

The success of any strategic acquisition depends, in part, on our ability to successfully combine the acquired business and assets with our business and our ability to successfully manage the assets so acquired. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key employees, the disruption of ongoing business or inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures and policies that adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with clients, customers and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of an acquisition. Successful integration may also be hampered by any differences between the operations and corporate culture of the two organizations. Additionally, general market and economic conditions may inhibit our successful integration of any business. If we experience difficulties with the integration process, the anticipated benefits of an acquisition may not be realized fully, or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected. Finally, any cost savings that are realized may be offset by losses in revenues from the acquired business, any assets or operations disposed of in connection therewith or otherwise, or charges to earnings in connection with such acquisitions.

We must purchase television programming in advance of knowing whether a particular show will be popular enough for us to recoup our costs.

One of our most significant costs is for the purchase of television programming. If a particular program is not sufficiently popular among audiences in relation to the cost we pay for such program, we may not be able to sell enough related advertising time for us to recover the costs we pay to broadcast the program. We also must usually purchase programming several years in advance, and we may have to commit to purchase more than one year’s worth of programming, resulting in the incurrence of significant costs in advance of our receipt of any related revenue. We may also replace programs that are performing poorly before we have recaptured any significant portion of the costs we incurred in obtaining such programming or fully expensed the costs for financial reporting purposes. Any of these factors could reduce our revenues, result in the incurrence of impairment charges, or otherwise cause our costs to escalate relative to revenues.

We are highly dependent upon our network affiliations, and our business and results of operations may be materially affected if a network: (i) terminates its affiliation with us; (ii) significantly changes the economic terms and conditions of any future affiliation agreements with us; or (iii) significantly changes the type, quality or quantity of programming provided to us under an affiliation agreement.

Our business depends in large part on the success of our network affiliations. Nearly all of our stations are directly or indirectly affiliated with at least one of the four major broadcast networks pursuant to a separate affiliation agreement. Each affiliation agreement provides the affiliated station with the right to broadcast all programs transmitted by the affiliated network during the term of the related agreement. Our affiliation agreements generally expire at various dates beginning in the third quarter of 2023 through December 2025.

If we cannot enter into affiliation agreements to replace any agreements in advance of their expiration, we would no longer be able to carry the affiliated network’s programming. This loss of programming would require us to seek to obtain replacement programming. Such replacement programming may involve higher costs and may not be as attractive to our target audiences, thereby reducing our ability to generate advertising revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Furthermore, our concentration of CBS and/or NBC affiliates makes us particularly sensitive to adverse changes in our business relationship with, and the general success of, CBS and/or NBC.

If we are able to renew or replace existing affiliation agreements, we can give no assurance that any future affiliation agreements will have economic terms or conditions equivalent to or more advantageous to us than our current agreements. If in the future a network or networks impose more adverse economic terms upon us, such event or events could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In addition, if we are unable to renew or replace any existing affiliation agreements, we may be unable to satisfy certain obligations under our existing or any future retransmission consent agreements with MVPDs and/or secure payment of retransmission consent fees under such agreements. Furthermore, if in the future a network limited or removed our ability to retransmit network programming to MVPDs, we may be unable to satisfy certain obligations or criteria for fees under any existing or any future retransmission consent agreements. In either case, such an event could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We are also dependent upon our retransmission consent agreements with MVPDs, and we cannot predict the outcome of potential regulatory changes to the retransmission consent regime.

We are also dependent, in significant part, on our retransmission consent agreements. Our current retransmission consent agreements expire at various times over the next several years. No assurances can be provided that we will be able to renegotiate all of such agreements on favorable terms, on a timely basis, or at all. The failure to renegotiate such agreements could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our ability to successfully negotiate future retransmission consent agreements may be hindered by potential legislative or regulatory changes to the framework under which these agreements are negotiated.

The FCC has taken actions to implement various provisions of the STELAR Reauthorization Act of 2014 affecting the carriage of television stations, including (i) adopting rules that allow for the modification of satellite television markets in order to ensure that satellite operators carry the broadcast stations of most interest to their communities; (ii) tightening its rules on joint retransmission consent negotiations to prohibit joint negotiations by stations in the same market unless those stations are commonly controlled; (iii) prohibiting a television station from limiting the ability of an MVPD to carry into its local market television signals that are deemed significantly viewed; and (iv) eliminating the “sweeps prohibition,” which had precluded cable operators from deleting or repositioning local commercial television stations during “sweeps” ratings periods.

We currently are not a party to any agreements that delegate our authority to negotiate retransmission consent for any of our television stations or grant us authority to negotiate retransmission consent for any other television station. Nevertheless, we cannot predict how the FCC’s restrictions on joint negotiations might impact future opportunities.

The FCC also has sought comment on whether it should modify or eliminate the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. We cannot predict the outcome of this proceeding. If, however, the FCC eliminates or relaxes its rules enforcing our program exclusivity rights, it could affect our ability to negotiate future retransmission consent agreements, and it could harm our ratings and advertising revenue if cable and satellite operators import duplicative programming.

In addition, certain OVDs have explored streaming broadcast programming over the internet without approval from or payments to the broadcaster. The majority of federal courts have issued preliminary injunctions enjoining these OVDs from streaming broadcast programming. Separately, on December 19, 2014, the FCC issued an NPRM proposing to classify certain OVDs as MVPDs for purposes of certain FCC carriage rules. If the FCC adopts its proposal, OVDs would need to negotiate for consent from broadcasters before they retransmit broadcast signals. We cannot predict whether the FCC will adopt its proposal or other modified rules that might weaken our rights to negotiate with OVDs.

In December 2019, Congress adopted the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 and the TVPA of 2019. Among other things, these acts (i) made permanent the copyright license set out in Section 119 of the Copyright Act; (ii) limited eligibility for use of the Section 119 license to retransmit the signals of network television broadcast stations to unserved households to those satellite operators who provide local-into-local service to all DMAs; and (iii) modified the definition of unserved households to those households located in a “short market” (which, in turn, was defined as a local market in which programming of one or more of the top four networks is not offered on either the primary or multicast stream by any network station in that market). The TVPA of 2019 also made permanent the requirement that broadcasters and MVPDs negotiate in good faith and adds a provision that will (i) allow MVPDs to designate a buying group to negotiate retransmission consent agreements on their behalf and (ii) require large stations groups, including ours, to negotiate in good faith with a qualified MVPD buying group.

Congress continues to consider various changes to the statutory scheme governing retransmission of broadcast programming. Some of the proposed bills would make it more difficult to negotiate retransmission consent agreements with large MVPDs and would weaken our leverage to seek market-based compensation for our programming. We cannot predict whether any of these proposals will become law, and, if any do, we cannot determine the effect that any statutory changes would have on our business.

