SALEM MEDIA GROUP, INC. /DE/ - Annual Report: 2015 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015

OR

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 000-26497

SALEM MEDIA GROUP, INC.

(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)

REGISTRANT’S TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE: (805) 987-0400

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes ¨  No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.   Yes ¨  No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes x  No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x  No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).   Yes ¨   No x

As of June 30, 2015, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $73,444,420 based on the closing sale price as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market.

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

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

Unless the context requires otherwise, all references in this report to “Salem” or the “company,” including references to Salem by “we” “us” “our” and “its” refer to Salem Media Group, Inc. and our subsidiaries.

All metropolitan statistical area (“MSA”) rank information used in this report, excluding information concerning The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is from the Fall 2015 Radio Market Survey Schedule & Population Rankings published by Nielsen Audio (“Nielsen”). According to the Radio Market Survey, the population estimates are based upon the 2010 U.S. Bureau Census estimates updated and projected to January 1, 2016 by Nielsen.

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Salem Media Group, Inc. (“Salem” or the “company,” including references to Salem by “we,” “us” and “our”) makes “forward-looking statements” from time to time in both written reports (including this report) and oral statements, within the meaning of federal and state securities laws. Disclosures that use words such as the company “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “may,” “intends,” “could,” “would,” “should” “seeks” “predicts,” or “plans” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our expectations based upon data available to the company as of the date of this report. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These risks, as well as other risks and uncertainties, are detailed in Salem’s reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements made in this report. Any such forward-looking statements, whether made in this report or elsewhere, should be considered in context with the various disclosures made by Salem about its business. These projections and other forward-looking statements fall under the safe harbors of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

CORPORATE INFORMATION

Salem Media Group, Inc. (“Salem”) is a domestic multi-media company specializing in Christian and Conservative content, with media properties comprising radio broadcasting, digital media, and book, magazine and newsletter publishing. Effective as of February 19, 2015, we changed our name from Salem Communications Corporation to Salem Media Group, Inc. Salem was formed in 1986 as a California corporation and was reincorporated in Delaware in 1999. Our content is intended for audiences interested in Christian and family-themed programming and conservative news talk. Our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are available under the Investor Relations section of our website at www.salemmedia.com.

SEGMENT INFORMATION

We have two reportable segments, radio broadcasting and digital media. Digital media (formerly “Internet and e-commerce”) became a reportable segment as of the first quarter of 2011 upon the realization of organic and acquisition-related revenue growth. Our acquisition of Eagle Publishing on January 10, 2014, including Regnery Publishing, Eagle Financial Publications, Eagle Wellness, Human Events and Red State, resulted in operational changes to our business and a realignment of our operating segments. We now have three operating segments: (1) Broadcast, (2) Digital Media, and (3) Publishing. We changed the composition of our operating segments to reflect management’s view of the operating results for each segment.

Our operating segments reflect how our chief operating decision makers, which we define as a collective group of senior executives, assesses the performance of each operating segment and determines the appropriate allocations of resources to each segment. Our operating segments do not all meet the quantitative thresholds to qualify as reportable segments; however, we have elected to disclose the results of these non-reportable operating segments as we believe this information is useful to readers of our financial statements. We continue to review our operating segment classifications to align with operational changes in our business and may make future changes as necessary.

We measure and evaluate our operating segments based on operating income and operating expenses that do not include allocations of costs related to corporate functions, such as accounting and finance, human resources, legal, tax and treasury; nor do they include costs such as amortization, depreciation, taxes or interest expense. Changes to our operating segments did not impact the reporting units used to test non-amortizable assets for impairment. All prior periods presented are updated to reflect this new composition of our operating segments. Refer to Note 17 – Segment Data in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information.

Business Strategy

We are fundamentally committed to programming and content emphasizing Christian values, conservative family themes and news. Our commitment to these values means that we may choose not to switch to other formats or pursue potentially more profitable business opportunities in response to changes in audience preferences.

Our goal is to produce and deliver compelling content to audiences interested in Christian and family-themed programming and conservative news talk to be considered the market-leader for all audiences, programmers and advertisers. Our media platform consists of traditional media including radio broadcasting, print magazines and book publishing as well as emerging media, including web portals and digital publications. We continually pursue the expansion of our media platform as the marketplace evolves while aggressively managing operating costs and cash flows. Expansion opportunities for our media platform include increasing the strength and reach of our broadcast signals, investing in and building Internet websites, promoting our authors and on-air talent, including their own publications, and increasing the distribution and page views for our print and digital content. Our national presence in each of these mediums provides advertisers and programmers with a powerful and integrated platform to reach audiences throughout the United States without compromising the sense of community involvement and branding that we generate locally with sponsored events and promotions.

Broadcasting

Our foundational business is the ownership and operation of radio stations in large metropolitan markets. Our radio stations carry national and local programming content as well as national and local advertisers. We produce and sponsor a number of community events that we believe are important in building our brand identity. We also believe that our active community involvement, including remote broadcasts, client events, concerts and tie-ins to major events, builds station awareness and listener loyalty. We promote our station websites on-air and at community events to direct participants to our websites specifically designed for each of our radio stations. Audiences can access our entire library of digital content and online publications from any of our station websites.

To operate our broadcast entities efficiently, we assemble market clusters, or multiple radio stations operating within the same geographic market. Several benefits are achievable when operating market clusters. First, we are able to offer advertisers and programmers access to multiple audiences by providing airtime on each radio station in that market when advantageous. Second, we realize cost and operating efficiencies by consolidating sales, technical and administrative support, promotional functions and other shared overhead costs such as rent, when possible. Third, the addition of new radio stations into existing markets allows us to leverage our hands-on knowledge of that market to increase our appeal to new listeners and advertisers.

We own and/or operate 116 radio stations in 40 markets, including 71 stations in 22 of the top 25 markets, consisting of 34 FM radio stations and 82 AM radio stations. We are one of only three commercial radio broadcasters with radio stations in all of the top 10 markets. We are the sixth largest radio broadcaster in the United States as measured by number of radio stations overall and the third largest operator as measured by number of stations in the top 25 markets. We also program the Family Talk^™ Christian-themed talk format station on SiriusXM Channel 131.

Salem Radio Network^® and Salem Media Representatives™

Our broadcasting operations also include our national networks of affiliated radio stations. Salem Radio Network® (“SRN”), based in Dallas, Texas, develops, produces and syndicates a broad range of programming specifically targeted to Christian and family-themed talk stations, music stations and general News Talk stations. SRN delivers programming via satellite to approximately 2,800 affiliated radio stations throughout the Unites States, including several of our Salem owned stations.

We also own and operate SRN News Network (“SNN”), Salem Music Network (“SMN”), Today’s Christian Music (“TCM”) and Singing News Network (formerly Solid Gospel Network), which are radio networks that produce and distribute talk, news and music programming to radio stations throughout the United States, including several of our Salem owned stations. Salem Media Representatives^TM (“SMR”) is our national advertising sales firm with offices in 8 cities. SMR specializes in placing national advertising on religious and other format commercial radio stations. SMR sells commercial airtime to national advertisers on our radio stations and through our networks, as well as for independent radio station affiliates.

National companies often prefer to advertise across the United States as an efficient and cost effective way to reach their target audiences. Advertisers can benefit from our national platform under which we offer radio airtime, digital advertisements, and print magazine advertisements that reach audiences throughout the United States. SRN and our radio stations each have relationships with SMR for the sale of available SRN spot advertising. SMR also contracts with individual radio stations to sell airtime to national advertisers desiring to include selected company stations in national buys covering multiple markets.

Digital Media

Our digital strategy is to continue to build a robust web-based platform designed for audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content and conservative news. The Internet continues to change the way in which media is delivered to audiences. Continual advancements with online search engines and social media sites provide consumers with numerous methods to locate specific information and content online. These advancements have also enabled a large number of individuals to create and publish content that may or may not be tailored to a specific consumer. Our editorial staff, including our on-air personalities, provide web-based commentaries, programs, text, audio and video content that we believe to be knowledge-based, credible and reliable. Our highly specific web-based content provides advertisers a unique and powerful way to reach their targeted audiences.

Publishing

Our publishing strategy mirrors that of our other operating segments - to build and maintain a distribution network targeting audiences interested in Christian and family-themed content as well as conservative news. Our acquisition of Regnery Publishing, a publisher of conservative books founded in 1947, expanded our publishing operations to include book publishing in addition to print magazines and our self-publishing service. Regnery Publishing has published dozens of bestselling books by leading conservative authors and personalities, including Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, David Limbaugh, Ed Klein, Mark Steyn and Dinesh D'Souza.

Audience Growth

The continued success of our business is dependent upon our ability to reach a growing audience. We continually seek opportunities for growth by increasing the strength and number of our broadcast signals, increasing the number of page-views on our digital platform, increasing book sales and increasing our subscriber base for published magazines and digital content. To accomplish this, we produce content that we believe is both compelling and of high commercial value based on our market testing and fine-tuning. We rely on a combination of research, marketing, targeted promotions and live events to create visibility and brand awareness in each of our markets. By maximizing our audience share, we achieve higher ratings and page turns that can be converted into advertising revenues. To maximize results, we cross-promote our content on each of our media platforms to enhance our brand names and reach our targeted audiences. We believe that the growth of our media platform provides advertisers with effective methods to reach an expanding audience.

Technical Improvements

We continually seek ways to expand our media reach from a technological perspective. For broadcasting, we seek growth opportunities by increasing the strength and number of our broadcast signals allowing us to reach listeners from both our day and night signals. We recently acquired several radio stations and over the last few years, we have invested in FM translators. FM translators allow our AM stations to be heard on FM and expand the listenership of our FM HD channels including the potential to create new stations using the HD-2, HD-3 and HD-4 channel capacity. We continue to build or purchase websites that allow our audiences to view our content online or through digital streaming. Our website content is available on numerous iPhone^® and Android applications. All of our radio stations, and several of our web portals, have iPhone^® and Android applications that can be used for digital streaming and viewing our content on mobile devices.

Sales Professionals

We have assembled an effective, highly trained sales staff that is responsible for converting our audience share into revenue. We operate a focused, sales-oriented culture that rewards selling efforts through a commission and bonus compensation structure. We hire sales professionals that are capable of selling both integrated and stand-alone advertisements. We provide our sales professionals with the tools and resources necessary to compete effectively in the marketplace. We sell and market our platforms as stand-alone products or in combination with other offerings. Based on our experience, we tailor our platform to meet each advertiser’s needs, including the geographic coverage area, event sponsorships and special features, digital promotions, e-mail sponsorships, and/or print advertisements.

Significant Community Involvement

We expect our public image to reflect the lifestyle and viewpoints of the target demographic groups that we serve. We regularly collaborate with organizations serving the Christian and family-themed audience and we sponsor and support events important to this group. We believe that our ongoing active involvement and our strong relationships within the Christian community provide us with a unique competitive advantage that significantly improves the marketability of our media platform to advertisers and programmers targeting such communities. Our sponsored events include listener rallies, speaking tours, pastor appreciation events and concerts such as our Celebrate Freedom® Music Festival and our Fishfest®. Local events such as these connect us with our listeners and enable us to create an enhanced awareness and name recognition in each of our markets. This involvement allows for increased effectiveness in developing and improving our programming formats, which contribute to a greater audience share and higher ratings over the long-term.

Corporate Structure

Management of our operations is decentralized. Our operational vice presidents and general managers are located throughout the United States. We rely on this strategy of decentralization, which we believe encourages each general manager and vice president to apply innovative techniques for improving and growing their operations that may be beneficial in other markets.

Our broadcast operations vice presidents, some of whom are also station general managers, are experienced radio broadcasters with expertise in sales, programming, marketing and production. Each of our broadcast operations vice presidents oversee several markets on a regional basis. Our digital and publishing operations vice presidents and general managers are also located throughout the United States in offices in which our entities operate.

All of our business segments receive executive leadership and oversight from our corporate staff. Corporate staff members have experience and expertise in, among other things, accounting and finance, treasury, risk management, insurance, information technology, human resources, legal, engineering, real estate, strategic direction and other support functions designed to provide resources to local management. Corporate staff oversees placement and rate negotiations for our national block programs. Centralized oversight of our block programming is necessary because our key programming partners purchase time in several of our radio markets.

Recent Events

During the year ended December 31, 2015, we completed or entered into the following transactions:

Debt

On January 30, 2015, we repaid $2.0 million in principal on our senior secured credit facility, consisting of a term loan of $300.0 million (“Term Loan B”) and paid interest due as of that date. We recorded a $15,000 pre-tax loss on the early retirement of long-term debt related to the unamortized discount and $27,000 in bank loan fees associated with the principal repayment.

Equity

During the year ended December 31, 2015, our Board of Directors declared quarterly equity distributions to all stockholders of record of our Class A and Class B common stock as follows:

The actual declaration of any future equity distributions and the establishment of the per share amount, record dates, and payment dates are subject to final determination by our Board of Directors and dependent upon future earnings, cash flows, financial requirements, and other factors. The current policy of our Board of Directors is to review all relevant factors on a quarterly basis to determine the appropriate amount, if any, to allocate toward a cash distribution with the general principle of using approximately 20% of free cash flow. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included with this annual report on Form 10-K.

Broadcast Acquisitions

We completed a number of broadcast acquisitions during the year, most notable from Disney’s divestiture of its Radio Disney properties. Of the eleven radio stations that we acquired during 2015, 10 were former Radio Disney properties. With the exception of WSDZ-AM in the St. Louis, Missouri market, each of these acquisitions were in markets in which we already have broadcast facilities and staff, or “tuck-in” acquisitions. Tuck-in acquisitions are made when we believe it is advantageous to increase the strength and number of our broadcast signals while minimizing costs under our market cluster-operating concept. The St. Louis market, being one of the top 25 radio markets in the United States, provides a unique opportunity to expand our platform in a new market.

A summary of our broadcast acquisitions, in order of most recent, is as follows:

On December 18, 2015, we acquired radio station WSDZ-AM in St. Louis, Missouri, for $0.3 million in cash.

On December 15, 2015, we acquired radio station KDIZ-AM in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for $0.4 million in cash.

On December 11, 2015, we acquired radio station WWMI-AM in Tampa, Florida, for $0.8 million in cash.

On December 8, 2015, we acquired radio station KDDZ-AM in Denver, Colorado, for $0.6 million in cash.

On December 4, 2015, we acquired radio station KDZR-AM in Portland, Oregon, for $0.3 million in cash.

On October 1, 2015, we acquired radio station KKSP-FM in Little Rock, Arkansas for $1.5 million in cash.

On September 15, 2015, we acquired radio station KEXB-AM (formerly KMKI-AM) in Dallas, Texas, for $3.0 million in cash.

On September 10, 2015, we acquired radio station WBIX-AM (formerly WMKI-AM) in Boston, Massachusetts, for $0.5 million in cash.

On May 12, 2015, we acquired radio station WPGP-AM (formerly WDDZ-AM) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for $1.0 million in cash.

On May 7, 2015, we acquired radio station WDWD-AM in Atlanta, Georgia, for $2.8 million in cash.

On April 7, 2015, we acquired land and real estate used in the operations of our radio stations in Greenville, South Carolina, for $0.2 million in cash.

On March 27, 2015, we acquired radio station WDYZ-AM in Orlando, Florida, for $1.3 million in cash. We began operating this station under an Asset Purchase Agreement (“APA”) as of December 10, 2014.

