ASC

ASC 720-922

Entertainment—Cable Television

720 Other Expenses

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In brief

IntermediateRecognitionIndustry-specificIntangibles and goodwill

This Subtopic tells cable television entities which industry-specific costs must be expensed rather than capitalized. During the prematurity period (while a cable system is being built out and partially marketed), subscriber-related costs and general and administrative expenses are period costs. Costs of disconnecting/reconnecting subscribers after initial installation, and costs of unsuccessful franchise applications or abandoned franchises, are also charged to expense.

Key points (5)
  • During the prematurity period, subscriber-related costs and general and administrative expenses shall be expensed as period costs (720-922-25-1).
  • Accounting during the prematurity period for certain programming costs and other system costs is addressed instead in 922-350-25-1 (720-922-25-2).
  • After the initial installation described in 922-360-25-7, costs incurred for disconnecting and reconnecting subscribers shall be charged to expense (720-922-25-3).
  • Costs of unsuccessful franchise applications and abandoned franchises shall be charged to expense; successful franchise application costs are accounted for under 922-350-25-3 (720-922-25-4).
  • The Subtopic's scope follows the cable television Overall Subtopic scope in Section 922-10-15 (720-922-15-1).

For students. The exam trap is the capitalize-versus-expense line: initial hookup/installation costs and successful franchise costs may be capitalized under 922-350 and 922-360, but subscriber-related and G&A costs during the prematurity period, later disconnect/reconnect costs, and unsuccessful or abandoned franchise costs are always expensed. Students often assume all prematurity-period costs are capitalized because the system is not yet fully operating.

prematurity periodsubscriber-related costsgeneral and administrative expenseshookup costsdisconnect and reconnect costsunsuccessful franchise application costsabandoned franchisesperiod costs

Machine-generated study aid for ASC 720-922. Check the source paragraphs below.

720-922-00Status

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720-922-00-1
No updates have been made to this subtopic.

720-922-05Overview and Background

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720-922-05-1
This Subtopic provides guidance for certain costs incurred by entities in the cable television industry, such as subscriber-related costs, hookup costs, and unsuccessful franchise applications costs.

720-922-15Scope and Scope Exceptions

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Overall Guidance

720-922-15-1
This Subtopic follows the same Scope and Scope Exceptions as outlined in the Overall Subtopic, see Section 922-10-15.

720-922-25Recognition

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Prematurity Period

720-922-25-1
During the prematurity period, any subscriber-related costs and general and administrative expenses shall be expensed as period costs.
720-922-25-2
For guidance on accounting during the prematurity period for certain programming costs and other system costs, see paragraph 922-350-25-1.

Hookup Costs

720-922-25-3
After the initial installation as described in paragraph 922-360-25-7, costs incurred for disconnecting and reconnecting shall be charged to expense.

Unsuccessful Franchise Applications and Abandoned Franchises

720-922-25-4
Costs of unsuccessful franchise applications and abandoned franchises shall be charged to expense.
Refer to paragraph 922-350-25-3 for guidance on the accounting for the costs of successful franchise applications.

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