We may be unable to maintain or increase our digital advertising revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

We generate a portion of our advertising revenue from the sale of advertisements on our digital sites. Our ability to maintain and increase this advertising revenue is largely dependent upon the number of users actively visiting our internet sites and using our digital apps. As a result, we must increase user engagement with our internet sites in order to increase our advertising revenue. Because digital advertising techniques are evolving, if our content, technology and advertisement serving techniques do not evolve to meet the changing needs of advertisers, our advertising revenue could also decline. Changes in our business model, advertising inventory or initiatives could also cause a decrease in our internet advertising revenue.

We do not have long-term agreements with most of our digital advertisers. Any termination, change or decrease in our relationships with our largest digital advertising clients could have a material adverse effect on our revenue and profitability. If we do not maintain or increase our digital advertising revenue, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

Cybersecurity risks could affect our operating effectiveness.

We use computers in substantially all aspects of our business operations. Our revenues are increasingly dependent on digital products. Such use exposes us to potential cyber incidents resulting from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. These incidents could include, but are not limited to, unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, data corruption or operational disruption. The results of these incidents could include, but are not limited to, business interruption, disclosure of nonpublic information, decreased advertising revenues, misstated financial data, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection costs, litigation, financial consequences and reputational damage adversely affecting customer or investor confidence, any or all of which could adversely affect our business. While we have experienced an incident in the past, and may experience additional incidents in the future, we are not aware of any incident having a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition to date. However, there can be no assurance that we will not experience future incidents that may be material. Although we have systems and processes in place to protect against risks associated with cyber incidents in the future, depending on the nature of an incident, these protections may not be fully sufficient. In addition, because techniques used in cybersecurity attacks change frequently and may not be recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. An incident may not be detected until well after it occurs and the severity and potential impact may not be fully known for a substantial period of time after it has been discovered.

Industry Risks

We operate in a highly competitive environment. Competition occurs on multiple levels (for audiences, programming and advertisers) and is based on a variety of factors. If we are not able to successfully compete in all relevant aspects, our revenues will be materially adversely affected.

Television stations compete for audiences, certain programming (including news) and advertisers. Signal coverage and carriage on MVPD systems also materially affect a television station’s competitive position. With respect to audiences, stations compete primarily based on broadcast program popularity. We cannot provide any assurances as to the acceptability by audiences of any of the programs we broadcast. Further, because we compete with other broadcast stations for certain programming, we cannot provide any assurances that we will be able to obtain any desired programming at costs that we believe are reasonable. Cable-network programming, combined with increased access to cable, satellite TV, and internet video streaming services, has become a significant competitor for broadcast television programming viewers. Cable networks’ viewership and advertising share have increased due to the growth in MVPD and internet video streaming services, penetration (the percentage of television households that are connected to an MVPD or internet video system) and increased investments in programming by cable networks or internet video. Further increases in the advertising share of cable networks and internet video streaming services could materially adversely affect the advertising revenue of our television stations.

In addition, technological innovation and the resulting proliferation of programming alternatives, such as internet websites, mobile apps and wireless carriers, direct-to-consumer video distribution systems, and home entertainment systems have further fractionalized television viewing audiences and resulted in additional challenges to revenue generation. New technologies and methods of buying advertising also present an additional competitive challenge, as competitors may offer products and services such as the ability to purchase advertising programmatically or bundled offline and online advertising, aimed at more efficiently capturing advertising spend. The number of viewers and ratings of our television stations and advertising revenues in general may be impacted by viewers moving to these programming alternatives and alternate media content providers, a process known as “cord cutting” and “cord shaving.” As these programming alternatives continue to drive changes in consumer behavior and other consumption strategies our business and results of operations may be materially affected.

Our inability or failure to broadcast popular programs, or otherwise maintain viewership for any reason, including as a result of increases in programming alternatives, or our loss of advertising due to technological changes, could result in a lack of advertisers, or a reduction in the amount advertisers are willing to pay us to advertise, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Other Financial Risks

We have, in the past, incurred impairment charges on our goodwill and/or broadcast licenses, and any such future charges may have a material effect on the value of our total assets.

As of December 31, 2022, the book value of our broadcast licenses was $5.3 billion and the book value of our goodwill was $2.7 billion, in comparison to total assets of $11.2 billion. Not less than annually, and more frequently if necessary, we are required to evaluate our goodwill and broadcast licenses to determine if the estimated fair value of these intangible assets is less than book value. If the estimated fair value of these intangible assets is less than book value, we will be required to record a non-cash expense to write down the book value of the intangible asset to the estimated fair value. We cannot make any assurances that any required impairment charges will not have a material adverse effect on our total assets.

We previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, which may result in material misstatements or otherwise adversely affect the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of our financial statements.

As described under Item 9A. "Controls and Procedures" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, we concluded that a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting existed as of December 31, 2021 and, accordingly, internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of such date. This material weakness related to our controls over user access that did not adequately restrict or provision/deprovision user access related to certain financial reporting programs and did not ensure appropriate segregation of duties as it relates to review. During 2022, we completed the remediation measures related to the material weakness and we have concluded that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective as of December 31, 2022. Completion of remediation does not provide assurance that our remediation or other controls will continue to operate properly. Failure to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting may adversely affect the accuracy and reliability of our financial statements and have other consequences that may materially and adversely affect our business.

We are a holding company with no material independent assets or operations and we depend on our subsidiaries for cash.

We are a holding company with no material independent assets or operations, other than our investments in our subsidiaries. Because we are a holding company, we are dependent upon the payment of dividends, distributions, loans or advances to us by our subsidiaries to fund our obligations. These payments could be or become subject to dividend or other restrictions under applicable laws in the jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries operate. Payments by our subsidiaries are also contingent upon the subsidiaries’ earnings. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funds from our subsidiaries to fund our obligations, our financial condition and ability to meet our obligations may be adversely affected.

Our defined benefit pension plan obligations are currently funded, however, if certain factors worsen, we may have to make significant cash payments, which could reduce the cash available for our business.

We have funded obligations under our defined benefit pension plans. Notwithstanding that the Gray Pension Plan is frozen with regard to any future benefit accruals, the funded status of our pension plans is dependent upon many factors, including returns on invested assets, the level of certain market interest rates and the discount rate used to determine pension obligations. Unfavorable returns on the plan’s assets or unfavorable changes in applicable laws or regulations may materially change the timing and amount of required plan funding, which could reduce the cash available for our business. In addition, any future decreases in the discount rate used to determine pension obligations could result in an increase in the valuation of pension obligations, which could affect the reported funding status of our pension plans and future contributions.

Risks Related to the Ownership of Our Equity Securities

The price and trading volume of our equity securities may be volatile.