Digital Acquisitions

We continued to expand our digital platform with acquisitions of complementary businesses and assets. A summary of our digital acquisitions and asset purchases, in order of most recent, is as follows:

On December 7, 2015, we acquired the Instapray mobile applications and a related website for $0.1 million in cash.

On October 29, 2015, we acquired DividendYieldHunter.com for $42,500 in cash, with $21,250 paid at closing and $21,250 payable in January 2016.

On September 3, 2015, we acquired a Spanish Bible mobile application and its related website and Facebook properties for $0.5 million in cash.

On September 1, 2015, we acquired the DailyBible mobile applications, including all content, code and functionality, for $1.5 million in cash.

On July 1, 2015, we acquired DividendInvestor.com for $1.0 million in cash and the assumption of $70,000 in deferred subscription liabilities.

On June 4, 2015, we acquired the Gene Smart Wellness e-commerce website for $0.1 million in cash.

On May 6, 2015, we acquired domain names, mobile applications and code functionality for the Daily Bible Devotion for $1.1 million in cash. Under terms of the APA, we may pay up to an additional $0.3 million in contingent earn-out consideration payable over the next two years based upon the achievement of certain benchmarks. The estimated fair value of the contingent earn-out consideration was recorded at the present value of $0.1 million and is discussed in more detail in Note 4 in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

On February 6, 2015, we acquired Bryan Perry’s Cash Machine and Bryan Perry’s Premium Income financial publications (“Bryan Perry Newsletters”) with assets valued at $0.6 million and we assumed deferred subscription liabilities of $0.4 million. We paid no cash to the seller upon closing. Future amounts payable to the seller are contingent upon net subscriber revenues over a two-year period from the closing date, of which we will pay the seller 50%. There is no minimum or maximum contractual amount. The estimated fair value of the contingent earn-out consideration was recorded at the present value of $0.2 million and is discussed in more detail in Note 4 in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Throughout the year ending December 31, 2015, we acquired other domain names and assets associated with our digital media operating segment for approximately $0.1 million in cash.

A summary of our business acquisitions and asset purchases for the year ended December 31, 2015, none of which were individually or in the aggregate, material to our consolidated financial position as of the respective date of acquisition, is as follows:

Refer to Note 3 - Acquisitions and Recent Transactions in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information and details related to our acquisition activity.

Pending Transactions

On April 1, 2015, we began programming KHTE-FM, Little Rock, Arkansas under a 36-month Time Brokerage Agreement (“TBA”) that can be extended to 48 months. We have the option to acquire the station for $1.2 million in cash during the TBA period. The accompanying consolidated statements of operations included in this annual report on Form 10-K reflect the operating results of this entity as of the TBA date.

On December 15, 2015, we entered an APA to acquire an FM Translator in Columbus, Ohio for $0.4 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2016.

On December 31, 2015, we ceased programming KVCE-AM, Dallas, Texas upon expiration of our TBA.

Radio Stations

We own and/or operate a national portfolio of 116 radio stations in 40 markets, consisting of 34 FM stations and 82 AM stations. We program our radio stations in formats that we believe target the various demographic segments of audiences interested in Christian and family-themed programming and conservative news talk content. Our five main formats are (1) Christian Teaching and Talk, (2) News Talk, (3) Contemporary Christian Music, (4) Spanish Language Christian Teaching and Talk and (5) Business.

Christian Teaching and Talk. We currently program 42 of our radio stations in our foundational format, Christian Teaching and Talk, which is talk programming emphasizing Christian and family themes. Through this format, a listener can hear Bible teachings and sermons, as well as gain insight to questions related to daily life, such as raising children or religious legal rights in education and in the workplace. This format uses block programming time to offer a learning resource and a source of personal support for listeners. Listeners often contact our programmers to ask questions, obtain materials on a subject matter or receive study guides based on what they have learned on the radio.

Block Programming. We sell blocks of airtime on our Christian Teaching and Talk format stations to a variety of national and local religious and charitable organizations that we believe create compelling radio programs. Historically, more than 95% of these religious and charitable organizations renew their annual programming relationships with us. Based on our historical renewal rates, we believe that block programming provides a steady and consistent source of revenue and cash flows. Our top ten programmers have remained relatively constant and average nearly 25 years on-air. Over the last five years, block-programming revenue has generated 40% to 42% of our total net broadcast revenue.

Satellite Radio. We program SiriusXM Channel 131, the exclusive Christian Teaching and Talk channel on SiriusXM, reaching the entire nation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

News Talk. We currently program 31 of our radio stations in a News Talk format. Our research shows that our News Talk format is highly complementary to our core Christian Teaching and Talk format. As programmed by Salem, both of these formats express conservative views and family values. Our News Talk format also provides for the opportunity to leverage syndicated talk programming produced by SRN to radio stations throughout the Unites States. Syndication of our programs allows Salem to reach listeners in markets in which we do not own or operate radio stations.

Contemporary Christian Music. We currently program 13 radio stations in a Contemporary Christian Music (“CCM”) format, branded The FISH® in most markets. Through the CCM format, we are able to bring listeners the words of inspirational recording artists, set to upbeat contemporary music. Our music format, branded “Safe for the Whole Family®”, features sounds that listeners of all ages can enjoy and lyrics that can be appreciated. The CCM genre continues to be popular. We believe that the listener base for CCM is under-served in terms of radio coverage, particularly in larger markets, and that our stations fill an otherwise void area in listener choices.

Spanish Language Christian Teaching and Talk. We currently program nine of our radio stations in a Spanish Language Christian Teaching and Talk format. This format is similar to our core Christian Teaching and Talk format in that it broadcasts biblical and family-themed programming, but the programming is specifically tailored for Spanish-speaking audiences. Additionally, block programming on our Spanish Language Christian Teaching and Talk stations is primarily local rather than national.

Business. We currently program 13 of our radio stations in a business format. Our business format features financial commentators, business talk, and nationally recognized Bloomberg programming. The business format operates similar to our Christian Teaching and Talk format in that it features long-form block programming.

Revenues generated from each of our radio stations, networks, advertising firms and radio station websites, including banner and digital advertisements are reported as broadcast revenue in our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. Our broadcasting revenue includes radio advertising or spot revenue, programming revenue, event revenue, digital revenue from station websites or email blasts, and network advertising revenue. The principal source of our network revenue is from the sale of advertising time.

Advertising Revenue. We recognize advertising and commission revenue from radio stations as the spots air. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we derived 32.3% of our net broadcast revenue, or $63.4 million, from the sale of local spot advertising and 7.1% of our net broadcast revenue, or $13.9 million, from the sale of national spot advertising.

Programming Revenue. We recognize programming revenue as the programs air. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we derived 23.7% and 18.4% of our net broadcast revenue, or $46.4 million and $36.2 million, respectively, from the sale of national and local block programming time, respectively. We derive national program revenue primarily from geographically diverse, well-established non-profit religious and educational organizations that purchase time on our stations in a large number of markets in the United States. National program producers typically purchase 12¹/₂, 25 or 50-minute blocks of time on a Monday through Friday basis and may offer supplemental programming for weekend release. We obtain local program revenue from community organizations and churches that typically purchase blocks for weekend releases and from local speakers who purchase daily releases. We believe that our management team is successful in identifying and assisting quality local programs expand into national syndication.

Network Revenue. SRN’s net revenue, including commission revenue for SMR, for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $15.0 million, or 7.7% of net broadcast revenue.

The following table sets forth information about each of Salem’s stations, in order of market size:

Digital Media

Salem Web Network™ (“SWN”) and our web based businesses provide Christian and conservative-themed content, audio and video streaming, and other resources digitally through the web. Revenue generated from our digital media operating segment includes advertising arrangements based on cost-per-click or performance-based advertising; display advertisements where revenue is dependent upon the number of page views; and lead generating advertisements where revenue is dependent upon users registering for, or purchasing or demonstrating interest in, advertisers' products or services. We also generate revenue from digital subscriptions, streaming, downloads and product sales through our e-commerce sites. Revenue is recognized upon digital delivery or page views, downloads and upon shipment of products. Revenue from this operating segment is reported as Digital Media revenue on our consolidated statements of operations included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

We own and operate the numerous Christian and Conservative opinion websites including:

Salem Web Network™ Christian-Content Websites:

BibleStudyTools.com is a free Bible website for verse search and in-depth studies featuring commentaries, reading plans, and other helpful resources designed as aids to Bible study.

OnePlace.com™ is a leading provider of on-demand, online audio streaming for nearly 200 radio programs from more than 185 popular Christian broadcast ministries. Oneplace.com serves as both a complement to and an extension of Salem’s block programming radio business.

Crosswalk.com® offers compelling, editorial-driven, biblically based, lifestyle and devotional content to Christians who take seriously their relationship with Christ. In addition, Crosswalk provides online devotional content.

GodTube.com is a user-generated video sharing platform for Christian videos with faith-based, family-friendly content.

GodVine.com is an online platform designed to share inspirational, family-friendly video through Facebook and other social media outlets.

CrossCards.com™ provides faith-based, inspirational e-greeting cards for all occasions and holidays.

LightSource.com provides on-demand, video streaming for nearly 85 Christian television programs from more than 70 ministry partners.

Christianity.com offers engaging articles and video focused on exploring the deeper, theological issues and apologetics of the Christian faith. It is also a leading provider of online Bible trivia.

Jesus.org offers a comprehensive database of biblical answers to the most common questions about the life and work of Jesus Christ.

iBelieve.com creates editorial-driven, lifestyle content, focused on helping Christian women use personal experience to examine the deeper issues of life and faith.

CCMmagazine.com is the interactive version of what once was CCM Magazine, which provides information and insight on the Christian music scene. 

ChristianHeadlines.com reports the news of importance to the Christian audience with a headlines blog, persecution updates, Christian worldview commentary, and features on events from the worldwide Christian Church.

Townhall Media - Conservative Opinion Websites:

Townhall.com™ is an interactive community that brings users, conservative public policy organizations, congressional staff and political activists together under the broad umbrella of conservative thoughts, ideas and actions.

HotAir.com is a leading news and commentary site with conservative news and opinions.

Twitchy.com is a website featuring selected quotes and current events centered on US politics, global news, sports, entertainment, media, and breaking news.

RedState.com is the leading conservative, political news blog for right of center activists.

Human Events.com is a conservative opinion website that provides news and commentary on issues of interest to the conservative community.

Salem Church Products Websites:

WorshipHouseMedia.com is an online church media resource, providing creative videos to churches to enhance worship and sermons. In addition, WorshipHouseKids.com provides children’s ministries with products to fulfill their visual needs.

SermonSpice.com is an online provider of church media for local churches and ministries.

ChurchStaffing.com™ is a source of job search information for churches and ministries offering a platform for personnel and staff relations. This site allows those seeking employment to submit resumes and view job listings.

ChristianJobs.com™ provides services catering to the hiring needs of Christian-based businesses, nonprofit organizations, and ministries. The site connects these organizations with thousands of job seekers through its online presence and partnerships with Salem’s radio stations.

SermonSearch.com is a subscription-based resource for preachers and teachers with preparation materials like sermon outlines, illustrations, and preaching ideas from many of America’s top Christian communicators.

Digital Financial Websites and Publications

Our digital platform includes the following financial websites and digital publications:

Digital Mobile Applications

Our digital mobile applications, available in iOS and/or Android platforms, provide another means by which our content is available to our audiences. Our mobile applications include the following:

E-Commerce Websites

Digital media includes our e-commerce sites, Salem Consumer Products (“SCP”), Eagle Wellness and Gene Smart Wellness. SCP is our e-commerce business that sells books, DVD’s and editorial content developed by our on-air personalities. Eagle Wellness and Gene Smart Wellness are e-commerce sites that offer health advice and nutritional products. Eagle Wellness provides insightful health advice and is a trusted source of high quality nutritional supplements from some of the country's leading health experts.  Leigh Erin Connealy MD, at NewportNaturalHealth.com, is the medical director of one of the largest medical practices in the country where she practices integrative medicine. Ski Chilton PhD, at GeneSmart.com, is a scientist and full professor at Wake Forest Medical School. He is a leading authority on the impact of diet and nutrition on health. Our e-commerce sites include:

Publishing

Our Publishing segment consists of Regnery Publishing, Xulon Press and Salem Publishing^TM. Regnery Publishing, with a 65-year history, remains the nation's leading publisher of conservative books. Having published many of the seminal works of the early conservative movement, Regnery today continues as a dominant publisher in the conservative space, with leading authors including Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, Newt Gingrich, David Limbaugh, Ed Klein and Mark Steyn. Salem's book publishing business also includes Xulon Press™, a leading provider of self-publishing services for Christian and conservative authors.

Revenue generated from our publishing operating segment includes sales of published books through Regnery Publishing, publishing fees for print-on-demand services through Xulon Press™ and print magazines through Salem Publishing™ that generate subscription and advertising revenues. Revenue from this operating segment is reported as Publishing revenue on our consolidated statements of operations included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Salem Publishing^TM, our print magazine division, publishes magazines on a monthly or semi-monthly basis.  Content from our print magazines is also available on branded websites designed for each publication.

Our publications include the following Christian or conservative publications:

Xulon Press™ is a print-on-demand self-publishing service for Christian authors. 

COMPETITION

We operate in a highly competitive broadcast and media business. We compete for listeners, advertisers and customers with other radio broadcasters, as well as with other forms of media including broadcast and cable television, newspapers and magazines, book publishers, national and local digital services, outdoor advertising, direct mail, online marketing and media companies, social media platforms, web-based blogs, and mobile devices.

BROADCASTING. Our broadcast audience ratings and market shares are subject to change, and any change in a particular market could have a material adverse effect on the revenue of our stations located in that market. While we already compete in some of our markets with stations that offer similar formats, if another radio station were to convert its programming to a format similar to one of ours, or if an existing competitor were to strengthen its operations, our stations could suffer reduced ratings and/or reduced revenues. In these circumstances, we could also incur significantly higher promotional and other related expenses. We cannot assure that our stations will maintain or increase their current audience ratings and revenues.

Christian and Family-Themed Radio. The segment of this industry that focuses on Christian and family themes is also a highly competitive business. The financial success of each of our radio stations that focuses on Christian Teaching and Talk is dependent, to a significant degree, upon its ability to generate revenue from the sale of block program time to national and local religious and educational organizations. We compete for this program revenue with a number of different commercial and non-commercial radio station licensees. While we believe that no commercial group owner in the United States specializing in Christian and family-themed programming approaches Salem in size of potential listening audience and presence in major markets, other religious radio stations exist and enjoy varying degrees of prominence and success in each of our markets.

We also compete for advertising revenue with other commercial religious and general format radio stations. Our competition for advertising dollars includes other radio stations as well as broadcast television, cable television, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, online and billboard advertising, some of which may be controlled by horizontally integrated companies. Several factors can materially affect competitive advantage, including, but not limited to audience ratings, program content, management talent and expertise, sales talent and experience, audience characteristics, signal strength, and the number and characteristics of other radio stations in the same market.

