# ASC Topic 920: Entertainment—Broadcasters Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/) Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective. Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:50.750Z Record version: sha256:dbd48eba72533a4e51ab8f5e33c9b72b6113cb0db73f465296aedb12b3b27af3 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## Machine-generated topic summary ASC 920 (Entertainment—Broadcasters) provides incremental, industry-specific accounting and reporting guidance for broadcasters; the Overall subtopic (920-10) establishes the scope and organization of that guidance. Because it is incremental only, a broadcaster must also apply all other applicable GAAP outside the Topic (920-10-15-1). The Topic reaches all entities considered broadcasters and all of their transactions and activities, including network affiliation agreements (920-10-15-3), but excludes broadcasters that own the film (program material) they show, which instead follow ASC 926 Entertainment—Films (920-10-15-2). Related subtopics address Intangibles—Goodwill and Other, Liabilities, and Commitments, with several items superseded by ASU 2014-09 (920-10-05-2). Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:50.750Z Record version: sha256:cf57be652567df6f5e3f5f74f42bf76c22f93197a0042d8f399881d7153d387c Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 920-10: Entertainment—Broadcasters — Overall ### Machine-generated study aids ```json { "summary": "ASC 920-10 is the Overall subtopic of the Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic, which sets out industry-specific financial accounting and reporting standards for broadcasters. It is incremental guidance only: broadcasters must also apply all other applicable GAAP (920-10-15-1). The Topic covers all entities considered broadcasters and all their transactions, including network affiliation agreements, but excludes broadcasters that own the film (program material) they show, which instead follow ASC 926 (920-10-15-2, 15-3).", "key_points": [ "ASC 920 presents standards of financial accounting and reporting for broadcasters (920-10-05-1).", "The Topic is organized into Subtopics including Overall, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other, Liabilities, and Commitments; several former subparagraphs were superseded by ASU 2014-09 (920-10-05-2).", "Guidance in ASC 920 is incremental industry-specific guidance; entities within scope must also comply with all applicable standards outside this Topic (920-10-15-1).", "The Topic applies to all entities considered broadcasters, except broadcasters that own the film (program material) shown on their cable, network, or local television outlets, which apply Topic 926 (920-10-15-2).", "The Topic applies to all transactions and activities of broadcasters, including network affiliation agreements (920-10-15-3)." ], "categories": [ "Industry-specific", "Intangibles and goodwill", "Contingencies and guarantees" ], "audience_level": "introductory", "student_note": "Remember that ASC 920 is a scope-and-overview subtopic: it adds industry rules on top of, never in place of, general GAAP. The classic trap is the ASC 926 carve-out — a broadcaster that owns the program material it airs accounts for that film under Entertainment—Films, not under 920.", "related_topics": [ "926", "920-350", "920-405", "920-440", "606" ], "key_concepts": [ "broadcaster", "program material", "network affiliation agreement", "incremental industry-specific guidance", "license agreements for program material", "scope exception" ] } ``` Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z Record version: sha256:c102e1c0451604c2ddf041f66a93dc737d7da4ea3c568adfec3aed4aaa719f3b Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 920-10-00: 00 Status [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#00-status) SEC content: no ##### [920-10-00-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-00-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:41.501Z Record version: sha256:cbac87951751a5f161369233268ce1d4354746eb6c72c036bd10b8e5c6f95afe Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The following table identifies the changes made to this Subtopic.
ParagraphActionAccounting Standards UpdateDate
BarterSupersededAccounting Standards Update No. 2014-0905/28/2014
920-10-05-2AmendedAccounting Standards Update No. 2014-0905/28/2014
920-10-15-3AmendedAccounting Standards Update No. 2014-0905/28/2014
Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z Record version: sha256:bc17a4fe334cb57f0a9faf0c5793734ca41e7531f8de0e217caffb636345e9ad Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 920-10-05: 05 Overview and Background [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#05-overview-and-background) SEC content: no ##### [920-10-05-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-05-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z Record version: sha256:fe9df97687c8967fe69a89b6f73654934b549aab5becd74d8562b861a9830ae7 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic presents standards of financial accounting and reporting for [broadcasters](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/b/#broadcaster "An entity or an affiliated group of entities that transmits radio or television program material."). ##### [920-10-05-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-05-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:45.253Z Record version: sha256:7537f0730a8e2b0963fe5f06791cba3d1cc78c5e0dbf0de4f3e4966d93d7983a Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic includes several Subtopics: 1. a Overall 2. b [Subparagraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/updates/asu-2014-09/). 3. c Intangibles—Goodwill and Other 4. d Liabilities 5. e Commitments 6. f [Subparagraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/updates/asu-2014-09/). 7. g [Subparagraph superseded by Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/updates/asu-2014-09/). Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z Record version: sha256:a7c3c7dca44ea472a8b3140a8074a8697ab068cc65979b6bdc974f4703598a4e Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 920-10-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) SEC content: no #### Overall Guidance ##### [920-10-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-15-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z Record version: sha256:c1848e3e5de8705cb8b63a988f18eb601377bf26b76665630e06460d868ee292 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The Subtopics within the Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic only provide incremental industry-specific guidance for the entities defined in this Scope Section, or as further defined in the Scope Sections of the individual Entertainment—Broadcasters Subtopics. Entities within the scope of this Topic also shall comply with the applicable standards not included in this Topic. #### Entities ##### [920-10-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-15-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z Record version: sha256:62e9e7d3d60d9bcacdcb87324f5b591696ce8728d590d8bad22f1627451ddbd5 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in the Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic applies to all entities that are considered [broadcasters](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/b/#broadcaster "An entity or an affiliated group of entities that transmits radio or television program material."), with the following exception: 1. a Broadcasters that own the film (program material) shown on their cable, network, or local television outlets (for guidance see Topic 926). #### Transactions ##### [920-10-15-3](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/920/10/#920-10-15-3) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z to 2026-09-10T02:10:48.447Z Record version: sha256:87cf0d841289fa39e614451417540996a9a1274de0b9be87f5bc1a1e1a329e6b Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in the Entertainment—Broadcasters Topic applies to all transactions and activities including the following: 1. a [Network affiliation agreements](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/n/#network-affiliation-agreement "A broadcaster may be affiliated with a network under a network affiliation agreement. Under the agreement, the station receives compensation for the network programming that it carries based on a formula designed to compensate the station for advertising sold on a network basis and included in network programming. Program costs, a major expense of television stations, are generally lower for a network affiliate than for an independent station because an affiliate does not incur program costs for network programs.").