The price and trading volume of our equity securities may be volatile and subject to fluctuations. Some of the factors that could cause fluctuation in the stock price or trading volume of our equity securities include:

There can be no assurance that the price of our equity securities will not fluctuate or decline significantly. The stock market in recent years has experienced considerable price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of individual companies and that could adversely affect the price of our equity securities, regardless of our operating performance. Stock price volatility might be worse if the trading volume of shares of our equity securities is low. Furthermore, stockholders may initiate securities class action lawsuits if the market price of our equity securities were to decline significantly, which may cause us to incur substantial costs and could divert the time and attention of our management.

We currently pay cash dividends on our common stock and Class A common stock but this is subject to approval by our Board each quarter. To the extent a potential investor ascribes value to a dividend paying stock, the value of our stock may be correspondingly affected.

Our Board of Directors reinstated a cash or stock dividend on both classes of our common stock beginning in the first quarter of 2021. The timing and amount of any future dividend is at the discretion of our Board of Directors, and they may be subject to limitations or restrictions in our Senior Credit Facility and other financing agreements, including our Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock, we may be, or become, party to. We can provide no assurance when or if any future dividends will be declared on our common stock or Class A common stock. As a result, if and to the extent an investor ascribes value to a dividend paying stock, the value of our common stock or Class A common stock may be correspondingly affected.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our Restated Articles of Incorporation (“Articles”) and our Bylaws, as amended (“Bylaws”), as well as provisions of Georgia law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our Articles and Bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging a prospective acquirer from making a tender offer for our shares of common stock or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. To the extent that these provisions discourage takeover attempts, they could deprive stockholders of opportunities to realize takeover premiums for their shares. Moreover, these provisions could discourage accumulations of large blocks of common stock, thus depriving stockholders of any advantages which large accumulations of stock might provide.

As a Georgia corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Georgia law, including Section 14-2-1132 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code. Section 14-2-1132 prevents some stockholders holding more than 10% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations unless the business combination was approved in advance by our Board of Directors or results in the stockholder holding more than 90% of our outstanding common stock.

Any provision of our Articles, our Bylaws or Georgia law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

We have the ability to issue additional preferred stock, which could affect the rights of holders of our common stock and Class A common stock.

Including the shares of preferred stock issued in the Raycom Merger, our Articles allow our Board of Directors to issue up to 20 million shares of preferred stock and set forth the terms of such preferred stock. The terms of any such preferred stock, if issued, may adversely affect the dividend and liquidation rights of holders of our common stock.

Holders of our Class A common stock have the right to 10 votes per share on all matters to be voted on by our stockholders and, consequently, the ability to exert significant influence over us.

As a result of the 10 to 1 voting rights of holders of our Class A common stock, these stockholders are expected to be able to exert significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including mergers and other material transactions, and may be able to cause or prevent a change in the composition of our Board of Directors or a change in control of our Company that could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of the Company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock.

Certain stockholders or groups of stockholders have the ability to exert significant influence over us.

Hilton H. Howell, Jr., our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the husband of Robin R. Howell, a member of our Board of Directors (collectively with other members of their family, the “Howell-Robinson Family”). As a result of their significant stockholdings and positions on the Board of Directors, the Howell-Robinson Family is able to exert significant influence over our policies and management, potentially in a manner which may not be consistent with the interests of our other stockholders.

Risks Related to Regulatory Matters

Federal broadcasting industry regulations limit our operating flexibility.

The FCC regulates all television broadcasters, including us. We must obtain FCC approval whenever we (i) apply for a new license; (ii) seek to renew, modify or assign a license; (iii) purchase a broadcast station; and/or (iv) transfer the control of one of our subsidiaries that holds a license. Our FCC licenses are critical to our operations, and we cannot operate without them. We cannot be certain that the FCC will renew these licenses in the future or approve new acquisitions, mergers, divestitures or other business activities. Our failure to renew any licenses upon the expiration of any license term could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Federal legislation and FCC rules have changed significantly in recent years and may continue to change. These changes may limit our ability to conduct our business in ways that we believe would be advantageous and may affect our operating results.

The FCC can sanction us for programming broadcast on our stations that it finds to be indecent.

Over the past several years, the FCC has increased its enforcement efforts regarding broadcast indecency and profanity and the statutory maximum fine for broadcasting indecent material is more than $500,000 per incident, up to a maximum of more than $4 million for a continuing violation. In June 2012, the Supreme Court decided a challenge to the FCC’s indecency enforcement policies without resolving the scope of the FCC’s ability to regulate broadcast content. In August 2013, the FCC issued a Public Notice seeking comment on whether it should modify its indecency policies. The FCC has not yet issued a decision in this proceeding and the courts remain free to review the FCC’s current policy or any modifications thereto. The outcomes of these proceedings could affect future FCC policies in this area, and we are unable to predict the outcome of any such judicial proceeding, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The FCC’s duopoly restrictions limit our ability to own and operate multiple television stations in the same market.

The FCC’s ownership rules generally prohibit us from acquiring an “attributable interest” in two television stations that are located in the same market unless at least one of the stations is not ranked among the top-four stations in the market (the “top-four” prohibition). In November 2017, the FCC released an order that eliminated or relaxed several long-standing media ownership rules, including the requirement that, in addition to compliance with the “top-four” prohibition, common ownership of two stations in a single market was permissible only if eight or more independently-owned television stations would remain in the market (the “eight voices” test). However, in November 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated these rule changes and reinstated the prior, more restrictive, ownership rules, including the “eight voices” test. The Supreme Court of the United States granted the FCC’s petition for certiorari seeking review of the Third Circuit decision; and on April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court reversed the Third Circuit’s decision. As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the FCC’s less restrictive ownership rules became effective on June 30, 2021. In December 2022, the FCC launched a new proceeding to consider whether further changes in the media ownership rules are necessary, which remains pending.

In November 2022, the FCC issued a forfeiture order finding that Gray’s acquisition of CBS programming from another broadcaster in the Anchorage market for Gray’s station KYES-TV was inconsistent with the local television ownership rule’s “top-four” prohibition given Gray’s ownership of KTUU-TV in the same market (a top-four ranked station) and imposed a fine of $518,283. Gray has brought a judicial challenge to the FCC’s order, which remains pending.

The FCC also considers television Local Marketing Agreements (“LMAs”) (which are agreements under which a television station sells or provides more than 15% of the programming on another same-market television station) as “attributable interests.” Pursuant to the FCC’s ownership rules currently in effect, our ability to expand in our present markets through additional station acquisitions or LMAs may be constrained.

The FCC’s National Television Station Ownership Rule limits the maximum number of households we can reach.