New Methods of Content Delivery. Competition also comes from new media technologies and services. These include delivery of audio programming by cable television and satellite systems, digital audio radio services, mobile devices including smart phone applications for iPhone® and Android®, personal communications services and the service of low powered, limited coverage FM radio stations authorized by the FCC. The delivery of live and stored audio programming through the Internet has also created new competition. In addition, satellite delivered digital audio radio, which deliver multiple audio programming formats to national audiences, has created competition. We have attempted to address these existing and potential competitive threats through a more active strategy to acquire and integrate new electronic communications formats including Internet acquisitions made by SWN and our exclusive arrangement to provide Christian and family-themed talk on SiriusXM, a satellite digital audio radio service.

NETWORK. SRN competes with other commercial radio networks that offer news and talk programming to religious and general format stations and noncommercial networks that offer Christian music formats. SRN also competes with other radio networks for the services of talk show personalities.

DIGITAL MEDIA. Salem Web Network™ and Townhall Media compete for visitors and advertisers with other companies that deliver on-line audio programming and Christian and conservative web-based content as well as providers of general market websites. The online media and distribution business changes quickly and is highly competitive. We compete to attract and maintain interactions with advertisers, consumers, content creators and web publishers. Salem Church Products competes for customers with other online sites that offer resources useful in ministries, preaching, teaching and for employment within the Christian community. Our wellness products compete in a large, highly fragmented industry that includes specialty retailers, supermarkets, drugstores, mass merchants, multi-level marketing organizations, mail-order companies, other online retailers and pharmaceuticals.

PUBLISHING. Regnery Publishing competes with other book publishers for readers and book sales as well as competes for product quality, customer service, suitability of format and subject matter, author reputation, price, timely availability of both new titles and revisions of existing books, digital availability of published products, and timely delivery of products to customers. Print magazines compete for readers and advertisers with other print publications, including those that also address themes of interest to church leadership and the Christian audience. Xulon Press™ competes for authors with other on-demand publishers including those focused exclusively on Christian book publishers.

Federal Regulation of Radio Broadcasting

Introduction. The ownership, operation and sale of broadcast stations, including those licensed to Salem, are subject to the jurisdiction of the FCC, which acts under authority derived from The Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Communications Act”). Among other things, the FCC assigns frequency bands for broadcasting; determines whether to approve certain changes in ownership or control of station licenses; regulates transmission facilities, including power employed, antenna and tower heights, and location of transmission facilities; adopts and implements regulations and policies that directly or indirectly affect the ownership, operation and employment practices of stations; and has the power to impose penalties for violations of its rules under the Communications Act.

The following is a brief summary of certain provisions of the Communications Act and of specific FCC regulations and policies. Failure to observe these or other rules and policies can result in the imposition of various sanctions, including monetary forfeitures, the grant of “short” (less than the maximum) license renewal terms or, for particularly egregious violations, the denial of a license renewal application, the revocation of a license or the denial of FCC consent to acquire additional broadcast properties. For further information concerning the nature and extent of federal regulation of broadcast stations you should refer to the Communications Act, FCC rules and the public notices and rulings of the FCC.

License Grant and Renewal. Radio broadcast licenses are granted for maximum terms of eight years. Licenses must be renewed through an application to the FCC. Under the Communications Act, the FCC will renew a broadcast license if it finds that the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity, that there have been no serious violations by the licensee of the Communications Act or the rules and regulations of the FCC, and that there have been no other violations by the licensee of the Communications Act or the rules and regulations of the FCC that, when taken together, would constitute a pattern of abuse.

Petitions to deny license renewals can be filed by certain interested parties, including members of the public in a station’s market. Such petitions may raise various issues before the FCC. The FCC is required to hold hearings on renewal applications if the FCC is unable to determine that renewal of a license would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity, or if a petition to deny raises a “substantial and material question of fact” as to whether the grant of the renewal application would be prima facie inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. In addition, during certain periods when a renewal application is pending, the transferability of the applicant’s license is restricted.

The following table sets forth information with respect to each of our radio stations for which we own the license. Stations operated under a Local Marketing Agreement (“LMA”) or a TBA are not reflected on this table. A broadcast station’s market may be different from its community of license. The coverage of an AM radio station is chiefly a function of the power of the radio station’s transmitter, less dissipative power losses and any directional antenna adjustments. For FM radio stations, signal coverage area is chiefly a function of the Effective Radiated Power (“ERP”) of the radio station’s antenna and the Height Above Average Terrain (“HAAT”) of the radio station’s antenna.

Radio station KNTS-AM is an expanded band station paired with station KLFE-AM in the Seattle, WA market, and station KBJD-AM is an expanded band station paired with KRKS-AM in the Denver, CO market. We are operating these four stations pursuant to FCC licenses or other FCC authority pending resolution by the FCC of the issue of AM expanded band dual operating authority. Depending upon how the FCC resolves that issue, it is possible that we will be required to surrender one station license in each station pair. Except for these stations, we are not currently aware of any facts that would prevent the timely renewal of our licenses to operate our radio stations, although there can be no assurance that our licenses will be renewed.

Ownership Matters. The Communications Act prohibits the assignment of a broadcast license or the transfer of control of a broadcast license without the prior approval of the FCC. In determining whether to assign, transfer, grant or renew a broadcast license, the FCC considers a number of factors pertaining to the licensee, including compliance with various rules limiting common ownership of media properties, the “character” of the licensee and those persons holding “attributable” interests therein, and compliance with the Communications Act’s limitation on alien ownership, as well as compliance with other FCC policies, including equal employment opportunity requirements.

Under the Communications Act, a broadcast license may not be granted to or held by a corporation that has more than one-fifth of its capital stock owned or voted by aliens or their representatives, by foreign governments or their representatives, or by non-U.S. corporations. Under the Communications Act, a broadcast license also may not be granted to or held by any corporation that is controlled, directly or indirectly, by any other corporation more than one-fourth of whose capital stock is owned or voted by aliens or their representatives, by foreign governments or their representatives, or by non-U.S. corporations. These restrictions apply in modified form to other forms of business organizations, including partnerships. We therefore may be restricted from having more than one-fourth of our stock owned or voted by aliens, foreign governments or non-U.S. corporations.

Multiple Ownership: The Communications Act and FCC rules also generally restrict the common ownership, operation or control of radio broadcast stations serving the same local market, of a radio broadcast station and a television broadcast station serving the same local market, and of a radio broadcast station and a daily newspaper serving the same local market. The FCC also restricts the number of television stations an entity may own both in local markets and nationwide.

Our current ownership of radio broadcast stations complies with the FCC’s multiple ownership rules; however, these rules may limit the number of additional stations that we may acquire in the future in certain of our markets and could limit the potential buyers of any stations we may attempt to sell. The FCC is also required by the Communications Act to review its broadcast ownership rules every four years. During 2009, the FCC held a series of hearings designed to evaluate possible changes to its rules. In May 2010, the FCC formally initiated its 2010 quadrennial review of its media ownership rules with the issuance of a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”). The NOI was intended to assist the Commission in establishing a framework within which to analyze whether its media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as a result of competition,” due to the dramatic changes occurring in the media marketplace. Numerous parties have filed comments and reply comments in response to the NOI. In June and July 2011, the FCC released to the public eleven economic studies related to its media ownership rules. In December 2011, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) seeking comment on proposed rule changes in connection with the 2010 quadrennial review. In March 2014, the FCC issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) seeking comment on specific proposed changes to its ownership rules in connection with the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews of the broadcast ownership rules and has now consolidated its 2010 quadrennial review with the 2014 quadrennial review of the ownership rules. The FCC has instructed its Media Bureau to complete the combined 2010 and 2014 reviews by June 30, 2016. We can make no determination as to what effect, if any, the combined 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews will have on Salem.

Attribution: Because of these multiple and cross-ownership rules, a purchaser of voting stock of the company that acquires an “attributable” interest in the company may violate the FCC’s rule if it also has an attributable interest in other television or radio stations, or in daily newspapers, depending on the number and location of those radio or television stations or daily newspapers. Such a purchaser also may be restricted in the other companies in which it may invest, to the extent that these investments give rise to an attributable interest. If an attributable stockholder of the company violates any of these ownership rules, the company may be unable to obtain from the FCC one or more authorizations needed to conduct its radio station business and may be unable to obtain FCC consents for certain future acquisitions.

The FCC generally applies its television/radio/newspaper cross-ownership rules and its broadcast multiple ownership rules by considering the “attributable,” or cognizable, interests held by a person or entity. A person or entity can have an interest in a radio station, television station or daily newspaper by being an officer, director, partner, member, or stockholder of a company that owns that station or newspaper. Whether that interest is cognizable under the FCC’s ownership rules is determined by the FCC’s attribution rules. If an interest is attributable, the FCC treats the person or entity who holds that interest as an “owner” of the radio station, television station or daily newspaper in question, and therefore subject to the FCC’s ownership rules. On December 22, 2011, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to seek comment on specific proposed changes to its ownership rules. In the NPRM, the FCC tentatively concluded to maintain its local radio ownership rules largely intact. Comments and Reply Comments have been received by the FCC in connection with the NPRM (2010 quadrennial review). In March 2014, the FCC issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) seeking comment on specific proposed changes to its ownership rules in connection with the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews of the broadcast ownership rules. Since, as of this date, no Report and Order has been adopted by the FCC in connection with the local radio ownership rules proposals in the 2010 quadrennial review and is again reviewing those rules in connection with the 2014 quadrennial review, consolidating its 2010 quadrennial review with its 2014 quadrennial review, we can make no determination as to what effect, if any, the combined 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews will have on Salem, since action is not anticipated until 2016.

Any officers and directors of a broadcast licensee, cable system owner, or daily newspaper owner are deemed to hold attributable interests in that entity. Generally, the officers and directors of any parent company that holds an attributable interest are themselves also deemed to hold the same attributable interests as that company. In certain situations where a parent company is involved in businesses other than broadcasting, cable system operation, or newspaper publishing, and an individual officer or director has duties and responsibilities wholly unrelated to the company’s broadcast, cable, or newspaper activities, that officer or director may avoid attribution, but will need to submit a statement to the FCC documenting their lack of involvement in the relevant businesses.

Generally, debt interests held in a broadcast licensee, cable system owner, daily newspaper publisher, or parent company are not deemed attributable. Debt holders will be subject to attribution, however, where the aggregate value of the equity and debt held in the broadcast, cable, or newspaper company exceeds 33% of that company’s total asset value and the debt holder also holds another attributable interest in the relevant market or the debt holder supplies over 15% of the programming, on a weekly basis, for the station in which the interest is held.

Programming and Operation. The Communications Act requires broadcasters to serve the “public interest.” The FCC has gradually relaxed or eliminated many of the more formalized procedures it had developed in the past to promote the broadcast of certain types of programming responsive to the needs of a station’s community of license. Although in recent years proposals have been put forth by the FCC to reinstitute certain formal procedures, none of these proposals have yet been adopted for radio stations. Licenses continue to be required, however, to present programming that is responsive to community problems, needs and interests and to maintain certain records demonstrating such responsiveness. The FCC will consider complaints from listeners concerning a station’s programming when it evaluates the licensee’s renewal application, but such complaints may be filed and considered at any time.

Stations also must pay annual regulatory fees and fees associated with the filing of most applications. Stations also must follow various FCC rules that regulate, among other things, political advertising, advertising for certain products or services (e.g. tobacco advertising), the broadcast of obscene or indecent programming, closed captioning, emergency programming, sponsorship identification and technical operations (including limits on radio frequency radiation) and equal employment opportunity requirements. The broadcast of contests and lotteries is also regulated by FCC rules.

Failure to observe these or other rules and policies can result in the imposition of various sanctions, including monetary forfeitures, the grant of “short” (less than the maximum) renewal terms or, for particularly egregious violations, the denial of a license renewal application or the revocation of a license.

Proposed Changes. As noted above, in May 2010, the FCC formally initiated its 2010 quadrennial review of its media ownership rules with the issuance of a Notice of Inquiry (NOI). The NOI is intended to assist the Commission in establishing a framework within which to analyze whether its media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as a result of competition,” due to the dramatic changes occurring in the media marketplace. Numerous parties have filed comments and reply comments in response to the NOI. In June and July 2011, the FCC released to the public eleven economic studies related to its media ownership rules. On December 22, 2011, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the 2010 quadrennial review to seek comment on specific proposed changes to its ownership rules. In the 2010 quadrennial review NPRM, the FCC tentatively concluded to maintain its local radio ownership rules largely intact. Comments and Reply Comments were received by the FCC in connection with the NPRM. In March 2014, the FCC issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) seeking comment on specific proposed changes to its ownership rules in connection with the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews of the broadcast ownership rules and has now consolidated its 2010 quadrennial review with the 2014 quadrennial review of the ownership rules. Since, as of this date, no Report and Order has been adopted by the FCC in connection with the local radio ownership rules proposals in the 2010 quadrennial review NPRM, and the FCC has directed its Media Bureau to complete the combined 2010 and 2014 reviews we can make no determination as to what effect, if any, this FNPRM will have on Salem.

The Congress and the FCC from time to time have under consideration, and may in the future consider and adopt, new laws, regulations and policies regarding a wide variety of matters that could, directly or indirectly, affect the operation, ownership and profitability of the company’s radio stations, result in the loss of audience share and revenue for the company’s radio stations, and affect the ability of the company to acquire additional radio stations or finance such acquisitions. Such matters under consideration include, or may come to include:

• proposals to require broadcast licenses to broadcast specific types and amounts of local programming;

• proposals restricting the location of broadcast studios;

• technical and frequency allocation matters, including potential reallocation of broadcast spectrum to other uses;

• changes in multiple ownership and cross-ownership rules;

• changes to broadcast technical requirements; and

• proposals to require broadcasters to pay copyright royalties for over-the-air performance of sound recordings.

The foregoing summary of certain provisions of the Communications Act and of specific FCC rules and policies does not purport to be comprehensive. For further information concerning the nature and extent of federal regulation of radio broadcast stations you should refer to the Communications Act, the FCC’s rules and the public notices and rulings of the FCC.

Federal Antitrust Considerations. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), which evaluate transactions to determine whether those transactions should be challenged under the federal antitrust laws, are also active in their review of radio station acquisitions, particularly where an operator proposes to acquire additional stations in its existing markets.

For an acquisition meeting certain size thresholds, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) and the rules promulgated thereunder require the parties to file Notification and Report Forms with the FTC and the DOJ and to observe specified waiting period requirements before consummating the acquisition. At any time before or after the consummation of a proposed acquisition, the FTC or the DOJ could take such action under the antitrust laws, as it deems necessary or desirable in the public interest, including seeking to enjoin the acquisition or seeking divestiture of the business acquired or other assets of the company. The FTC or the DOJ may investigate acquisitions that are not required to be reported under the HSR Act under the antitrust laws before or after consummation. In addition, private parties may under certain circumstances bring legal action to challenge an acquisition under the antitrust laws. The DOJ also has stated publicly that it believes that LMAs and other similar agreements customarily entered into in connection with radio station transfers prior to the expiration of the waiting period under the HSR Act could violate the HSR Act.

We can provide no assurances that our acquisition strategy will be adversely affected in any material respect by antitrust reviews.

GEOGRAPHIC FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Our advertisers and programmers are based in various locations throughout the United States. While no one customer or programmer accounts for 10% or more of our revenues, individual or in the aggregate, our broadcast operating segment is particularly dependent on advertising revenue generated from our Los Angeles and Dallas broadcast markets. Our Los Angeles radio stations generated 14.7% of our total net broadcasting advertising revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015, 14.3% for the year ended December 31, 2014, and 15.2% for the year ended December 31, 2013. Our Dallas radio stations generated 24.5% of our total net broadcasting advertising revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015, 24.0% for the year ended December 31, 2014, and 25.5% for the year ended December 31, 2013.