Under the FCC’s National Television Station Ownership Rule, a single television station owner may not reach more than 39% of United States households through commonly owned television stations, subject to a 50% discount of the number of television households attributable to UHF stations (the “UHF Discount”). In December 2017, the FCC issued an NPRM seeking comment on whether it should modify or eliminate the national cap, including the UHF Discount. This rule may constrain our ability to expand through additional station acquisitions. Currently our station portfolio reaches approximately 36% of total United States television households, or after applying the UHF discount approximately 25% of total United States television households.

The Company is subject to governmental oversight regarding compliance with antitrust law as well as related civil litigation.

Various governmental agencies, including the DOJ, have authority to enforce the antitrust laws of the United States in the broadcast television industry. The DOJ has increased its enforcement activities within the industry. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2018, the DOJ filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against six broadcasters, including Raycom and Meredith, alleging an agreement to exchange certain competitively sensitive information relating to advertising sales among certain stations in some local markets. The broadcasters and the DOJ entered into substantially identical consent decrees, which, among other things, prohibits the defendant broadcasters from exchanging competitively sensitive information and impose certain compliance requirements. No party to the settlement agreement, including Raycom and Meredith, admitted to any wrongdoing. In addition, following the public disclosure of the DOJ’s investigation and settlement, various putative class action lawsuits were filed against a number of owners of television stations. The cases have been consolidated in a single multidistrict litigation in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the Plaintiffs’ operative complaint alleges price fixing and unlawful information exchange among the defendants’ advertisement sales teams. We are unable to predict the outcome of these proceedings. For more information on these proceedings, see “Item 3. Legal Proceedings.”

Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

Item 2. PROPERTIES

We lease our principal executive offices in a building located at 4370 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, Georgia, 30319. We also own or lease various other offices and technical facilities that support our operations. See “Stations”, in Item 1. of this Form 10-K.

The types of properties required to support television stations include offices, studios, transmitter sites and antenna sites. A station’s studios are generally housed within its offices in each respective market. The transmitter sites and antenna sites are generally located in elevated areas to provide optimal signal strength and coverage. We own or lease land, offices, studios, transmitters and antennas in each of our markets necessary to support our operations in that market area. In some market areas, we also own or lease multiple properties, such as towers and/or signal repeaters (translators), to optimize our broadcast capabilities. To the extent that our properties are leased, and those leases contain expiration dates, we believe that those leases can be renewed, or that alternative facilities can be leased or acquired, on terms that are comparable, in all material respects, to our existing properties.

We believe our owned and leased properties are in good condition, and suitable for the conduct of our present business.

Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that any known legal proceedings or claims are likely to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. See Note 12 “Commitments and Contingencies” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for a further discussion of our legal proceedings and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Set forth below is certain information with respect to our executive officers as of February 17, 2023:

Hilton H. Howell, Jr., age 60, has served as our Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since January 2, 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Howell served as our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President from June 2013 to December 2018. Mr. Howell is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board, has been a Director since 1993, and served as the Vice Chairman of the Board from 2002 to April 2016 when he was appointed as Chairman. He served as our Executive Vice President from September 2002 to August 2008. In addition, he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic American Corporation, an insurance holding company, from 1995 to 2001, and as Chairman of that company since February 2009. He has been Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Delta Life Insurance Company and Delta Fire & Casualty Insurance Company since 1991. Mr. Howell also serves as a Director of Atlantic American Corporation and of each of its subsidiaries, American Southern Insurance Company, American Safety Insurance Company and Bankers Fidelity Life Insurance Company, as well as a Director of Delta Life Insurance Company and Delta Fire & Casualty Insurance Company. He is the husband of Mrs. Robin R. Howell, who is a member of our Board of Directors. Previously, Mr. Howell served as a board member of the National Association of Broadcasters and the NBC Affiliate Board.

Donald P. LaPlatney, age 63, has served as our President and Co-Chief Executive Officer since January 2, 2019. Prior to that, from July 2016 until the closing of the Raycom Merger, he served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Raycom, and served as member on their Board of Directors. Before that, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Raycom from April 2014 to July 2016, as Senior Vice President, Digital Media from April 2012 until April 2014, and as Vice President, Digital Media from August 2007 to April 2012. Prior to joining Raycom in 2007, Mr. LaPlatney held various executive positions at The Tube Media Corp., Westwood One, and Raycom Sports. In addition, Mr. LaPlatney serves as a board member of Circle and the National Association of Broadcasters. Previously, Mr. LaPlatney served as Chairman of the NBC Affiliate Board.

James C. Ryan, age 62, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since October 1998 and as Executive Vice President since February 2016. Prior to that, he was our Senior Vice President from September 2002 to January 2016 and our Vice President from October 1998 to August 2002.

Kevin P. Latek, age 52, has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Development Officer since February 2016. Prior to that, he served as our Senior Vice President, Business Affairs since July 2013 and as our Vice President for Law and Development from March 2012 to June 2013. Prior to joining Gray, Mr. Latek practiced law in Washington, DC representing television and radio broadcasters and financial institutions in FCC regulatory and transactional matters. He is a member and officer of the CBS Affiliate Board and a past member of the FOX Affiliate Board of Governors. Mr. Latek serves as a board member of Circle.

Robert L. Smith, age 60, has served as our Chief Operating Officer since January 2019. Prior to that, he served as our Co-Chief Operating Officer from February 2016 to December 2018 and as our Senior Vice President from July 2013 to January 2016. He is a past director of the Wisconsin Broadcaster’s Board, and a member of the Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.

PART II

Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock, no par value, and our Class A common stock, no par value, have been listed and traded on the NYSE since September 24, 1996 and June 30, 1995, respectively, under the symbols “GTN” and “GTN.A,” respectively.

As of February 17, 2023, we had 85,349,862 outstanding shares of common stock held by 29,947 stockholders and 7,477,241 outstanding shares of Class A common stock held by 400 stockholders. The number of stockholders consists of stockholders of record and individual participants in security position listings as furnished to us pursuant to Rule 17Ad-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

For matters submitted to a shareholder vote, our restated articles of incorporation provide that each share of common stock is entitled to one vote, and each share of Class A common stock is entitled to 10 votes. Our restated articles of incorporation require that our common stock and our Class A common stock receive dividends on a pari passu basis when declared.

During 2022 we have paid quarterly cash dividends totaling $0.32 per share on both classes of our common stock. While we have paid dividends to holders of our common stock on a quarterly basis since the beginning of 2021, any future payments of dividends will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant. In addition, the Senior Credit Facility and our Indentures each contain covenants that could restrict our ability to pay cash dividends on our capital stock, which are currently applicable. See Note 4 “Long-term Debt” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for a further discussion of restrictions on our ability to pay dividends.

During 2022 we paid dividends on our outstanding 650,000 shares of Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”). Shares of the Preferred Stock accrue dividends on the face value in (A) cash at a rate of 8% per annum or, (B) at the Company’s option, in-kind at a rate of 8.5% per annum, as declared by our Board of Directors.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graphs compare the cumulative total return of our common stock and Class A common stock from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022, as compared to the stock market total return indexes for (i) The New York Stock Exchange Composite Index (the “NYSE Composite Index”) and (ii) The New York Stock Exchange Television Broadcasting Stations Index (the “TV Broadcasting Stations Index”).

The graphs assume the investment of $100 in each of our common stock and the Class A common stock, respectively, the NYSE Composite Index and the TV Broadcasting Stations Index on January 1, 2018. Any dividends are assumed to have been reinvested as paid.

Issuer Purchases of Common Stock and Class A Common Stock

On November 5, 2019, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $150 million of our outstanding common stock and/or our Class A common stock prior to December 31, 2022 (the “2019 Repurchase Authorization”). The 2019 Repurchase Authorization superseded all prior repurchase authorizations. The 2019 Repurchase Authorization prohibits the Company from purchasing shares directly from the Company’s officers, directors, or the Gray Television, Inc. Capital Accumulation Plan (the “401k Plan”). On November 4, 2020, our Board of Directors increased the repurchase authorization under the 2019 Repurchase Authorization by $150 million and extended the authorization to December 31, 2023.

On June 3, 2022, under the 2019 Repurchase authorization, we entered into an issuer repurchase plan (the “2022 IRP”), under Rules 10b-18 and 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act. The 2022 IRP facilitated the orderly repurchase of our common stock through the establishment of the parameters for repurchases of our shares. During 2022, we repurchased 2.6 million shares of our common stock at an average price of $18.87 per share, excluding commissions, for a total cost of $50 million, on the open market under the 2022 IRP, after which the 2022 IRP was completed according to its terms.

As of December 31, 2022, approximately $124 million was available to repurchase shares of our common stock and/or Class A common stock under the 2019 Repurchase Authorization. Future share repurchases would be implemented through purchases made from time to time in either the open market or private transactions in accordance with applicable securities law requirements, including Rule 10b5-1. The extent to which we repurchase any of our 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. We are 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 7. 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 audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere herein.

This section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K discusses 2022 and 2021 items and year-over-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021. A detailed discussion of 2020 items and year-over-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Business Overview. We are a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.  We are the nation’s largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States.  Our television stations serve 113 television markets that collectively reach approximately 36 percent of US television households.  This portfolio includes 79 markets with the top-rated television station and 101 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station.  We also own video program companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Media Group (formerly Tupelo Honey), PowerNation Studios, as well as the studio production facilities Assembly Atlanta and Third Rail Studios. 

Our operating revenues are derived primarily from broadcast and internet advertising, retransmission consent fees and, to a lesser extent, other sources such as production of television and event programming, television commercials, tower rentals and management fees. For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, we generated revenue of $3.7 billion, $2.4 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively.

Impact of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and Related Government Restrictions on our Markets and Operations. The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, measures to prevent its spread, and supply chain and inflation that accompanied the lifting of such measures, continue to affect our businesses in a number of ways. The extent to which the COVID-19 global pandemic impacts our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict or assess, including the negative impact it has on global and regional economies and economic activity, changes in advertising customers and consumer behavior, impact of governmental regulations that might be imposed in response to the pandemic; its short and longer-term impact on the levels of consumer confidence; and how economies, supply chains and capital markets recover after the COVID-19 global pandemic subsides. The COVID-19 global pandemic’s impact on the capital markets could impact our cost of borrowing. See “The “COVID-19” global pandemic has had and may continue to have an adverse impact on our business.” in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors”.

Impact of Recent Acquisitions and Divestitures. During 2022, 2021 and 2020, we completed several transactions that have, collectively, had a significant impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We refer to these transactions collectively as the “Acquisitions”. Please see Note 3. “Acquisitions and Divestitures” in our consolidated financial statements contained elsewhere herein for further discussion of the Acquisitions. The impact of the Acquisitions is described in more detail in the following discussion of our operating results. The most significant of the transactions were:

The following table summarizes the “Transaction Related Expenses” incurred in connection with the Acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, by type and by financial statement line item (in millions):

Due to the significant effect that the 2021 Acquisitions have had on our results of operations, and in order to provide more meaningful period over period comparisons, we present herein certain financial information excluding the impact of the 2021 Acquisitions. This financial information does not include any adjustments for other events attributable to the 2021 Acquisitions unless otherwise described.

Revenues, Operations, Cyclicality and Seasonality. Broadcast advertising is sold for placement generally 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 and mobile apps. These advertisements may be sold as banner advertisements, video advertisements 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:

We derived a material portion of our non-political broadcast advertising revenue from advertisers in a limited number of industries, particularly the services sector, comprising financial, legal and medical advertisers, and the automotive industry. The services sector has become an increasingly important source of advertising revenue over the past few years. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 28%, 29% and 28%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to the services sector. During the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 approximately 17%, 17% and 21%, respectively, of our broadcast advertising revenue (excluding political advertising revenue) was obtained from advertising sales to automotive customers. Revenue from these industries may represent a higher percentage of total revenue in odd-numbered years due to, among other things, the increased availability of advertising time, as a result of such years being the “off year” of the two-year election cycle.

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.

Risk Factors. The broadcast television industry relies primarily on advertising revenue and faces significant competition. For a discussion of certain other presently known, significant risk factors that may affect our business, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” included elsewhere herein.

Revenue

Set forth below are the principal types of revenue, less agency commissions, and the percentage contribution of each to our total revenue (dollars in millions):

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 31, 2022 (“2022”) Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021 (“2021”)

Revenue. Total revenue increased approximately $1.3 billion, or 52%, to $3.7 billion for 2022 compared to 2021, primarily as a result of the television stations acquired in our 2021 Acquisitions. Total revenue from the stations acquired in our 2021 Acquisitions increased by $974 million in 2022, compared to 2021. During 2022, excluding the net impact of the 2021 Acquisitions:

Broadcasting operating expenses. Broadcasting operating expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain on disposal of assets) increased $617 million, or 40%, to $2.2 billion for 2022, compared to 2021, primarily as a result of the television stations acquired in our 2021 Acquisitions. Broadcast expense from the stations acquired in our 2021 Acquisitions increased by $548 million in 2022, compared to 2021. During 2022, excluding the net impact of the 2021 Acquisitions:

We recorded broadcast non-cash stock-based amortization expense of $4 million and $2 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Production Company Operating Expenses. Production company operating expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain on disposal of assets) increased by approximately $21 million in 2022 to $83 million, compared to $62 million 2021. These increases were primarily due to increases in professional services consistent with increasing business activity consistent with the diminished effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic and costs related to the Assembly Atlanta development.