Because substantial portions of our broadcast advertising revenues are derived from our Los Angeles and Dallas markets, our ability to generate revenues in those markets could be adversely affected by local or regional economic downturns in these areas.

EMPLOYEES

As of February 21, 2016, we employed 1,198 employees in radio broadcasting, 181 employees in digital media entities, 130 employees in publishing, and 115 employees in corporate functions. Of these employees, 1,238 are full-time and 386 are part-time employees. We consider our relations with our employees to be good and none of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

We employ on-air personalities and we may enter into employment agreements with these on-air personalities in order to protect our interests in these relationships. However, on-air talent may be lost to competitors for a variety of reasons. While we do not believe that the loss of any one of our on-air personalities would have a material and adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations, the loss of several key on-air personalities combined could have a material and adverse effect on our business.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our Internet address is www.salemmedia.com. We make available free of charge on our investor relations website under the heading “SEC Filings” our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. These reports are available as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file them or furnish them to the SEC. Any information found on our website is not a part of or incorporated by reference into, this or any other report of the company filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the risks described below before investing in our securities. Our business is subject to risks associated with general economic conditions, geopolitical events, competition, technological obsolescence and employee relations. The risks described below, along with risks not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial, may impair our business operations and liquidity in unfavorable ways. We operate in a continually changing business environment in which new risk factors emerge from time to time. We can neither predict new risk factors, nor can we assess the impact, if any, these new risk factors may have on our business. The extent to which any risk factor, or combination of risk factors, may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations could seriously and materially influence the trading price of our common stock.

CERTAIN FACTORS AFFECTING SALEM

We may choose not to pursue potentially more profitable business opportunities outside of our Christian, conservative news talk and family-themed formats, or not to broadcast programming that violates our programming standards, either of which may have a material and adverse effect on our business.

We are fundamentally committed to broadcasting, digital and publishing formats and programming emphasizing Christian values, conservative family themes and news. We may choose not to switch to other formats or pursue potentially more profitable business opportunities due to this commitment, which could result in lower operating revenues and profits than we might otherwise achieve. We also do not intend to pursue business opportunities or broadcast programming that would conflict with our core commitment to Christian and family-themed formats or that would violate our programming standards, even if such opportunities or programming would be more profitable. Our decision not to pursue other formats, business opportunities and/or broadcast programming that is inconsistent with our programming standards may have a material and adverse effect on our business.

We are controlled by a few controlling stockholders who exercise control over most matters submitted to a shareholder vote and may have interests that differ from other security holders. Therefore, they may take actions that are not in the interests of other security holders.

As of December 31, 2015, Edward G. Atsinger III (Chief Executive Officer), Stuart W. Epperson (Chairman), Nancy A. Epperson (wife of Chairman) and Edward C. Atsinger (son of Chief Executive Officer) controlled approximately 81.7% in aggregate of the voting power of our capital stock. Thus, these four stockholders have the ability to control fundamental corporate transactions requiring stockholder approval, including but not limited to, the election of all of our directors, approval of merger transactions involving Salem and the sale of all or substantially all of Salem’s assets. The interests of any of these controlling stockholders may differ from the interests of other stockholders in a material manner. The controlling stockholders hold all of the Class B Common Stock, which have ten votes per share. Circumstances may occur in which the interests of the controlling stockholders could be in conflict with the interests of other security holders and the controlling stockholders would have the ability to cause us to take actions in their interest.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH BUSINESS OPERATIONS

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

We may be adversely affected by deteriorating economic conditions including the economic climate failing to improve.

The risks associated with our businesses become more acute in periods of a slowing economy or recession, which are often accompanied by a decrease in advertising. A decline in the level of business activity of our advertisers could have an adverse effect on our revenues and profit margins. During economic slowdowns in the United States, many advertisers have reduced their advertising expenditures. While the precise impact of economic slowdowns on our business is difficult to predict, our exposure to several risks increases with a slowing economy or a recession, including but not limited to:

Our results of operations could be negatively impacted by weak economic conditions of an individual business sector.

A recession or downturn in the economy of any individual business sector could have a significant effect on us. Even with the recovery seen from the 2008 economic recession, an individual business sector (such as the automotive industry) that tends to spend more on advertising than other sectors, might be forced to maintain a reduced level of advertising expenditures for several years after economic recovery has been in progress. If that sector experiences a slower recovery than the economy in general, that sector may reduce its advertising expenditures further if additional downturns occur. If that sector’s spending represents a significant portion of our advertising revenues, any reduction in its advertising expenditures may negatively impact our results of operations.

General economic conditions, including a prolonged weakness in the economy, may affect consumer purchases, which could adversely affect our wellness product sales.

Our wellness product operating results are dependent on a number of factors impacting consumer spending, including general economic and business conditions; consumer confidence; wages and employment levels; the housing market; consumer debt levels; availability of consumer credit; credit and interest rates; fuel and energy costs; energy shortages; taxes; general political conditions, both domestic and abroad; and the level of customer traffic within department stores, malls and other shopping and selling environments. Consumer product purchases, including purchases of our wellness products, may decline during recessionary periods. A prolonged downturn or an uncertain outlook in the economy may materially and adversely affect our wellness product business, revenues and profits.

REPUTATION

Damage to our reputation could damage our businesses.

Maintaining a positive reputation is critical to our ability to attract and maintain relationships with advertisers and our listeners. Damage to our reputation could therefore cause significant harm to our business and prospects. Harm to our reputation can arise from numerous sources, including, among others, employee misconduct, litigation or regulatory action, failure to deliver minimum standards of service and quality, compliance failures and unethical behavior. Negative publicity regarding us, whether or not true, may also result in harm to our prospects.

Poor perception of our brand, business or industry could harm our reputation and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is dependent upon attracting a large audience to our radio stations, websites and publications. Our brand, business and reputation are vulnerable to poor perception. Any damage to our reputation could harm our ability to attract and retain advertisers, customers and content creators, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Unfavorable publicity or consumer perception of our wellness products, the ingredients they contain and any similar products distributed by other companies could cause fluctuations in our operating results and could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, the demand for our wellness products and our ability to generate revenue.

We are highly dependent upon consumer perception of the safety and quality of our wellness products and the ingredients they contain. Consumer perception of our wellness products and the ingredients they contain, as well as consumer perception of similar wellness products, can be significantly influenced by scientific research or findings, national media attention and other publicity about wellness product use. A wellness product may be received favorably, resulting in high sales associated with that product that may not be sustainable as consumer preferences change. Future scientific research or publicity could be unfavorable to the wellness product industry or any of our particular wellness products or the ingredients they contain and may not be consistent with earlier favorable research or publicity. A future research report or publicity that is perceived by our wellness product consumers as less favorable or that questions earlier research or publicity could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate wellness product revenues. Unfavorable market perception of our wellness products could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, the demand for our wellness products, and our ability to generate wellness product revenues.

KEY EMPLOYEES

Our business is dependent upon the performance of key employees, on-air talent and program hosts.

Our business is dependent upon the performance and continued efforts of certain key individuals, including Edward G. Atsinger III, our Chief Executive Officer, and Stuart W. Epperson, our Chairman of the Board. The loss of the services of such key individuals could have a material adverse effect upon us. We have entered into employment agreements with such key individuals. Mr. Epperson has radio interests unrelated to Salem’s operations that will continue to impose demands on his time. Mr. Atsinger has an interest in an aviation business unrelated to Salem’s operations that will continue to impose demands on his time. Our success is highly dependent upon the retention of these and other key employees throughout our organization. In addition, we are dependent upon our ability to continue to attract new employees with key skills to support continued business growth.

We also employ or independently contract with several on-air personalities and hosts of syndicated radio programs with significant loyal audiences on both a national level and in their respective local markets. Several of our on-air personalities have a presence that extends beyond our radio platforms into other strategic areas. Although we have entered into long-term agreements with some of our executive officers, key on-air talent and program hosts to protect our interests in those relationships, we can give no assurance that all or any of these key employees will remain with us or will retain their audiences. Competition for these individuals is intense and many of our key employees are at-will employees who are under no legal obligation to remain with us. Our competitors may choose to extend offers to any of these individuals on terms that we may be unable or unwilling to meet. In addition, any or all of our key employees may decide to leave for a variety of personal or other reasons beyond our control. Furthermore, the popularity and audience loyalty of our key on-air talent and program hosts is highly sensitive to rapidly changing public tastes. A loss of such popularity or audience loyalty is beyond our control and could limit our ability to generate revenues.

If we fail to maintain the continuance of strong relationships with our authors and other creative talent, as well as to develop relationships with new creative talent, our business and financial performance could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business, in particular book publishing and financial publications, is highly dependent on maintaining strong relationships with the authors and other creative talent who produce the products and services sold to our customers. Any overall weakening of these relationships, or the failure to develop successful new relationships, could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial performance.

FACTORS AFFECTING REVENUE AND AUDIENCE GROWTH

If we are unable to maintain or grow our advertising revenues, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

Our radio stations, digital media and publishing entities are to varying degrees dependent upon advertising for their respective revenues. We compete for advertising revenue with other commercial broadcasters, including faith-based and general format radio stations, as well as with other media outlets such as broadcast and cable television, newspapers, print magazines, direct mail, digital and billboard advertising. Due to this significant competition, we may not be able to maintain or increase our current advertising revenue. Any sustained economic downturn could negatively impact our ability to generate revenues. If we are unable to maintain and grow our advertising revenues, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

After the economic recession of 2008 and 2009, we experienced a stabilization of advertising revenue. In 2012, we recorded record levels of political advertising that is not recurring and can vary with the type and nature of elections. There can be no assurance that our advertising revenue will not be volatile in the future or that such volatility will not have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business generates revenue from the sale of advertising, and the reduction in spending by or loss of advertisers could seriously harm our business.

We derive a substantial part of our total revenues from the sale of advertising. For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, 39.4%, 40.2%, and 40.8% of our total revenues, respectively, were generated from the sale of broadcast advertising. We are particularly dependent on revenue from our Los Angeles and Dallas markets which generated 14.7% and 24.5%, respectively of our total net broadcasting advertising revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015, 14.3% and 24.0% respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2014, and 15.2% and 25.5%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2013.

Our revenues and net operating income may not be sufficient to utilize deferred tax assets that could offset future taxable income.

As of December 31, 2015, we had deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances, of $2.8 million on our consolidated balance sheet included in this annual report on Form 10-K. We expect to utilize these deferred tax assets to reduce consolidated income tax liabilities over future periods not to exceed five years. However, we may not be able to fully utilize these deferred tax assets if future taxable income and related income tax liabilities are insufficient to allow their use. We may be required to record a larger valuation allowance against these deferred tax assets if we believe that we are unable to utilize them, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

As of December 31, 2015, we had deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances, of $2.8 million on our consolidated balance sheet included in this annual report on Form 10-K. We expect to utilize these deferred tax assets to reduce consolidated income tax liabilities over future periods not to exceed five years. However, we may not be able to fully utilize these deferred tax assets if future taxable income and related income tax liabilities are insufficient to allow their use. We may be required to record a larger valuation allowance against these deferred tax assets if we believe that we are unable to utilize them, which would have an adverse material effect on our results of operations and financial position.

Concentration of book publication sales may make it difficult for us to compete effectively in the publication market.

The sale of printed book publications is concentrated in national, regional, and online bookstore chains. These bookstore chains account for a vast majority of book publishing revenues. Due to this concentration of book publication sales, it may be difficult for us to compete effectively in the market, which could adversely affect our publishing revenues and growth prospects of our publishing business.

Our advertising revenues in certain markets are ratings-sensitive and subject to decline based on ratings agency projections.

Nielsen uses its own technology to collect data for its ratings service. The Portable People Meter ^TM (“PPM^”) is a small device that does not require active manipulation by the end user and is capable of automatically measuring radio, television, Internet, satellite radio and satellite television signals that are encoded for the service by the broadcaster. The PPM offers a number of advantages over the traditional diary ratings collection system including ease of use, more reliable ratings data and shorter time periods between when advertising runs and when audience listening or viewing habits can be reported. In markets where we subscribe to Nielsen under the PPM, our ratings tend to fluctuate even when there are no significant programming or competitive changes in the market. PPM data can fluctuate when changes are made to the “panel” (a group of individuals holding PPM devices). This makes all stations susceptible to inconsistencies in ratings that may or may not accurately reflect the actual number of listeners at any given time.

If we cannot attract the anticipated listener, programmer and advertiser base for our newly-acquired radio stations, we may not recoup associated operating costs or achieve profitability for these radio stations.

We frequently acquire selected assets of radio stations that previously broadcasted in formats other than our primary formats. We continue to program some of these stations in non-primary formats and we re-program others to one of our primary formats. During, and for a period after, the conversion of a radio station’s format, the radio station typically generates operating losses. The magnitude and duration of these losses depends on a number of factors, including the promotional and marketing costs associated with attracting listeners and advertisers to our radio station’s new format and the success of these efforts. There is no guarantee that the operation of these newly-acquired stations or our operations in new formats will attract a sufficient listener and advertiser base. If we are not successful in attracting the listener and advertiser base we anticipate, we may not recoup associated operating costs or achieve profitability for these newly-acquired radio stations.

If we do not maintain or increase our block programming revenues, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

The financial success of each of our radio stations that feature Christian Teaching and Talk programming is significantly dependent upon our ability to generate revenue from the sale of block programming time to national and local religious and educational organizations. Block programming accounted for 42.1% of our net broadcast revenue for the year ending December 31, 2015, 41.2% of our net broadcast revenue for the year ended December 21, 2014, and 40.9% of our net broadcasting revenue for the year ending December 31, 2013. We compete for this program revenue with a number of commercial and non-commercial radio stations. Due to the significant competition for this block programming, we may not be able to maintain or increase our current block programming revenue, in which case, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We face significant competition, which we expect will continue to intensify, and we may not be able to maintain or improve our competitive position or market share.

We operate in a highly competitive broadcast and media business. We compete for advertisers and customers with other radio broadcasters, as well as with other media sources including broadcast and cable television, newspapers and magazines, national and local digital services, outdoor advertising, direct mail, online marketing and media companies, social media platforms, web-based blogs, and mobile devices. We face intense competition from a wide range of competitors, including online marketing and media companies, integrated social media platforms and other specialist and enthusiast websites.

Our broadcast audience ratings and market shares are subject to change, and any change in a particular market could have a material adverse effect on the revenue of our stations located in that market. Salem Web Network competes for visitors and advertisers with other companies that deliver on-line audio programming and Christian and conservative Internet content as well as providers of general market Internet sites. Our book publishing business competes for readers with other book publishers, including those targeted specifically at Christian and conservative audiences. Our print magazines compete for readers and advertisers with other print publications including those that follow the Christian music industry and those that address themes of interest to church leadership and the Christian audience. Xulon Press™ competes for authors with other on-demand publishers including those focused exclusively on Christian book publishers.

The level of competition that we face could make it more difficult for us to provide value to our consumers, our advertisers and our content creators. The perceived level of value could result in increased pricing pressure, reduced profit margins, increased sales and marketing expenses, decreased website traffic and failure to increase, or the loss of, market share, any of which would likely seriously harm our business, revenue, financial condition and results of operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors.

If we are unable to continue to drive and increase visitors to our owned and operated websites and to our customer websites and convert these visitors into repeat users and customers cost-effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We attract traffic to our owned and operated websites by offering content that is highly specific and that we believe to be relevant to our audiences. How successful we are in these efforts depends, in part, upon our continued ability to create and distribute high-quality, commercially valuable content in a cost-effective manner at scale that connects consumers with content that meets their specific interests and effectively enables them to share and interact with the content and supporting communities. We may not be able to create content in a cost-effective manner or that meets rapidly changing consumer demand in a timely manner, if at all. Any such failure to do so may adversely affect user and customer experiences and reduce traffic driven to our websites that could adversely affect our business, revenue, financial condition and results of operations.

Even if we succeed in driving traffic to our owned and operated websites and to our customer websites, neither we nor our advertisers and customers may be able to monetize this traffic or otherwise retain consumers. Our failure to do so could result in decreases in customers and related advertising revenue, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Concentration of book publication sales may make it difficult for us to compete effectively in the publication market.

The sale of printed book publications is concentrated in national, regional, and online bookstore chains. These bookstore chains account for a vast majority of book publishing revenues. Due to this concentration of book publication sales, it may be difficult for us to compete effectively in the market, which could adversely affect our publishing revenues and growth prospects of our publishing business.

Our financial results would suffer if we fail to successfully meet market needs with our publishing business.

The sale of books represents a substantial part of revenues for Regnery Publishing. We are subject to the risk that we will not successfully develop and execute promotional strategies for new books that respond to customer trends, including trends related to demand for eBooks, or other technological changes that will not meet market needs, which would have a material adverse effect on the financial results of Regnery Publishing and Salem as a whole.

We may be unable to increase or maintain our digital advertising revenues, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We generate advertising revenue from the sale of digital display advertisements on our websites. Our ability to increase or maintain this advertising revenue is largely dependent upon the number of users actively visiting our websites. We also must increase user engagement with our advertisers in order to increase our advertising revenues. Additionally, digital advertising techniques are evolving, and if our technology and advertisement serving techniques do not evolve to meet the needs of advertisers, our advertising revenue could decline. Changes in our business model, advertising inventory or initiatives could also cause a decrease in our advertising revenue. Because digital media is a concentrated growth area for us, any decrease in revenues in these areas could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Digital advertisements are reportedly becoming a means to distribute viruses over the Internet. If this practice becomes prevalent, it could result in consumers becoming less inclined to click through digital advertisements, which could adversely affect the demand for digital advertising. Additionally, we do not have long-term agreements with most of our digital advertisers. Any termination, change or decrease in our advertising relationships could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and profitability. If we do not maintain or increase our advertising revenues, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

If Internet search engines' methodologies are modified, traffic to our websites and corresponding consumer origination volumes could decline.

We depend in part on various Internet search engines, including Google®, Bing®, and Yahoo!®, to direct a significant amount of traffic to our websites. Our ability to maintain the number of visitors directed to our websites through which we distribute our content by search engines is not entirely within our control. Changes in the methodologies used by search engines to display results could cause our websites to receive less favorable placements, which could reduce the number of unique visitors who link to our websites. Any reduction in the number of users directed to our websites could negatively affect our ability to earn revenue. If traffic on our websites declines, we may need to employ more costly resources to replace lost traffic, and such increased expense could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Wireless devices and mobile phones are used to access the Internet, and our online marketing services may not be as effective when accessed through these devices, which could cause harm to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The number of people who access the Internet through devices other than personal computers has increased substantially in the last few years. Our websites were originally designed for persons accessing the Internet on a desktop or laptop computer. The smaller screens, lower resolution graphics and less convenient typing capabilities of wireless devices and mobile phones may make it more difficult for visitors to respond to our offerings. In addition, the cost of mobile advertising is relatively high and may not be cost-effective for our services. We must also ensure that our licensing arrangements with third-party content providers allow us to make this content available on these devices. If we cannot effectively make our content, products and services available on these devices, fewer consumers may access and use our content, products and services. In addition, if our services continue to be less effective or less economically attractive for customers seeking to engage in advertising through these devices and this segment of Internet traffic grows at the expense of traditional computer Internet access, we will experience difficulty attracting website visitors and attracting and retaining customers and our business, financial condition and results of operations will be harmed.

LEGAL LIABILITIES

As a creator and a distributor of multi-media content, we face potential liability and expenses for legal claims based on the nature and content of the materials that we create and/or distribute, or that are accessible via our owned and operated websites and our network of customer websites. If we are required to pay damages or expenses in connection with these legal claims, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.

We rely on the work product of various content creators to produce original programs, articles and content for our radio programs, websites and print publications. We face potential liability based on a variety of theories, including defamation, negligence, unlawful practice of a licensed profession, copyright, trademark infringement, or other legal theories based on the nature, creation or distribution of this information, and under various laws, including the Lanham Act and the Copyright Act. We may also be exposed to similar liability in connection with content that we do not create but that is posted to our owned and operated websites and to our network of customer websites by users and other third parties through forums, comments, personas and other social media features. In addition, it is also possible that visitors to our owned and operated websites and to our network of customer websites could make claims against us for losses incurred in reliance upon information provided on our owned and operated websites or our network of customer websites. These claims, whether brought in the United States or abroad, could divert management time and attention away from our business and result in significant costs to investigate and defend, regardless of the merit of these claims. If we become subject to these or similar types of claims and are not successful in our defense, we may be forced to pay substantial damages. While we run our content through a rigorous quality control process, including an automated plagiarism program, there is no guarantee that we will avoid future liability and potential expenses for legal claims based on the content of the materials that we create or distribute. Should the content distributed through our owned and operated websites and our network of customer websites violate the intellectual property rights of others or otherwise give rise to claims against us, we could be subject to substantial liability, which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could face liability for the information we publish in our financial newsletters, including information based on data we obtain from other parties.

We may be subject to claims for securities law violations, defamation (including libel and slander), negligence, or other claims relating to the information we publish in our financial newsletters. While we strive to minimize such risks, it is possible that we could be subject to investigations and potential enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or civil liability for securities fraud to subscribers who invest on the basis of information provided in our financial newsletters and related materials or by the independent financial commentators who provide newsletter content. For example, subscribers may take legal action against us if they rely on published information or market analysis that contains an error or on market strategies that do not perform as described. Additionally, a company may claim that we have made a defamatory statement about it, its employees or its financial position. The authors of our newsletters also rely on a variety of outside parties as sources for some of the information we use in our published data. These sources include securities exchanges, fund companies, hedge funds, transfer agents, and other data providers. Accordingly, in addition to possible exposure for publishing incorrect information that results directly from our own errors, we could face liability based on inaccurate data provided to us by others or based upon the actions of the authors. Defending civil claims or being subject to SEC investigations or enforcement actions based on the information we publish in our financial newsletters could be expensive and time-consuming and could adversely impact our business, operating results, and financial condition.

The sale of our wellness products involves product liability and related risks that could expose us to significant insurance and loss expenses.

We face an inherent risk of exposure to wellness product liability claims if the use of our wellness products results in, or is believed to have resulted in, illness or injury. Most of our wellness products contain combinations of ingredients, and there is little long-term experience with the effect of these combinations. In addition, interactions of these wellness products with other products, prescription medicines and over-the-counter drugs have not been fully explored or understood and may have unintended consequences. While our third party manufacturers perform tests in connection with the formulations of our wellness products, these tests are not designed to evaluate the inherent safety of our wellness products.

Although we maintain product liability insurance, it may not be sufficient to cover all product liability claims and such claims that may arise could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. We carry product liability insurance coverage that requires us to pay deductibles/retentions with primary and excess liability coverage above the deductible/retention amount. Because of our deductibles and self-insured retention amounts, we have significant exposure to fluctuations in the number and severity of claims. The successful assertion or settlement of an uninsured claim, a significant number of insured claims or a claim exceeding the limits of our insurance coverage would harm us by adding further costs to our business and by diverting the attention of our senior management from the operation of our business. Even if we successfully defend a liability claim, the uninsured litigation costs and adverse publicity may be harmful to our business.

Any product liability claim may increase our costs and adversely affect our revenues and operating income. Moreover, liability claims arising from a serious adverse event may increase our costs through higher insurance premiums and deductibles, and may make it more difficult to secure adequate insurance coverage in the future. In addition, our product liability insurance may fail to cover future product liability claims, which, if adversely determined, could subject us to substantial monetary damages.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES

We must respond to the rapid changes in technology, services and standards of our industry in order to remain competitive.

The media industry is subject to rapid technological change, evolving industry standards and the emergence of competition from new media technologies and services. We cannot make assurances that we will have the resources to acquire new technologies or to introduce new services that could compete with these new technologies. Various new media technologies and services are currently being developed or introduced, including but not limited to:

We currently program one channel on SiriusXM. We also offer pod-casts and downloads of portions of our programming; however, we cannot assure you that this arrangement will be successful or enable us to adapt effectively to these new media technologies. We cannot predict the effect, if any, that competition arising from new technologies or regulatory change(s) may have on the radio broadcast industry or on our financial condition and results of operations.

New technologies may increase competition with our broadcasting and printing operations.

Our broadcasting and printing business face increasing competition from new technologies, such as broadband wireless, satellite radio and audio broadcasting by cable television systems, as well as new customer products, such as portable digital audio players and smart mobile phones. These new technologies and alternative media platforms compete with our radio stations for audience share and advertising revenues. The FCC also has approved new technologies for use in the radio broadcasting industry, including the terrestrial delivery of digital audio broadcasting, which significantly enhances the sound quality of radio broadcasts. We are unable to predict the effect that such technologies and related services and products will have on our broadcasting operations, but the capital expenditures necessary to implement such technologies could be substantial. We cannot assure that we will continue to have the resources to acquire new technologies or to introduce new services to compete with other new technologies or services, and other companies employing such new technologies or services could increase competition with our businesses.

Our printing business also faces increasing competition from new technologies, such as the Internet, eBook reader devices, and tablets. These new technologies and alternative media platforms compete with our printed books and magazines for audience share and advertising revenues. We must continue to expand our publishing businesses from traditional publishers to new digital technologies. We may make significant investments in new products and services that may not be profitable, or whose profitability may be significantly lower than we have experienced. Success and continued growth depends greatly on developing new products and the means to deliver them in an environment of rapid technological change.

We must respond to changes in consumer behavior as a result of new technologies in order to remain competitive.

Technology, particularly digital technology used in the entertainment industry, continues to evolve rapidly, leading to alternative methods for the delivery and storage of digital content. These technological advancements have driven changes in consumer behavior and have empowered consumers to seek more control over when, where and how they consume digital content. Content owners are increasingly delivering their content directly to consumers over the Internet, often without charge, and innovations in distribution platforms have enabled consumers to view such Internet-delivered content on televisions and portable devices. There is a risk that our responses to these changes and strategies to remain competitive, including distribution of our content on a “pay” basis, may not be adopted by consumers. In publishing, the trend toward digital media may drive down the price consumers are willing to spend on our products disproportionately to the costs associated with generating literary content. Our failure to protect and exploit the value of our content, while responding to and developing new technology and business models to take advantage of advancements in technology and the latest consumer preferences, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, CYBERSECURITY AND OTHER EVENTS

The interruption or failure of our information technology and communications systems, or those of third parties that we rely upon, may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The availability of our products and services depends on the continuing operation of our information technology and communications systems. Any damage to or failure of our systems, or those of third parties that we rely upon (co-location providers for data servers, storage devices, and network access) could result in interruptions in our service, which could reduce our revenue and profits. Our systems are also vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, terrorist attacks, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses or other attempts to harm our systems.

Furthermore, third-party service providers may experience an interruption in operations or cease operations for any reason. If we are unable to agree on satisfactory terms for continued data center hosting relationships, we would be forced to enter into a relationship with other service providers or assume hosting responsibilities ourselves. If we are forced to switch hosting facilities, we may not be successful in finding an alternative service provider on acceptable terms or in hosting the computer servers ourselves. We may also be limited in our remedies against these providers in the event of a failure of service. We also rely on third-party providers for components of our technology platform, such as hardware and software providers. A failure or limitation of service or available capacity by any of these third-party providers may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on third parties to provide software and related services necessary for the operation of our business.

We incorporate and include third-party software into and with our applications and service offerings and expect to continue to do so. The operation of our applications and service offerings could be impaired if errors occur in the third-party software that we use. It may be more difficult for us to correct any defects in third-party software because the development and maintenance of the software is not within our control. Accordingly, our business could be adversely affected in the event of any errors in this software. There can be no assurance that any third-party licensors will continue to make their software available to us on acceptable terms, to invest the appropriate levels of resources in their software to maintain and enhance its capabilities, or to remain in business. Any impairment in our relationship with these third-party licensors could harm our ability to maintain and expand the reach of our service, increase listener hours and sell advertising, each of which could harm our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Our broadcasts often rely on content owned by third parties; obtaining such content could be costly and require us to enter into disadvantageous license or royalty arrangements.

We rely heavily upon content and software owned by third parties in order to provide programming for our broadcasts. The cost of obtaining all necessary licenses and permission to use this third-party content and software continues to increase. Although we attempt to avoid infringing known proprietary rights of third parties in our broadcasting efforts, we expect that we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims for alleged infringement from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Any claims relating to the infringement of third-party proprietary rights, even if not meritorious, could result in costly litigation, divert management’s attention and resources, or require us to enter into royalty or license agreements which are not advantageous to us. In addition, parties making claims may be able to obtain an injunction, which could prevent us from broadcasting all or certain portions of individual radio broadcasts containing content owned by third parties. We also rely on software that we license from third parties, including software that is integrated with internally developed software and used to perform key broadcasting and accounting functions. We could lose the right to use this software or it could be made available to us only on commercially unreasonable terms. Although we believe that alternative software is available from other third-party suppliers or internal developments, the loss of or inability to maintain any of these software licenses or the inability of the third parties to enhance in a timely and cost-effective manner their products in response to changing customer needs, industry standards or technological developments could result in limitations or delays in broadcasting or accounting for programming by us until equivalent software can be developed internally or identified, licensed and integrated, which would harm our business.

We may have difficulty scaling and adapting our existing technology and network infrastructure to accommodate increased traffic and technology advances or changing business requirements, which could lead to the loss of current and potential customers and advertisers, and cause us to incur expenses to make architectural changes.

To be successful, our network infrastructure has to perform well and be reliable. The greater the user traffic and the greater the complexity of our products and services, the more computing power we will need. In the future, we may spend substantial amounts to purchase or lease data centers and equipment, upgrade our technology and network infrastructure to handle increased traffic on our owned and operated websites and roll out new products and services. This expansion could be expensive and complex and could result in inefficiencies or operational failures. If we do not implement this expansion successfully, or if we experience inefficiencies and operational failures during its implementation, the quality of our products and services and our users' experience could decline. This could damage our reputation and lead us to lose current and potential customers and advertisers. The costs associated with these adjustments to our architecture could harm our operating results. Cost increases, loss of traffic or failure to accommodate new technologies or changing business requirements could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Cyber security and privacy breaches may hurt the company’s business, damage its reputation, increase its costs, and cause losses.