Corporate and administrative expenses. Corporate and administrative expenses (before depreciation, amortization and gain or loss on disposal of assets) decreased by $55 million, or 35%, to $104 million in 2022 compared to 2021. Primarily as a result of decreased transaction related professional services costs in 2022. We recorded corporate non-cash stock-based amortization expense of $18 million and $12 million in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Depreciation. Depreciation of property and equipment totaled $129 million and $104 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively. Depreciation expense increased due to the 2021 Acquisitions and to purchases of property and equipment at our existing stations.

Amortization of intangible assets. Amortization of intangible assets totaled $207 million and $117 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively. Amortization expense increased due to the 2021 Acquisitions.

(Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net. We reported a gain on disposals of assets of $2 million in 2022 and a loss of $42 million in 2021. The gain in 2022 was the result of normal business activity. The losses in 2021 were primarily related the divestitures of television stations required in order to comply with regulatory requirements for the 2021 Acquisitions and to asset disposals from the FCC Repack process.

Interest expense. Interest expense increased $149 million, or 73%, to $354 million for 2022 compared to 2021 due to additional borrowings of $1.5 billion under our Senior Credit Facility and the issuance of $1.3 billion of our 2031 Notes to finance our acquisition of Meredith, at the end of 2021. Our borrowings in 2021, were partially offset by our voluntary and required prepayments in 2022, of amounts outstanding under our Senior Credit Facility totaling $315 million. During 2022, the average interest rate on our Senior Credit Facility increased consistent with market conditions. Excluding the amortization of deferred financing costs, the average interest rate on our Senior Credit Facility increased to 4.4% in 2022, from 2.6% in 2021.

Income tax expense. Our effective income tax rate decreased to a net provision of 26% for 2022 from 46% for 2021. Our effective income tax rates differed from the statutory rate due to the following items:

We file a consolidated federal income tax return and such state or local tax returns as are required based on our current forecasts. We estimate that these income tax payments, before deducting refunds, will be within a range of $90 million to $110 million in 2023.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

General. The following tables present data that we believe is helpful in evaluating our liquidity and capital resources (dollars in millions):

Dividend on common stock and Class A common stock. Beginning in 2021, the Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share of its common stock and Class A common stock. We paid cash dividends on our common stock and Class A common stock totaling $30 million and $31 million in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Net Cash Provided By (Used In) Operating, Investing and Financing Activities – 2022 Compared to 2021

Net cash provided by operating activities increased $529 million to $829 million in 2022 compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $300 million in 2021. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was due primarily to the net impact of several factors including: an increase in net income of $365 million; an increase of $117 million in non-cash expenses; and a increase of $47 million due to changes in working capital balances.

Net cash used in investing activities was $503 million for 2022 compared to $3.5 billion for 2021. The net decrease was due primarily to the use of $58 million of cash in 2022, compared to $3.3 billion of cash in 2021, for acquisitions of businesses, net of divestiture proceeds. In addition, our purchases of property and equipment increased to $436 million in 2022, compared to $207 million in 2021. This increase was primarily related to the Assembly Atlanta project.

Net cash used in financing activities was $454 million in 2022 compared to net cash provided of $2.7 billion in 2021. The change in 2022, compared to 2021, was primarily due to our use of $315 million in 2022, to make voluntary and required payments of the amount outstanding under our Senior Credit Facility compared to cash provided by the borrowings of $1.5 billion in term loan financing under our Senior Credit Facility and the $1.3 billion of 2031 Notes to fund a portion of the cash consideration of the Meredith Transaction in 2021.

Retirement Plans

We sponsor and contribute to defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans:

The Gray Pension Plan is a defined benefit pension plan covering certain of our legacy employees. Benefits under the Gray Pension Plan are frozen and can no longer increase, and no new participants can be added to the plan.

Our funding policy for the Gray Pension Plan is consistent with the funding requirements of existing federal laws and regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. A discount rate is selected annually to measure the present value of the benefit obligations. In determining the selection of a discount rate, we estimated the timing and amounts of expected future benefit payments and applied a yield curve developed to reflect yields available on high-quality bonds. The yield curve is based on an externally published index specifically designed to meet the criteria of United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The discount rate selected for determining benefit obligations as of December 31, 2022, was 4.99%, which reflects the results of this yield curve analysis. The discount rate used for determining benefit obligations as of December 31, 2021 was 2.73%. Our assumptions regarding expected return on plan assets reflects asset allocations, the investment strategy and the views of investment managers, as well as historical experience. In 2022, we use an assumed rate of return of 6.25% for our assets invested in the Gray Pension Plan. The estimated asset returns for this plan, calculated on a mean market value mid-year contributions and benefit payments, were a loss of 12.0% for the year ended December 31, 2022, and a gain of 11.4% for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other significant assumptions relate to inflation, retirement and mortality rates. Our inflation assumption is based on an evaluation of external market indicators. Retirement rates are based on actual plan experience and mortality rates are based on the Pri-2012 total mortality table and the MP-2021 projection scale published by the Society of Actuaries.

During each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we contributed $4 million to the Gray Pension Plan, and we anticipate making a contribution of $4 million to the Gray Pension Plan in 2023. The use of significantly different assumptions, or if actual experienced results differ significantly from those assumed, could result in our funding obligations being materially different.

The Gray 401(k) Plan is a defined contribution plan intended to meet the requirements of section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Employer contributions under the Gray 401(k) Plan include matching cash contributions at a rate of 100% of the first 1% of each employee’s salary deferral, and 50% of the next 5% of each employee’s salary deferral. In addition, the Company, at its discretion, may make an additional profit-sharing contribution, based on annual Company performance, to those employees who meet certain criteria. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, our matching contributions to our Capital Accumulation Plan were approximately $17 million and $15 million, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we accrued contributions of approximately $9 million and $7 million respectively, as discretionary profit-sharing contributions, each in the form of our common stock.

In connection with the Meredith Transaction, on December 1, 2021, we assumed a defined benefit pension plan covering certain legacy Meredith bargaining class employees. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Meredith Plan had combined plan assets of $14 million and $15 million and combined projected benefit obligations of $11 million and $17 million, respectively. A net asset of $3 million and a net liability of $2 million for this plan are recorded in our financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

See Note 11 “Retirement Plans” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for further information concerning these retirement plans.