Our information technology systems could be subject to invasion, cyber-attack, or data privacy breaches by employees, others with authorized access, and unauthorized persons. Such attacks could result in disruption to our operations, loss or disclosure of, or damage to, our or any of our customer’s or vendor’s data or confidential information. Security measures may also be breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or otherwise. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, customers or vendor’s to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data and information technology systems. Any such breach could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, loss of competitive advantage, and a loss of confidence in the security of our information technology systems that could potentially have an impact on our operations. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade, or sabotage our information technology systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventive measures.

Third parties that provide services for our operations could also be a source of security risk in the event of a failure of their own security systems and infrastructure. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that are procured from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of our information technology systems.

Although we have developed systems and processes designed to protect information and prevent data loss and other security breaches, including systems and processes designed to reduce the impact of a security breach, such measures cannot provide absolute security. Such breaches, whether successful or unsuccessful, could result in the incurrence of costs related to rebuilding internal systems, defending against litigation, responding to regulatory inquiries or actions, paying damages, or taking other remedial steps.

Global privacy legislation, enforcement, and policy activity are rapidly expanding and creating a complex compliance environment. Our failure to comply with federal, state, or international privacy related or data protection laws and regulations could result in proceedings against us by governmental entities or others. Although we have insurance coverage for protecting against cyber security risks, it may not be sufficient to cover all possible claims and losses that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We have not experienced significant disruptions in running our business due to invasion, cyber-attack, or data privacy breaches.

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that interfere with, or exploit security flaws in, our Internet websites and online services.

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that make changes to our users’ computers and interfere with their experience with our websites. These applications may attempt to change our users’ Internet experience, including hijacking queries to our website, altering or replacing search results or otherwise interfering with our ability to connect with our users. The interference often occurs without disclosure or consent, resulting in a negative experience that users may associate with us. These applications may be difficult or impossible to uninstall or disable, may reinstall themselves and may circumvent other applications’ efforts to block or remove them. The ability to reach users and provide them with a superior experience is critical to our success. If our efforts to combat these malicious applications are unsuccessful, our reputation may be harmed and user traffic could decline, which would damage our business. We have not experienced significant interference with our websites or digital content.

Privacy protection is increasingly demanding, and we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with security breaches, data loss, credit card fraud and identity theft that could cause us to incur unexpected expenses and loss of revenue as well as other risks.

The protection of customer, employee, vendor, and other business data is critical to us. Federal, state, provincial and international laws and regulations govern the collection, retention, sharing and security of data that we receive from and about our employees, customers, vendors and franchisees. The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy has been increasingly demanding in recent years, and may see the imposition of new and additional requirements by states and the federal government as well as foreign jurisdictions in which we do business. Compliance with these requirements may result in cost increases due to necessary systems changes and the development of new processes to meet these requirements. In addition, customers have a high expectation that we will adequately protect their personal information. If we or our service provider fail to comply with these laws and regulations or experience a significant breach of customer, employee, vendor, franchisee or other company data, our reputation could be damaged and result in an increase in service charges, suspension of service, lost sales, fines or lawsuits.

The use of credit payment systems makes us more susceptible to a risk of loss in connection with these issues, particularly with respect to an external security breach of customer information that we or third parties (including those with whom we have strategic alliances) under arrangements with us control. Significant portions of our sales require the collection of certain customer data, such as credit card information. In order for our sales channel to function, we and other parties involved in processing customer transactions must be able to transmit confidential information, including credit card information, securely over public networks. In the event of a security breach, theft, leakage, accidental release or other illegal activity with respect to employee, customer, or vendor with whom we have strategic alliances or other company data, we could become subject to various claims, including those arising out of thefts and fraudulent transactions, and may also result in the suspension of credit card services. This could cause consumers to lose confidence in our security measures, harm our reputation as well as divert management attention and expose us to potentially unreserved claims and litigation. Any loss in connection with these types of claims could be substantial. In addition, if our electronic payment systems are damaged or cease to function properly, we may have to make significant investments to fix or replace them, and we may suffer interruptions in our operations in the interim. In addition, we are reliant on these systems, not only to protect the security of the information stored, but also to appropriately track and record data. Any failures or inadequacies in these systems could expose us to significant unreserved losses, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our brand reputation would likely be damaged as well.

Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fires, floods and other natural catastrophic events and to interruption by man-made problems such as computer viruses or terrorism.

Our systems and operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, fires, floods, power losses, telecommunications failures, terrorist attacks, acts of war, human errors, break-ins or similar events. A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or flood, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our insurance coverage may be insufficient to compensate us for losses that may occur. Our principal executive offices are located in Southern California, a region known for seismic activity. In addition, acts of terrorism could also cause disruptions in our business or the economy as a whole. We rely heavily on servers, computers, communications systems and the Internet to conduct our business and provide high quality service to our listeners. Our servers may be vulnerable to cyber-security risks such as computer viruses and break-in’s. Disruptions in these services could negatively impact our ability to run our business, result in the loss of existing or potential listeners, the loss of existing or potential advertisers and increase maintenance costs, each of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. To date, we have not experienced significant disruptions in running our business due to catastrophic events, earthquakes, computer viruses or terrorism.

ACQUISITIONS AND CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

We may be unable to integrate the operations and management of acquired stations or businesses, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results.

Acquisitions may have a substantial impact on our revenues, costs, cash flows, and financial position. During 2015 and 2014, we spent $17.3 and $18.7 million, respectively, on acquisitions. With our 2014 acquisition of Eagle Publishing, we acquired several new businesses including a traditional book publishing business, a financial newsletter business and a wellness business, and while we anticipate that we will continue to effectively integrate these businesses into our current operations, there can be no assurance of this. We expect to make additional acquisitions of radio stations, FM transmitters, digital businesses and publishing businesses. Acquisitions involve risks and uncertainties, including difficulties in integrating acquired operations and in realizing expected opportunities; diversions of management resources and loss of key employees; challenges with respect to operating new businesses; debt incurred in financing such acquisitions; and other unanticipated problems and liabilities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully integrate the operations or management of acquired radio stations and businesses and realize anticipated revenue synergies, or the operations or management of stations and businesses that may be acquired in the future.

Continued acquisitions will require us to manage a larger and likely more geographically diverse region of radio stations, digital portfolios and publishing portfolios than historically has been the case. Our inability to integrate and manage newly-acquired radio stations, digital businesses or publishing entities successfully could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results.

If we are unable to execute our acquisition strategy successfully, our business may not continue to grow.

We intend to continue to selectively acquire radio stations, FM translators, digital media entities and publishing businesses. With respect to the acquisition of radio stations, our acquisition strategy has been, and will continue to focus primarily on, the acquisition of stations in the top fifty (50) markets. However, we may not be able to identify and consummate future acquisitions successfully, and stations that we do acquire may not increase our station operating income or yield other anticipated benefits. Acquisitions in markets in which we already own stations may not increase our station operating income due to saturation of audience demand. Acquisitions in smaller markets may have less potential to increase operating revenues. With respect to our acquisition strategy of digital and publishing businesses, we may not be able to identify and consummate the acquisition of future businesses successfully. Additionally, we may not be able to effectively integrate the operation of newly-acquired businesses with our existing businesses, which could result in reduced operating income from our businesses. Our failure to execute our acquisition strategy successfully in the future could limit our ability to continue to grow in terms of number of stations or profitability.

Some of our acquisition agreements contain contingent earn-out consideration, the value of which may impact future operating results.

Some of our acquisition agreements include contingent earn-out consideration, the fair value of which is estimated as of the acquisition date based on the present value of the expected contingent payments as determined using weighted probabilities of possible future payments. These fair value estimates contain unobservable inputs and estimates that could materially differ from the actual future results. The fair value of the contingent earn out consideration could increase or decrease, up to the contracted limit, as applicable. Changes in the fair value of contingent earn-outs will be reflected in our results of operations in the period in which they are recognized, the amount of which may be material and cause volatility in our operating results.

If we are unable to implement our market cluster strategy, we may not realize anticipated operating efficiencies.

As part of our operating strategy, we attempt to realize efficiencies in operating costs and cross-selling of advertising by clustering the operations of two or more radio stations in a single market. However, there can be no assurance that this operating strategy will be successful. Furthermore, we cannot make any assurance that the clustering of radio stations in one market will not result in downward pressure on advertising rates at one or more of the existing or new radio stations within the cluster. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any of our stations will be able to maintain or increase its current listening audiences and operating revenue in circumstances where we implement our clustering strategy.

Additionally, FCC rules and policies allow a broadcaster to own a number of radio stations in a given market and permit, within limits, joint arrangements with other stations in a market relating to programming, advertising sales and station operations. We believe that radio stations that elect to take advantage of these clustering opportunities may have lower operating costs and may be able to offer advertisers more attractive rates and services. The future development of our business in new markets, as well as the maintenance of our business growth in those markets in which we do not currently have radio station clusters, may be negatively impacted by competitors who are taking or may take advantage of these clustering opportunities by operating multiple radio stations within markets.

We base capital allocation decisions primarily on our analysis of the predicted internal rate of return. If the estimates and assumptions we use in calculating the internal rate of return are inaccurate, our capital may be inefficiently allocated. If we fail to appropriately allocate our capital, our growth rate and financial results will be adversely affected.

We continually seek opportunities for growth by increasing the strength and number of our broadcast signals, increasing the number of page views on our web platform and increasing the subscriber base of our publications. In order to realize these growth opportunities, we must rely on continued technical improvements to expand our broadcasting, digital and publication footprint. When deciding which opportunities to pursue, we must predict the internal rate of return associated with each project. Our calculations are based on certain estimates and assumptions that may not be realized. Accordingly, the calculation of internal rate of return may not be reflective of our actual returns, and our capital may be inefficiently allocated. If we fail to appropriately allocate our capital, our growth rate and financial results will be adversely affected.

Our syndicated programming is dependent upon maintenance of our transponder equipment, which is located at various customer sites.

Delivery of our national programs is dependent upon transponder equipment that is located at various customer locations. The quality and durability of this equipment, as well as our ability to protect the equipment from damage, destruction or theft, directly impacts our ability to transmit programming. Losses to this equipment and any business interruption may not be fully insurable.

If we are unable to protect our domain names, our reputation and brands could be adversely affected.

We currently hold various domain name registrations relating to our brands. The registration and maintenance of domain names generally are regulated by governmental agencies and their designees. Governing bodies may establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars or modify the requirements for holding domain names. As a result, we may be unable to register or maintain relevant domain names. We may be unable, without significant cost or at all, to prevent third parties from registering domain names that are similar to, infringe upon or otherwise decrease the value of, our trademarks and other proprietary rights. Failure to protect our domain names could adversely affect our reputation and brands, and make it more difficult for users to find our websites and our services.

Impairment of FCC Licenses, goodwill and other intangible assets deemed to have indefinite useful lives could cause future losses due to asset impairment.

A majority of the purchase price for our broadcast stations is allocated to FCC licenses. We may also record goodwill based on our acquisition activity. Approximately 70% of our total assets at December 31, 2015 consist of indefinite-lived intangible assets including broadcast licenses, goodwill and mastheads. The value of these indefinite-lived intangible assets depends significantly upon the operating results of our businesses. We do not amortize goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets, but rather test for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that an asset may be impaired.

We perform our annual impairment testing during the fourth quarter of each year, which coincides with our budget and planning process for the upcoming year. We have incurred significant impairment losses in prior years with regard to our indefinite-lived intangible assets.

The valuation of intangible assets is subjective and based on estimates rather than precise calculations. The fair value measurements of our indefinite-lived intangible assets use significant unobservable inputs that reflect our own assumptions about the estimates that market participants would use in measuring fair value including assumptions about risk. If actual future results are less favorable than the assumptions and estimates we used, we are subject to future impairment charges, the amount of which may be material. Given the current economic environment and uncertainties that can negatively impact our business, there can be no assurance that our estimates and assumptions made for the purpose of our indefinite-lived intangible fair value estimates will prove to be accurate.

During our annual testing in the fourth quarter of 2015, we recognized an impairment charge of $0.4 million associated with the value of goodwill in our Singing News Network (formerly Solid Gospel Network.) The impairment charge of $0.4 million recognized in the fourth quarter of 2015 resulted from a reduction of the projected net revenues for the Singing News Network. During our annual testing in the fourth quarter of 2014, we recognized impairment charges of $79,000 associated with mastheads and goodwill within our magazine publishing segment. The impairment of $79,000 during the fourth quarter of 2015 resulted from continual declines in revenues from our print magazines that were not offset with cost reductions from the decrease in the number of publications printed. The growth of digital-only publications, which are often free or significantly less than a print magazine has hindered the ability of the publishing industry to recover from the economic recession that began in 2008. We believe that the impairments are indicative of trends in the industry as a whole and are not unique to our company or operations.

While the impairment charges we have recognized are non-cash in nature and do not violate covenants relating to our senior secured credit facility, they are indicative of declining expectations for future economic conditions and performance. The potential for future impairment charges can be viewed as a negative factor with regard to forecasted future performance and cash flows. We believe that we have adequately considered the economic downturn in our valuation models and do not believe that the non-cash impairments in and of themselves are a liquidity risk.

FINANCIAL REPORTING

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management's attention.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Select Market, and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations results in a higher level of legal and financial compliance costs. Compliance can divert the time and attention of management from revenue-generating activities. Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, our business and operating results may be harmed.

In addition, complying with public disclosure rules makes our business more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be harmed, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and harm our business and operating results.

If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the trading price of our Class A common stock may be negatively affected.

We are subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which requires us to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. We have consumed and will continue to consume management resources and incur expenses for SOX compliance on an ongoing basis. If we identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, or if we are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the trading price of our Class A common stock could be negatively affected. Additionally, we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

WELLNESS PRODUCTS

The efficacy of wellness products is supported by limited conclusive clinical studies, which could result in claims that our Wellness products are ineffective or harmful to consumers.  

Our wellness products are made from various ingredients including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, botanicals, fruits, berries and other substances for which there is a long history of human consumption. However, there is little long-term experience with human consumption of certain product ingredients or combinations of ingredients in concentrated form. Although we believe all of our wellness products fall within the generally known safe limits for daily doses of each ingredient contained within them, nutrition science is imperfect. Moreover, some people have peculiar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients commonly found in foods, and may have similar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients contained in our wellness products. Furthermore, nutrition science is subject to change based on new research. New scientific evidence may disprove the efficacy of our wellness products or prove our wellness products to have effects not previously known. We could be adversely affected by studies that may assert that our wellness products are ineffective or harmful to consumers, or if adverse effects are associated with a competitor’s similar products.

We are currently dependent on a limited number of independent suppliers and manufacturers of our wellness products, which may affect our ability to deliver our wellness products in a timely manner. If we are not able to ensure timely product deliveries, potential distributors and customers may not order our wellness products, and our revenues may decrease. 