Capital Expenditures

We currently expect that our routine capital expenditures will range between approximately $105 million to $115 million during 2023 for broadcasting, production company and corporate purposes. In addition, we currently expect that our net capital expenditures related to the Assembly Atlanta project will range between $70 million and $75 million. This range is comprised of anticipated Assembly Atlanta construction expenditures of $195 million to $205 million, offset by anticipated proceeds from property sales and incentive payments of approximately $125 million to $130 million, at various times during 2023. We can give no assurances of the actual proceeds to be received in the future from property sales and incentive payments, nor the timing of any such proceeds.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Operating Commitments. We have various commitments for syndicated television programs. We have two types of syndicated television program contracts: first run programs and off network reruns. First run programs are programs such as Wheel of Fortune and off network reruns are programs such as The Big Bang Theory. First run programs have not been produced at the time the contract to air such programming is signed, and off network reruns have already been produced. For all syndicated television contracts, we record an asset and corresponding liability for payments to be made only for the current year of the first run programming and for the entire contract period for off network programming. Only an estimate of the payments anticipated to be made in the year following the balance sheet date of the first run contracts are recorded on the current balance sheet, because the programs for the later years of the contract period have not been produced or delivered.

The total license fee payable under a program license agreement allowing us to broadcast programs is recorded at the beginning of the license period and is charged to operating expense over the period that the programs are broadcast. The portion of the unamortized balance expected to be charged to operating expense in the succeeding year is classified as a current asset, with the remainder classified as a non-current asset. The liability for license fees payable under program license agreements is classified as current or long-term, in accordance with the payment terms of the various license agreements.

The following are our material expected off balance sheet contractual obligations and commitments as of December 31, 2022:

For more information about these off-balance sheet contractual obligations and commitments please refer to Note 12 “Commitments and Contingencies” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein.

Subsequent Events

Marquee Transaction. On February 15, 2023, we announced that we have reached agreements with Marquee Broadcasting, Inc. (“Marquee”) through which we will sell television station KNIN (FOX) in the Boise, Idaho market (DMA 102) for $6 million, and purchase television station WPGA (MeTV) in the Macon, Georgia market (DMA 126) for $6 million. The completion of the transactions is subject to regulatory and other approvals. 

Securitization Facility. On February 23, 2023, we, certain of our subsidiaries and a wholly-owned special purpose subsidiary (the “SPV”), entered into a three-year $300 million revolving accounts receivable securitization facility (the “Securitization Facility”) with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, for the purpose of providing additional liquidity in order to repay indebtedness under the Senior Credit Facility. The Securitization Facility permits the SPV to draw up to a total of $300 million, subject to the outstanding amount of the receivables pool and other factors. The Securitization Facility is subject to interest charges, at the one-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) plus 100 basis points on the amount of the outstanding facility. The SPV is also required to pay an upfront fee and a commitment fee in connection with the Securitization Facility. On February 23, 2023, we drew $300 million under the Securitization Facility and intend to use the proceeds to pre-pay the outstanding principal balance of $295 million of Term Loan B under our Senior Credit Facility on March 1, 2023.

Under the Securitization Facility, the SPV will sell certain receivables and related rights (“Sold Receivables”) and guarantee the collection of the Sold Receivables and pledge the remaining receivables and related rights that it owns in order to secure such guarantee. We will service the accounts receivables on behalf of the SPV for a fee.

The SPV is a separate legal entity with its own separate creditors who will be entitled to access the SPV’s assets before the assets become available to us. As a result, the SPV’s assets are not available to pay our creditors or any of our subsidiaries, although collections from the receivables in excess of amounts required to repay the purchasers under the Securitization Facility and other creditors of the SPV may be remitted to us.

The sale of receivables from SPV will be accounted for in the Company’s financial statements as a "true-sale" under Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 860.

Interest Rate Cap. On February 23, 2023, we entered into interest rate caps pursuant to an International Swaps and Derivatives Association ("ISDA") Master Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, NA and Truist Bank, respectively. The caps have a combined fixed notional value of approximately $2.6 billion through the last business day in 2024 and then a reduction in notional value to approximately $2.1 billion until maturity on December 31, 2025. The agreement effectively limits the annual interest charged on all of our variable rate debt to a maximum one-month LIBOR rate of 5 percent, plus the Applicable Margin, as specified in our Senior Credit Facility. The Company is also required to pay aggregate fees in connection with the agreement of approximately $32 million that is due and payable on December 31, 2025. The ISDA Master Agreement, together with its related schedules, contain customary representations, warranties and covenants. This hedging agreement was entered into to mitigate the interest rate risk inherent in our variable rate debt and is not for speculative trading purposes.

Inflation

During 2022, we have experienced moderate inflation of our operating expenses and increases in interest rates on amounts outstanding under our Senior Credit Facility. There can be no assurance that further increases in the rate of inflation or interest rates in the future would not have an adverse effect on operating results.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires us to make judgments and estimations that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from those reported amounts. We consider our accounting policies relating to intangible assets and income taxes to be critical policies that require significant judgments or estimations in their application where variances may result in significant differences to future reported results. Our policies concerning intangible assets and income taxes are disclosed below.

Variability of Critical Accounting Estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include estimates and assumptions that are material to our financial statements. These estimates and assumptions are used in:

Our estimates and assumptions have been materially accurate in the past and have not changed materially. We do not expect that these assumptions are likely to change materially in the future.

Annual Impairment Testing of Broadcast Licenses and Goodwill. We evaluate broadcast licenses and goodwill for impairment on an annual basis, or more often when certain triggering events occur. Goodwill is evaluated at the reporting unit level.

Our broadcasting operating segment is comprised of a single reporting unit. Each of the distinct businesses within our production companies operating segment represent a reporting unit. Therefore, we evaluate our goodwill for impairment for five reporting units. One reporting unit for all of our broadcast television operations and four for each of the distinct businesses within our production companies. The Company has considered the requirements as stipulated within ASC 350. Management has identified the applicable assets and liabilities for each of the reporting units in accordance with ASC 350.

In the performance of our annual broadcast license and reporting unit impairment assessments, we have the option of performing a qualitative assessment to determine if it is more likely than not that the respective asset has been impaired. In 2022, we performed a qualitative assessment for 57 of our broadcast licenses and three of our reporting units. In 2021, we performed a qualitative assessment for 59 of our broadcast licenses and one of our reporting units.

As part of this qualitative assessment, we evaluate the relative impact of factors that are specific to the reporting units as well as industry, regulatory, and macroeconomic factors that could affect the significant inputs used to determine the fair value of the assets. We also consider the significance of the excess fair value over the carrying value reflected in prior quantitative assessments and the changes to the reporting units’ carrying value since the last impairment test.

If we conclude that it is more likely than not that a broadcast license or reporting unit is impaired, or if we elect not to perform the optional qualitative assessment, we perform the quantitative assessment which involves comparing the estimated fair value of the broadcast license or reporting unit to its respective carrying value.

For our annual broadcast licenses impairment test in 2022, we concluded that it was more likely than not that all of our broadcast licenses that were evaluated were not impaired based upon our qualitative assessments. We elected to perform a quantitative assessment for our remaining broadcast licenses and concluded that their fair values exceeded their carrying values. To estimate the fair value of our broadcast licenses, we utilize a discounted cash flow model assuming an initial hypothetical start-up operation maturing into an average performing station in a specific television market and giving consideration to other relevant factors such as the technical qualities of the broadcast license and the number of competing broadcast licenses within that market.

For our annual goodwill impairment test in 2022, we concluded that it was more likely than not that goodwill was not impaired based upon our qualitative assessments for one of our reporting units. We elected to perform a quantitative assessment for the remainder of our reporting units and concluded that their fair values exceeded their carrying values. To estimate the fair value of our reporting units, we utilize a discounted cash flow model supported by a market multiple approach. We believe that a discounted cash flow analysis is the most appropriate methodology to test the recorded value of long-term assets with a demonstrated long-lived/enduring franchise value. We believe the results of the discounted cash flow and market multiple approaches provide reasonable estimates of the fair value of our reporting units because these approaches are based on our actual results and reasonable estimates of future performance, and also take into consideration a number of other factors deemed relevant by us including, but not limited to, expected future market revenue growth, market revenue shares and operating profit margins. We have historically used these approaches in determining the value of our reporting units. We also consider a market multiple approach to corroborate our discounted cash flow analysis. We believe that this methodology is consistent with the approach that a strategic market participant would utilize if they were to value our television stations.

We believe we have made reasonable estimates and utilized appropriate assumptions to evaluate whether the fair values of our broadcast licenses and reporting units were less than their carrying values. If future results are not consistent with our assumptions and estimates, including future events such as a deterioration of market conditions or significant increases in discount rates, we could be exposed to impairment charges in the future. Any resulting impairment loss could have a material adverse impact on our consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows.

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the recorded value of our broadcast licenses was $5.3 billion at each date. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the recorded value of our goodwill was $2.7 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively. See Note 13 “Goodwill and Intangible Assets” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein, for the results of our annual impairment tests for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Valuation of Network Affiliation Agreements. We believe that the value of a television station is derived primarily from the attributes of its broadcast license rather than its network affiliation agreement. These attributes have a significant impact on the audience for network programming in a local television market compared to the national viewing patterns of the same network programming.

Certain other broadcasting companies have valued their stations on the basis that it is the network affiliation and not the other attributes of the station, including its broadcast license, which contributes to the operational performance of that station. As a result, we believe that these broadcasting companies allocate a significant portion of the purchase price for any station that they may acquire to the network affiliation relationship and include in their network affiliation valuation amounts related to attributes which we believe are more appropriately reflected in the value of the broadcast license or reporting units.

The methodology we used to value our stations was based on our evaluation of the broadcast licenses acquired and the characteristics of the markets in which they operated. Given our assumptions and the specific attributes of the stations we acquired from 2002 through December 31, 2022, we generally ascribe no incremental value to the incumbent network affiliation relationship in each market beyond the cost of negotiating a new agreement with another network and the value of any terms of the affiliation agreement that were more favorable or unfavorable than those generally prevailing in the market. Due to certain characteristics of a small number of the stations acquired in 2022 and 2021, we ascribed approximately $14 million and $136 million of the value of those transactions to network affiliations, respectively.

Some broadcast companies may use methods to value acquired network affiliations different than those that we use. These different methods may result in significant variances in the amount of purchase price allocated to these assets among broadcast companies.

If we were to assign higher values to all of our network affiliations and less value to our broadcast licenses or goodwill and if it is further assumed that such higher values of the network affiliations are finite-lived intangible assets, this reallocation of value might have a significant impact on our operating results. There is diversity of practice within the industry, and some broadcast companies have considered such network affiliation intangible assets to have a life ranging from 15 to 40 years depending on the specific assumptions utilized by those broadcast companies.

The following table reflects the hypothetical impact of the reassignment of value from broadcast licenses to network affiliations for our historical acquisitions (the first acquisition being in 1994) and the resulting increase in amortization expense assuming a hypothetical 15-year amortization period as of our most recent impairment testing date of December 31, 2022 (in millions, except per share data):

For future acquisitions, if any, the valuation of the network affiliations may differ from the values of previous acquisitions due to the different characteristics of each station and the market in which it operates.

Income Taxes. As of December 31, 2022, we have an aggregate of approximately $344 million of various state operating loss carryforwards, of which we expect that approximately one-third will be utilized. We expect that approximately $226 million of these state net operating loss carryforwards will not be utilized due to section 382 limitations and those that will expire prior to utilization.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements. See Note 1 “Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for more information.

Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to certain risks arising from business operations and economic conditions. We attempt to manage our exposure to a wide variety of business and operational risks principally through the management of our core business activities. We attempt to manage economic risk, including interest rate, liquidity, and credit risk, primarily by managing the amount, sources and duration of our debt funding and, at times, the use of interest rate swap agreements. From time to time, we may enter into interest rate swap agreements or interest rate cap agreements to manage interest rate exposure with the following objectives:

Under the Senior Credit Facility, we pay interest based on a floating interest rate on balances outstanding. We pay a fixed rate of interest on the 2031 Notes, 2030 Notes, 2027 Notes and 2026 Notes. As of December 31, 2022, the majority of our outstanding debt bore interest at a fixed interest rate, which reduces our risk of potential increases in interest rates, but would not allow us to benefit from any reduction in market interest rates such as LIBOR or the prime rate. Also, as of that date, we were not a party to any interest rate swap or cap agreements. See Note 4 “Long-term Debt” of our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein for more information on our long-term debt and associated interest rates.

Based on our floating rate debt outstanding at December 31, 2022, a 100 basis point increase or decrease in market interest rates would have increased or decreased our interest expense and decreased or increased our income before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2022 by approximately $30 million.

At December 31, 2022 and 2021, the recorded amount of our long-term debt, including current portion, was $6.5 billion and $6.8 billion, respectively, and the fair value of our long-term debt, including current portion, was $5.7 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively, as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. Fair value of our long-term debt is based on estimates provided by third-party financial professionals as of the respective dates.

Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. As defined by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In connection with the preparation of our annual consolidated financial statements, management has undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO 2013 framework”). Management’s assessment included an evaluation of the design of our internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of those controls. Based on this evaluation, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

In the evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, management excluded the operations of WKTB-TV from the assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. These operations were excluded in accordance with the SEC’s general guidance because they were acquired in purchase business combinations in 2022. Collectively, these operations accounted for less than 1% of our total assets and total revenues, as reported in our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 has been audited by RSM US LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is included herein.

See accompanying notes.

See accompanying notes.

See accompanying notes.

See accompanying notes.

See accompanying notes.