We rely entirely on a limited number of third parties to supply and manufacture our wellness products. These third parties are subject to FDA regulation and must operate in accordance with strict manufacturing requirements referred to as Current Good Manufacturing Practices (“CGMP’s”) for dietary supplements. Our wellness products are manufactured on a purchase order basis only and manufacturers can terminate their relationships with us at any time. These third party manufacturers may be unable to satisfy our supply requirements, manufacture our wellness products on a timely basis and in compliance with CGMP’s, fill and ship our orders promptly, provide services at competitive costs or offer reliable products and services. The failure to meet any of these critical needs and legal requirements would delay or reduce wellness product shipments and adversely affect our revenues, as well as jeopardize our relationships with our customers. In the event any of our third party manufacturers were to become unable or unwilling to continue to provide us with products in required volumes and at suitable quality levels, we would be required to identify and obtain acceptable replacement manufacturing sources. There is no assurance that we would be able to obtain alternative manufacturing sources on a timely basis. Additionally, all of our third party manufacturers source the raw materials for our products, and if we were to use alternative manufacturers, we may not be able to duplicate the exact taste and consistency profile of the product from the original manufacturer. An extended interruption in the supply of our products would result in decreased product sales and our revenues would likely decline. We believe that we can meet our current supply and manufacturing requirements with our current suppliers and manufacturers or with available substitute suppliers and manufacturers. Historically, we have not experienced any delays or disruptions to our wellness product business caused by difficulties in obtaining supplies.

We are dependent on our third party manufacturers to supply our wellness products in the compositions we require, and we do not independently analyze our wellness products. Any errors in our wellness product manufacturing could result in wellness product recalls, contamination, significant legal exposure, reduced revenues and the loss of distributors.

While we require that our manufacturers verify the accuracy of the contents of our wellness products, we do not have the expertise or personnel to monitor the production of products by these third parties. We rely exclusively, without independent verification; on certificates of analysis regarding wellness product content provided by our third party suppliers and limited safety testing they perform. We cannot be assured that all of the third parties involved in the manufacturing of our products are complying with government health and safety standards, and even if our wellness products meet these standards, they could otherwise become contaminated. Errors in the manufacture of our wellness products and the occurrence of contamination could result in product recalls, significant legal exposure, adverse publicity, decreased revenues and loss of distributors and endorsers. We also cannot be assured that these outside manufacturers will continue to supply wellness products to us reliably in the compositions we require. Any of these failures or occurrences could negatively affect our wellness products business and financial performance.

If the wellness products we sell do not have the healthful effects intended, our wellness products business may suffer.

In general, our wellness products sold consist of nutritional supplements, which are classified in the United States as “dietary supplements” which do not currently require approval from the FDA or other regulatory agencies prior to sale. Although many of the ingredients in such wellness products are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances for which there is a long history of human consumption, they contain innovative ingredients or combinations of ingredients. Although we believe all of such wellness products and the combinations of ingredients in them are safe when taken as directed, there is little long-term experience with human or other animal consumption of certain of these ingredients or combinations thereof in concentrated form. The wellness products could have certain side effects if not taken as directed or if taken by a consumer that has certain medical conditions. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any of the wellness products, even when used as directed, will have the effects intended or will not have harmful side effects.  

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH REGULATIONS

The restrictions on ownership of multiple radio stations in each market may prevent us from implementing our broadcasting market cluster strategy.

We seek to acquire additional radio stations in markets in which we already have existing stations. Our ability to acquire, operate and integrate any such future acquisitions as part of a cluster is limited by antitrust laws, the Communications Act, FCC regulations and other applicable laws and regulations. Changes to any of these laws or regulations may affect our ability to acquire additional stations in radio markets where we already own one (1) or more radio station(s). In 1996, Congress passed legislation that requires the FCC to periodically conduct reviews of its regulations, including those which govern the maximum number of radio stations an entity may own or have joint arrangements with relating to programming, advertising sales and station operations (the “Ownership Limits”). The FCC has adopted radio multiple ownership rules that depend upon the total number of radio stations located in the market in determining the applicable Ownership Limits. In 2003, the FCC modified its definition of the term “market” and its method of determining the number of radio stations located in a “market.” Specifically, in larger markets, the FCC replaced its “signal contour method” of defining a market and determining the number of radio stations located in the market with the use of “geographic markets” delineated by Nielsen, which is a commercial ratings service, as reported in the BIA database, as issued by BIA/Kelsey, a research and advisory company focused on the local advertising marketplace. For smaller radio markets for which Nielsen has not delineated a geographic market, the “signal contour method” continues to be the method of defining the market and determining the number of radio stations in the market. The methods the FCC uses to define markets affect the number of radio stations an entity may own or have joint arrangements with relating to programming, advertising sales and station operations in areas adjacent to a delineated Nielsen market.

In 2010, the FCC opened a new phase of rulemaking concerning its broadcast ownership rules. The FCC sought public comments on the existing rules, including arguments and factual data on their impact on competition, localism, and diversity and held public meetings around the country on the issue of media ownership rules. The FCC 2010 quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules is ongoing and has been consolidated into the FCC’s 2014 quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules, which commenced in spring of 2014. The local radio ownership rule, the radio/television cross-ownership rule and newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule are among the broadcast ownership rules being considered in the 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews. The FCC has instructed its Media Bureau to complete the combined 2010 and 2014 reviews by June 30, 2016.

We cannot predict the impact of possible modifications to the FCC’s local radio multiple ownership rules on our business operations. Likewise, we cannot predict whether there will be a change in the antitrust laws, Communications Act or other laws governing the ownership or operation of radio stations, or whether the FCC, DOJ or FTC will modify their regulations and policies governing or affecting the acquisition of additional radio stations in a market. In addition, we cannot predict whether a private party will challenge acquisitions we propose in the future. These events could adversely affect our ability to implement our cluster acquisition strategy.

Government regulation of the broadcasting industry by the FTC, DOJ and FCC may limit our ability to acquire or dispose of radio stations and enter into certain agreements.

The Communications Act and FCC rules and policies require prior FCC approval for transfers of control of, and assignments of, FCC broadcast licenses. The FTC and the DOJ evaluate transactions to determine whether those transactions should be challenged under federal antitrust laws. As we have gained a presence in a greater number of markets and percentage of the top 50 markets, our future proposed transactions may be subject to more frequent and aggressive review by the FTC and/or the DOJ due to market concentration concerns. This increased level of review may be accentuated in instances where we propose to engage in a transaction with parties who themselves have multiple stations in the relevant market. The FCC might not approve a proposed radio station acquisition or disposition when the DOJ has expressed market concentration concerns with respect to the buy or sell side of a given transaction, even if the proposed transaction would otherwise comply with the FCC’s numerical limits on in-market ownership. We cannot be sure that the DOJ or the FTC will not seek to prohibit or require the restructuring of our future acquisitions or dispositions on these or other bases.

If a complaint was filed against us or other FCC licensees involved in a transaction with us, or an objection to the transaction itself, the FCC could delay the grant of, or refuse to grant, its consent to an assignment or transfer of control of licenses and effectively prohibit a proposed acquisition or disposition.

As noted in the immediately preceding risk factor, the FCC’s local radio multiple ownership rules limit the maximum number of stations we may own or operate in a market. This may limit our ability to make future radio station acquisitions in certain markets. Additionally, this may limit our ability, in certain markets, to enter into agreements whereby we provide programming to or sell advertising on radio stations that we do not own. It could also limit our ability to sell stations to other entities that already own stations in some markets.

We may be adversely affected by statutes dealing with indecency.

The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 enhances the FCC’s enforcement of its rules concerning the broadcast of obscene, indecent, or profane material became law in 2006. This legislation increased the FCC’s authority in this area to impose substantially higher monetary forfeiture penalties, up to $325,000 per violation and a total of $3,000,000 for any one (1) incident. While we do not anticipate these increased penalties to impact us as significantly as some of our competitors given the nature of our programming, we could face increased costs in the form of fines as a result of this legislation.

We may be subject to fines and other penalties related to violations of FCC indecency rules and other FCC rules and policies, the enforcement of which has increased in recent years, and complaints related to such violations may delay our renewal applications with the FCC.

We provide live news reporting that is controlled by our on-air news talent. Although our on-air talent have been professional and careful in what they say, there is always the possibility that information may be reported that is inaccurate or even in violation of certain indecency rules promulgated by the FCC.

If we fail to maintain our broadcast licenses with the FCC, we would be prevented from operating affected radio stations.

We operate each of our radio stations pursuant to one or more FCC broadcast licenses, generally of eight years’ duration. As each license expires, we apply for renewal of the license. However, we cannot be sure that any of our licenses will be renewed, and renewal is subject to challenge by third parties or to denial by the FCC. In evaluating a broadcast license renewal application, the FCC must grant the renewal if: (1) the station has served the public interest, convenience and necessity; (2) there have been no serious violations of the Communications Act or the FCC’s rules; and (3) there have been no other violations which, taken together, constitute a pattern of abuse. If, however, the station fails to meet these standards, the FCC may deny the application, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, or grant the application on terms and conditions that are appropriate, including renewal for less than the maximum term otherwise allowed. The failure to renew any of our licenses would prevent us from operating the affected station and generating revenue from it. If the FCC decides to include conditions or qualifications in any of our licenses, we may be limited in the manner in which we may operate the affected station.

Proposed legislation requires radio broadcasters to pay higher royalties to record labels and recording artists.

We must maintain music programming royalty arrangements with, and pay license fees to, Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”), American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), and SESAC, Inc. These organizations negotiate with copyright users, collect royalties and distribute them to songwriters and music publishers. Currently, we pay royalties to song composers and publishers through BMI, ASCAP and SESAC. 

On April 15, 2015, legislation was introduced to Congress under the Fair Pay Act that would require terrestrial radio broadcasters to pay a royalty to record labels and performing artists for use of their recorded songs. The proposed legislation would add an additional layer of royalties to be paid directly to the record labels and artists. As of the date of this filing, this bill has not been passed. It is currently unknown what proposed legislation, if any, will become law, and what significance this royalty would have on our results from operations, cash flows or financial position.

Changes in regulations or user concerns regarding privacy and protection of user data, or any failure to comply with such laws, could diminish the value of our services and cause us to lose customers and revenue.

When a user visits our websites or certain pages of our customers' websites, we use technologies, including "cookies," to collect information related to the user, such as the user's Internet Protocol, or IP, address, demographic information, and history of the user's interactions with advertisements previously delivered by us. The information that we collect about users helps us deliver appropriate content and targeted advertising to the user. A variety of federal, state and international laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of data that we receive from and about our users. The existing privacy-related laws and regulations are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. We post privacy policies on all of our owned and operated websites that set forth our policies and practices related to the collection and use of customer data. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our posted privacy policies or with industry standards or laws or regulations could result in a loss of customer confidence in us, or result in actions against us by governmental entities or others, all of which could potentially cause us to lose customers and revenues.

In addition, various federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies may expand current or enact new laws regarding privacy matters. New laws may be enacted, or existing laws may be amended or re-interpreted, in a manner that limits our ability to analyze user data. If our access to user data is limited through legislation or any industry development, we may be unable to provide effective technologies and services to customers and we may lose customers and revenue.

Certain U.S. and foreign laws could subject us to claims or otherwise harm our business.

We are subject to a variety of laws in the U.S. and abroad that may subject us to claims or other remedies. Our failure to comply with applicable laws may subject us to additional liabilities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition to laws and regulations that are described elsewhere in the risk factors, laws and regulations that are particularly relevant to our business address (a) privacy; (b) freedom of expression; (c) information security; (d) content and distribution of content, including liability for user reliance on such content; (e) intellectual property rights, including secondary liability for infringement by others; (f) domain name registration; and (g) online advertising and marketing, including email marketing and unsolicited commercial email.

Many applicable laws were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues of the Internet. Moreover, the applicability and scope of the laws that do address the Internet remain uncertain. For example, the laws relating to the liability of providers of online services are evolving. Claims have been either threatened or filed against us under both U.S. and foreign laws for defamation, copyright infringement and trademark infringement. In the future, claims may also be alleged against us based on tort claims and other theories based on our content, products and services or content generated by our users.

We receive, process and store large amounts of personal user data on our owned and operated websites and from our freelance content creators. Our privacy and data security policies govern the collection, use, sharing, disclosure and protection of this data. The storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personal information and user data are subject to federal, state and international privacy laws, the purpose of which is to protect the privacy of personal information that is collected, processed and transmitted in or from the governing jurisdiction. If requirements regarding the manner in which certain personal information and other user data are processed and stored change significantly, our business may be adversely affected, impacting our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may be exposed to potential liabilities as a result of differing views on the level of privacy required for customer and other user data we collect. Our failure or the failure of various third-party vendors and service providers to comply with applicable privacy policies or applicable laws and regulations or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release of personal information or other user data could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Government regulation of the Internet is evolving, and unfavorable developments could have a material and adverse affect on our operating results.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws, as well as regulations and laws specific to the Internet. Such laws and regulations cover taxation, user privacy, data collection and protection, copyrights, electronic contracts, sales procedures, automatic subscription renewals, credit card processing procedures, customer protections, broadband Internet access and content restrictions. We cannot guarantee that we have been or will be fully compliant in every jurisdiction, as it is not entirely clear how existing laws and regulations governing issues such as privacy, taxation and consumer protection apply to the Internet. Moreover, as Internet commerce continues to evolve, increasing regulation by federal, state and foreign agencies becomes more likely. The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the popularity or growth in use of the Internet, including laws limiting Internet neutrality, could decrease listener demand for our service offerings and increase our cost of doing business. Future regulations, or changes in laws and regulations or their existing interpretations or applications, could also hinder our operational flexibility, raise compliance costs and result in additional historical or future liabilities for us, resulting in material and adverse impacts on our business and our operating results.

Environmental, health, safety and land use laws and regulations may limit or restrict some of our operations.

We must comply with various federal, state and local environmental, health, safety and land use laws and regulations that have a tendency to affect broadcast facilities differently than other uses. We are subject to such laws and regulations relating to the use, storage, disposal, emission and release of hazardous and non-hazardous substances and employee health and safety, as well as zoning restrictions that may affect, among other things, the ability for us to improve or relocate our radio broadcasting facilities. Historically, we have not incurred significant expenditures to comply with these laws; however, existing laws, and those that may be applied in the future, or a finding of a violation of such laws or liability, could require us to make significant expenditures and otherwise limit or restrict some of our operations.

We are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints, which can make compliance for our wellness business costly and subject us to enforcement actions by governmental agencies.

The processing, formulation, safety, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising and distribution of our wellness products are subject to federal laws and regulation by one or more federal agencies, including the FDA, the FTC, the CPSC, the USDA, and the EPA. These activities are also regulated by various state, local and international laws and agencies of the states and localities in which our wellness products are sold. Government regulations may prevent or delay the introduction, or require the reformulation, of our wellness products, which could result in lost revenues and increased costs to us. For instance, the FDA regulates, among other things, the composition, safety, manufacture, labeling and marketing of dietary supplements (including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other dietary ingredients for human use). The FDA may not accept the evidence of safety for any new dietary ingredient that we may wish to market, may determine that a particular dietary supplement or ingredient presents an unacceptable health risk based on the required submission of serious adverse events or other information, and may determine that a particular claim or statement of nutritional value that we use to support the marketing of a dietary supplement is an impermissible drug claim, is not substantiated, or is an unauthorized version of a "health claim."

Any of these actions could prevent us from marketing particular wellness products or making certain claims or statements with respect to those wellness products. The FDA could also require us to remove a particular wellness product from the market. Any future recall or removal would result in additional costs to us, including lost revenues from any wellness product that we are required to remove from the market, any of which could be material. Any wellness product recalls or removals could also lead to an increased risk of litigation and liability, substantial costs, and reduced growth prospects.

Additional or more stringent laws and regulations of dietary supplements and other wellness products have been considered from time to time. These developments could require reformulation of some wellness products to meet new standards, recalls or discontinuance of some wellness products not able to be reformulated, additional record-keeping requirements, increased documentation of the properties of some wellness products, additional or different labeling, additional scientific substantiation, or other new requirements. Any of these developments could increase our costs significantly.

Our failure to comply with FTC regulations could result in substantial monetary penalties and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The FTC exercises jurisdiction over the advertising of wellness products and has instituted numerous enforcement actions against dietary supplement companies for failure to have adequate substantiation for claims made in advertising or for the use of false or misleading advertising claims. Our failure to comply with FTC regulations could result in substantial monetary penalties and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SUBSTANTIAL INDEBTEDNESS

Capital requirements necessary to implement acquisitions could pose risks.

We face competition from other companies for acquisition opportunities. If the prices sought by sellers of these companies were to rise, we may find fewer acceptable acquisition opportunities. In addition, the purchase price of possible acquisitions could require additional debt or equity financing on our part. Since the terms and availability of this financing depend to a large degree upon general economic conditions and third parties over which we have no control, we can give no assurance that we will obtain the needed financing or that we will obtain such financing on attractive terms. In addition, our ability to obtain financing depends on a number of other factors, many of which are also beyond our control, such as interest rates and national and local business conditions. If the cost of obtaining needed financing is too high or the terms of such financing are otherwise unacceptable in relation to the acquisition opportunity we are presented with, we may decide to forego that opportunity. Additional indebtedness could increase our leverage and make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and may limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures.

If we are not able to obtain financing or generate sufficient cash flows from operations, we may be unable to fund future acquisitions.

We may require significant financing to fund our acquisition strategy, which may not be available to us. The availability of funds under our existing senior secured credit facility at any time is dependent upon, among other factors, our ability to satisfy financial covenants. Our future operating performance will be subject to financial, economic, business, competitive, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, we cannot make any assurances that our future cash flows or borrowing capacity will be sufficient to allow us to complete future acquisitions or implement our business plan, which could have a material negative impact on our business and results of operations.

We have substantial debt and have the ability to incur additional debt. The principal and interest payment obligations of such debt may restrict our future operations and impair our ability to meet our obligations under such debt.

At December 31, 2015, we and our subsidiary guarantors had approximately $274.0 million outstanding on our Term Loan B and $3.3 million on our revolving credit facility (“Revolver”) with Wells Fargo Bank.

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

Our ability to satisfy our obligations and to reduce our total debt depends on our future operating performance and on economic, financial, competitive and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow, and future financings may not be available to provide sufficient net proceeds, to meet these obligations or to successfully execute our business or acquisition strategies.

The agreements governing our various debt obligations impose restrictions on our business and could adversely affect our ability to undertake certain corporate actions.

The agreements governing our debt obligations, including the agreements governing our Term Loan B and Revolver, include covenants imposing significant restrictions on our business. 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 restrictions on our ability to, among other things:

Our Term Loan B and our Revolver also require us to comply with a number of financial ratios and covenants and restricts our ability to make certain capital expenditures.

Our ability to comply with these agreements may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. These covenants could have an adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, merger and acquisition or other corporate opportunities. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default under the Term Loan B and Revolver. An event of default under any of our debt agreements could permit some of our lenders to declare all amounts borrowed from them to be immediately due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, which could, in turn, trigger defaults under other debt obligations and the commitments of the lenders to make further extensions of credit under our Revolver could be terminated. If we were unable to repay debt to our lenders, or are otherwise in default under any provision governing our outstanding secured debt obligations, our secured lenders could proceed against us and the subsidiary guarantors and against the collateral securing that debt.

To service our indebtedness, we will require a significant amount of cash. However, our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make payments on, and to refinance, our indebtedness, and to fund capital expenditures, will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future, which, in turn, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations and we may not have available to us future borrowings in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay our indebtedness. In these circumstances, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity. We may not be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Without this financing, we could be forced to sell assets or secure additional financing to make up for any shortfall in our payment obligations under unfavorable circumstances. In addition, we may not be able to sell assets quickly enough or for sufficient amounts to enable us to meet our obligations.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

We own or lease various properties throughout the United States from which we conduct business. No one physical property is material to our overall business operations. We believe that each of our properties are in good condition and suitable for our operations; however, we continually evaluate opportunities to upgrade our properties. We believe that we will be able to renew existing leases when applicable or obtain comparable facilities, as necessary.

Corporate

Our corporate headquarters are located in Camarillo, California where we own an approximately 40,000 square foot office building.

Broadcasting

The types of properties required to support our radio stations include offices, studios, transmitter, antenna and tower sites. A station’s studios are generally located in an office in a downtown or business district. Transmitter, antenna and tower sites are located in areas that provide maximum market coverage. We lease multiple properties throughout the United States from which we operate our radio stations and related facilities.

Our SRN and SMR offices and Dallas radio stations are located in an office building in the Dallas, Texas metropolitan area, where we own an approximately 34,000 square foot office building. We also own office buildings in Honolulu, Hawaii; Tampa, Florida; and Orlando, Florida. Our radio network operates from various offices and studios from which the programming originates or is relayed from a remote point of origination. Our network leases satellite transponders used in the delivery of its programming.

We lease certain property from our principal stockholders or trusts and partnerships created for the benefit of the principal stockholders and their families. These leases are described in Note 11 in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. All such leases have cost of living adjustments. Based upon our management’s assessment and analysis of local market conditions for comparable properties, we believe such leases have terms that are as favorable as, or more favorable, to the company than those that would have been available from unaffiliated parties.

The lease agreements range from one to thirty years remaining on the lease term.

Digital Media

The types of properties required to support our digital media operations include office buildings and data storage centers. Salem Web Network, including Townhall, operates from leased office facilities in Richmond, Virginia; Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee. Eagle Financial Publications operate from leased offices in Washington D.C. Eagle Wellness and Gene Smart operate from leased offices in Washington D.C with inventory fulfillment handled by a third party in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Salem Consumer Products operates from our corporate office in Camarillo, California. The lease agreements range from one to six years remaining on the lease term.

Publishing

Salem Publishing and Xulon Press operate from leased office facilities in Nashville, Tennessee, Washington D.C. and Orlando, Florida. Regnery Publishing operates from leased facilities in Washington, D.C. with inventory fulfillment handled through a third party in Jackson, Tennessee. The lease agreements range from one to four years remaining on the lease term.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

We and our subsidiaries, incident to our business activities, are parties to a number of legal proceedings, lawsuits, arbitration and other claims. Such matters are subject to many uncertainties and outcomes that are not predictable with assurance. We maintain insurance that may provide coverage for such matters. Consequently, we are unable to ascertain the ultimate aggregate amount of monetary liability or the financial impact with respect to these matters. We believe, at this time, that the final resolution of these matters, individually and in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect upon our annual consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE AND SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not Applicable.

PART II

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

Our Class A common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market® (“NASDAQ-NGM”) under the symbol SALM. On February 26, 2016, the company had approximately 46 stockholders of record (not including the number of persons or entities holding stock in nominee or street name through various brokerage firms) and 19,928,484 outstanding shares of its Class A common stock and two stockholders of record and 5,553,696 outstanding shares of its Class B common stock. The following table sets forth for the fiscal quarters indicated the range of high and low sale price information per share of the Class A common stock of the company as reported on the NASDAQ-NGM.

There is no established public trading market for the company’s Class B common stock.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our dividend policy is based upon our Board of Directors’ current assessment of our business and the environment in which we operate. The actual declaration of any future equity distributions and the establishment of the per share amount, record dates, and payment dates are subject to final determination by our Board of Directors and dependent upon future earnings, cash flows, financial requirements, and other factors. The reduction or elimination of equity distributions may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

The following table shows quarterly equity distributions that have been declared and paid to all stockholders of record of our Class A and Class B common stock during the years ending December 31, 2015 and 2014.

While we intend to review equity distributions payments on a quarterly basis, the actual declaration of such future equity distributions and the establishment of the per share amount, record dates, and payment dates are subject to final determination by our Board of Directors and dependent upon future earnings, cash flows, financial requirements, and other factors. The current policy of the Board of Directors is to review each of these factors on a quarterly basis to determine the appropriate amount, if any, to allocate toward a cash distribution with the general principle of using approximately 20% of free cash flow. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included with this annual report on Form 10-K.

Based on the number of shares of Class A and Class B common stock currently outstanding, and the currently approved distribution amount, we expect to pay total annual equity distributions of approximately $6.6 million in 2016.

Our sole source of cash available for making any future equity distributions is our operating cash flow subject to our Term Loan B and Revolver, which contain covenants that restrict the payment of dividends and equity distributions unless certain specified conditions are satisfied.

STOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return of the our Class A common stock with the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ – NMS equity index and the Bloomberg Broadcast and Cable Radio Index for a five year period commencing December 31, 2010 and ending December 31, 2015. Our Class B common stock is not publicly traded and is not registered. The graph assumes that the value of an investment in our Class A common stock and each index was $100 on December 31, 2010 and that any dividends were reinvested. Stockholder returns over the indicated period are not indicative of future stockholder returns.

The stock price performance graph above shall not be deemed incorporated by reference by any general statement incorporating by reference this report into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the company specifically incorporates this information by reference and shall not otherwise be deemed filed under such Acts.

UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

The selected financial data below as of and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. The selected financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2013, December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 is derived from our audited financial statements not included herein. The selected financial data should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by reference to, our consolidated financial statements, related notes, other financial information included (incorporated by reference) herein, and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” including the disclosure concerning the reconciliation for historical Non-GAAP financial measures presented in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations–Non-GAAP Financial Measures” included in Item 7 of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year financial data to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications include: (1) the separation of our non-broadcast operating segment into two operating segments as of the first quarter of 2011, (2) the reporting of discontinued operations, (3) the reclassification of direct broadcast, direct digital and direct publishing expenses from corporate expenses to the appropriate segment, and (4) the change in composition of our operating segments as of December 2014 to conform to how our chief operating decision makers, which we define as a collective group of senior executives, assesses the performance of each operating segment and determines the appropriate allocations of resources to each segment.

We have two reportable segments, radio broadcasting and digital media. Digital media (formerly “Internet and e-commerce”) became a reportable segment as of the first quarter of 2011 upon the realization of organic and acquisition-related revenue growth. Our acquisition of Eagle Publishing on January 10, 2014, including Regnery Publishing, Eagle Financial Publications, Eagle Wellness, HumanEvents.com and RedState.com, resulted in operational changes to our business and a realignment of our operating segments. We now have three operating segments: (1) Broadcasting, (2) Digital Media, and (3) Publishing. We changed the composition of our operating segments to reflect management’s view of the operating results for each segment.

All prior periods presented are updated to reflect the new composition of our operating segments. Refer to Note 17 – Segment Data in the notes to our consolidated financial statements contained in Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K for additional information. Note that our financial results are not comparable from year to year due to acquisitions and dispositions of radio stations and other assets, impairments and other significant events:

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Management uses certain non-GAAP financial measures defined below in communications with investors, analysts, rating agencies, banks and others to assist such parties in understanding the impact of various items on our financial statements. We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate financial results, develop budgets, manage expenditures and as a measure of performance under compensation programs.

Our presentation of these non-GAAP measures should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to the most directly comparable financial measures as reported in accordance with GAAP.

Regulation G and Item 10© of Regulation S-K define and prescribe the conditions under which certain non-GAAP financial information may be presented. We closely monitor EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Station Operating Income (“SOI”), Digital media operating income, publishing operating income, and free cash flow, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information about our core operating results, and thus, are appropriate to enhance the overall understanding of our financial performance. These non-GAAP measures are intended to provide management and investors a more complete understanding of our underlying financial results, operational results, trends and performance.

The performance of a radio broadcasting company is customarily measured by the ability of its stations to generate SOI. We define SOI as net broadcast revenue less broadcast operating expenses. Accordingly, changes in net broadcast revenue and broadcast operating expenses, as explained above, have a direct impact on changes in SOI. SOI is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP. SOI should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for our results of operations presented on the basis of GAAP. We believe that SOI is a useful non-GAAP financial measure to investors, when considered in conjunction with operating income (the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to SOI), because it is generally recognized by the radio broadcasting industry as a tool in measuring performance and in applying valuation methodologies for companies in the media, entertainment and communications industries. SOI is commonly used by investors and analysts who report on the industry to provide comparisons between broadcasting groups. We use SOI as one of the key measures of operating efficiency and profitability, including our internal reviews associated with impairment analysis of our indefinite-lived intangible assets. SOI does not purport to represent cash provided by operating activities. Our statement of cash flows presents our cash activity in accordance with GAAP and our income statement presents our financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of SOI is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Same station operating results include those stations that we own or operate in the same format on the first and last day of each quarter as well as the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Same station results for a full calendar year are calculated as the sum of the same station-results for each of the four quarters of that year. Same station results for our annual report are calculated as the sum of the same station-results for each of the four quarters of that year. We use same station results, a non-GAAP financial measure, both in presenting our results to stockholders and the investment community, and in our internal evaluation and management of the business. Our presentation of same station results are not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of same station operating results is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

We apply a similar methodology to our digital media and publishing group. Digital media operating income is defined as net digital media revenue minus digital media operating expenses. Publishing operating income is defined as net publishing revenue minus publishing operating expenses. Digital Media Operating Income and Publishing Operating Income are not measures of performance in accordance with GAAP. Our presentations of these non-GAAP performance measures are not to be considered a substitute for or superior to our operating results reported in accordance with GAAP. We believe that Digital Media Operating Income and Publishing Media Operating Income are useful non-GAAP financial measures to investors, when considered in conjunction with operating income (the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure), because they are comparable to those used to measure performance of our broadcasting entities. We use this analysis as one of the key measures of operating efficiency, profitability and in our internal review. This measurement does not purport to represent cash provided by operating activities. Our statement of cash flows presents our cash activity in accordance with GAAP and our income statement presents our financial performance in accordance with GAAP. Our definitions of digital media operating income and publishing operating income are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

We define EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and change in fair value of interest rate swaps. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA before gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, changes in the estimated fair value of contingent earn-out consideration, net miscellaneous income and expenses, and non-cash compensation expense. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are commonly used by the broadcast and media industry as important measures of performance and are used by investors and analysts who report on the industry to provide meaningful comparisons between broadcasters. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of liquidity or of performance in accordance with GAAP, and should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for or superior to our results of operations and financial condition presented in accordance with GAAP. Our definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

We define free cash flow as Adjusted EBITDA less cash paid for capital expenditures, less cash paid for income taxes, and less cash paid for interest. We consider free cash flow to be a performance measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by our operations after cash paid for capital expenditures, income taxes and interest. A limitation of free cash flow as a measure of financial performance is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in our cash balance for the period. We use free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, both in presenting our results to stockholders and the investment community, and in our internal evaluation and management of the business. Our presentation of free cash flow is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Our definition of free cash flow is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

For all non-GAAP measures, investors should consider the limitations associated with these metrics, including the potential lack of comparability of this measure from one company to another. The table below shows the reconciliation of these non-GAAP performance indicators to net income (loss), the most comparable GAAP measure. Our presentation of these non-GAAP performance indicators are not to be considered a substitute for or superior to net income or loss as reported in accordance with GAAP.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES: