For the quarterly period ended May 31, 2017

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

INDIANA

(State of incorporation or organization)

0-23264

(Commission file number)

35-1542018

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

ONE EMMIS PLAZA

40 MONUMENT CIRCLE, SUITE 700

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46204

(Address of principal executive offices)

(317) 266-0100

(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

NOT APPLICABLE

(Former Name, Former Address and Former Fiscal Year, if Changed Since Last Report)

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   ý     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   ý     No   ¨

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

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

The number of shares outstanding of each of Emmis Communications Corporation's classes of common stock, as of July 7, 2017 , was:

INDEX

PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)

(In thousands, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN DEFICIT

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated statements.

EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS UNLESS INDICATED OTHERWISE, EXCEPT SHARE DATA)

May 31, 2017

(Unaudited)

Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Preparation of Interim Financial Statements

Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the condensed consolidated interim financial statements included herein have been prepared, without audit, by Emmis Communications Corporation ("ECC") and its subsidiaries (collectively, "our," "us," "we," "Emmis" or the "Company"). As permitted under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations; however, Emmis believes that the disclosures are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The condensed consolidated financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Annual Report for Emmis filed on Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2017 . The Company's results are subject to seasonal fluctuations. Therefore, results shown on an interim basis are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year.

In the opinion of Emmis, the accompanying condensed consolidated interim financial statements contain all material adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise noted) necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial position of Emmis at May 31, 2017 , and the results of its operations and cash flows for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 .

There have been no changes to our significant accounting policies described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2017 that have had a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes.

Common Stock Reverse Split

On July 8, 2016, the Company effected a one-for-four reverse stock split for its Class A, Class B and Class C common

stock. All share and per share information has been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split.

Basic and Diluted Net Income Per Common Share

Shares excluded from the calculation as the effect of their conversion into shares of our common stock would be antidilutive were as follows:

Local Programming and Marketing Agreement Fees

The Company from time to time enters into local programming and marketing agreements ("LMAs"), often pending regulatory approval of transfer of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") licenses in connection with acquisitions or dispositions of radio stations. Under the terms of these agreements, the acquiring company makes specified periodic payments to the holder of the FCC license in exchange for the right to program and sell advertising for a specified portion of the station's inventory of broadcast time. The acquiring company records revenues and expenses associated with the portion of the station's inventory of broadcast time it manages. Nevertheless, as the holder of the FCC license, the owner-operator retains control and responsibility for the operation of the station, including responsibility over all programming broadcast on the station.

On May 8, 2017, Emmis and an affiliate of the Meruelo Group (the "Meruelo Group") entered into an LMA related to KPWR-FM in Los Angeles. This LMA started on July 1, 2017. See Note 10 for more discussion of our agreement to sell KPWR-FM to the Meruelo Group and the related LMA.

On April 26, 2012, Emmis entered into an LMA with a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc. for 98.7FM in New York (formerly WRKS-FM and now WEPN-FM, hereinafter referred to as "98.7FM"). The LMA for this station started on April 30, 2012 and will continue until August 31, 2024. Emmis retains ownership and control of the station, including the related FCC license during the term of the LMA and is scheduled to receive an annual fee until the LMA's termination. LMA fee revenue is recorded on a straight-line basis over the term of the LMA as a component of net revenues in our accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The following table summarizes certain operating results of 98.7FM for all periods presented. Net revenues for 98.7FM are solely related to LMA fees. 98.7FM is a part of our radio segment.

Restricted Cash

Noncontrolling Interests

The Company follows Accounting Standards Codification paragraph 810-10-65-1 to report the noncontrolling interests related to our Austin radio partnership and Digonex Technologies Inc., a dynamic pricing business (hereinafter "Digonex"). We have a 50.1% controlling interest in our Austin radio partnership. We do not own any of the common equity of Digonex, but we consolidate the entity because we control its board of directors via rights granted in convertible preferred stock and convertible debt that we own. As of May 31, 2017, Emmis owns rights that are convertible into approximately 81% of Digonex's common equity.

Noncontrolling interests represent the noncontrolling interest holders' proportionate share of the equity of the Austin radio partnership and Digonex. Noncontrolling interests are adjusted for the noncontrolling interest holders' proportionate share of the earnings or losses of the applicable entity. The noncontrolling interest continues to be attributed its share of losses even if that attribution results in a deficit noncontrolling interest balance. Below is a summary of the noncontrolling interest activity for the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017:

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU was issued to simplify goodwill impairment by removing the second step of the goodwill impairment test. The Company early adopted this guidance as of March 1, 2017. The adoption of this guidance had no immediate impact on the Company's financial statements, but it could affect future goodwill impairment analysis.

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business. This ASU was issued to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. This guidance will be effective for the Company as of March 1, 2018. The Company does not expect adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. This ASU requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. This guidance will be effective for the Company as of March 1, 2018, and requires a retrospective transition method. The Company does not expect adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This update requires lessees to recognize, on the balance sheet, assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by leases of greater than twelve months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. This guidance will be effective for the Company as of March 1, 2019. A modified retrospective transition method is required. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), to clarify the principles used to recognize revenue for all entities. The FASB deferred implementation of this guidance by one year with the issuance of Accounting Standards Update 2015-14. As such, this guidance will be effective for the Company as of March 1, 2018. The Company expects to use the modified retrospective method of adoption. The Company has completed its initial evaluation of potential changes from adopting the new standard on its financial reporting and disclosures, which included a detailed review of contractual terms for all of its significant revenue streams. The Company will complete its implementation plan during in the remainder of fiscal 2018. Based on its initial evaluation, the Company does not expect adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements, but disclosures related to revenue recognition will likely be expanded.

Note 2. Share Based Payments

The amounts recorded as share based compensation expense consist of stock option grants, restricted stock grants, and common stock issued to employees and directors in lieu of cash payments.

Stock Option Awards

The Company has granted options to purchase its common stock to employees and directors of the Company under various stock option plans at no less than the fair market value of the underlying stock on the date of grant. These options are granted for a term not exceeding 10 years and are forfeited, except in certain circumstances, in the event the employee or director terminates his or her employment or relationship with the Company. Generally, these options either vest annually over 3 years ( one-third each year for 3 years ), or cliff vest at the end of 3 years . The Company issues new shares upon the exercise of stock options.

The fair value of each option awarded is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model and expensed on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. Expected volatilities are based on historical volatility of the Company's stock. The Company uses historical data to estimate option exercises and employee terminations within the valuation model. The Company includes estimated forfeitures in its compensation cost and updates the estimated forfeiture rate through the final vesting date of awards. The risk-free interest rate for periods within the life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The following assumptions were used to calculate the fair value of the Company's options on the date of grant during the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 :

The following table presents a summary of the Company's stock options outstanding at May 31, 2017 , and stock option activity during the three months ended May 31, 2017 ("Price" reflects the weighted average exercise price per share; "Aggregate Intrinsic Value" dollars in thousands):

Cash received from option exercises for the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 was $0.1 million in both periods. The Company did not record an income tax benefit relating to the options exercised during the three months ended May 31, 2016 or 2017.

The weighted average per share grant date fair value of options granted during the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 , was $1.03 and $1.18 , respectively.

A summary of the Company's nonvested options at May 31, 2017 , and changes during the three months ended May 31, 2017 , is presented below:

There were 0.8 million shares available for future grants under the Company's various equity plans ( 0.5 million shares under the 2016 Equity Compensation Plan and 0.3 million shares under other plans) at May 31, 2017, not including shares that may become available for future grants upon forfeiture, lapse or surrender for taxes.

The vesting dates of outstanding options at May 31, 2017 range from July 2017 to March 2020, and expiration dates range from March 2018 to March 2027.

Restricted Stock Awards

The Company grants restricted stock awards to directors annually, and periodically grants restricted stock to employees in connection with employment agreements. Awards to directors are granted on the date of our annual meeting of shareholders and vest on the earlier of (i) the completion of the director's 3 -year term or (ii) the third anniversary of the date of grant. Restricted stock award grants are granted out of the Company's 2016 Equity Compensation Plan. The Company may also award, out of the Company's 2016 Equity Compensation Plan, stock to settle certain bonuses and other compensation that otherwise would be paid in cash. Any restrictions on these shares may be immediately lapsed on the grant date.

The following table presents a summary of the Company's restricted stock grants outstanding at May 31, 2017 , and restricted stock activity during the three months ended May 31, 2017 ("Price" reflects the weighted average share price at the date of grant):

The total grant date fair value of shares vested during the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 , was $0.8 million and $0.1 million , respectively.

Recognized Non-Cash Compensation Expense

The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense recognized by the Company during the three months ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 . The Company did not recognize any tax benefits related to stock-based compensation during the periods presented below.

As of May 31, 2017 , there was $1.5 million of unrecognized compensation cost, net of estimated forfeitures, related to nonvested share-based compensation arrangements. The cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 1.2 years.

Note 3. Intangible Assets and Goodwill

Valuation of Indefinite-lived Broadcasting Licenses

In accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other, the Company's Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") licenses are considered indefinite-lived intangibles. These assets, which the Company determined were its only indefinite-lived intangibles, are not subject to amortization, but are tested for impairment at least annually as discussed below.

The carrying amounts of the Company's FCC licenses were $197.7 million as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 . As of May 31, 2017, $2.0 million of the Company's FCC licenses were classified as held for sale and are included in other current assets in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements (see Note 10 for more discussion). Pursuant to Emmis' accounting policy, stations in a geographic market cluster are considered a single unit of accounting, provided that they are not being operated under an LMA with another broadcaster. The Company generally performs its annual impairment test of indefinite-lived intangibles as of December 1 of each year. When indicators of impairment are present, the Company will perform an interim impairment test. During the three months ended May 31, 2017 , no new or additional impairment indicators emerged; hence, no interim impairment testing was warranted. These impairment tests may result in impairment charges in future periods.

Fair value of our FCC licenses is estimated to be the price that would be received to sell an asset in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. To determine the fair value of our FCC licenses, the Company uses an income valuation method when it performs its impairment tests. Under this method, the Company projects cash flows that would be generated by each of its units of accounting assuming the unit of accounting was commencing operations in its respective market at the beginning of the valuation period. This cash flow stream is discounted to arrive at a value for the FCC license. The Company assumes the competitive situation that exists in each market remains unchanged, with the exception that its unit of accounting commenced operations at the beginning of the valuation period. In doing so, the Company extracts the value of going concern and any other assets acquired, and strictly values the FCC license. Major assumptions involved in this analysis include market revenue, market revenue growth rates, unit of accounting audience share, unit of accounting revenue share and discount rate. Each of these assumptions may change in the future based upon changes in general economic conditions, audience behavior, consummated transactions, and numerous other variables that may be beyond our control. When evaluating our radio broadcasting licenses for impairment, the testing is performed at the unit of accounting level as determined by ASC Topic 350-30-35. In our case, radio stations in a geographic market cluster are considered a single unit of accounting, provided that they are not being operated under an LMA.

Valuation of Goodwill

The carrying amounts of the Company's goodwill, all of which were attributable to our radio division, were $4.6 million as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017. ASC Topic 350-20-35 requires the Company to test goodwill for impairment at least annually. The Company conducts its impairment test on December 1 of each fiscal year, unless indications of impairment exist during an interim period. When assessing its goodwill for impairment, the Company generally uses an enterprise valuation approach to determine the fair value of each of the Company's reporting units, with radio stations grouped by market. Management determines enterprise value for each of its reporting units by multiplying the two-year average station operating income generated by each reporting unit (current year based on actual results and the next year based on budgeted results) by an estimated market multiple. The Company uses a blended station operating income trading multiple of publicly traded radio operators as a benchmark for the multiple it applies to its radio reporting units. Management believes this methodology for valuing radio properties is a common approach and believes that the multiples used in the valuation are reasonable given our peer comparisons and recent market transactions. To corroborate the fair values determined using the market approach described above, management also uses an income approach, which is a discounted cash flow method to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. If the carrying value of a reporting unit's goodwill exceeds its fair value, the Company recognizes an impairment charge equal to the difference in the statement of operations.

Definite-lived intangibles

In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification paragraph 360-10, the Company performs an analysis to (i) determine if indicators of impairment of a long-lived asset are present, (ii) test the long-lived asset for recoverability by comparing undiscounted cash flows of the long-lived asset to its carrying value and (iii) measure any potential impairment by comparing the long-lived asset's fair value to its current carrying value.

Total amortization expense from definite-lived intangibles for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017 was $0.2 million and $0.1 million , respectively. The following table presents the Company's estimate of amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years for definite-lived intangibles:

Note 4. Long-term Debt

Long-term debt was comprised of the following at February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 :

(1) The face value of other non-recourse debt was $9.5 million and $10.2 million at February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017, respectively

2014 Credit Agreement

On June 10, 2014, Emmis entered into the 2014 Credit Agreement, by and among the Company, EOC, as borrower (the "Borrower"), certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors (the "Subsidiary Guarantors"), the lenders party thereto, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and Fifth Third Bank, as syndication agent. Capitalized terms in this section not defined elsewhere in this 10-Q are defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement and related amendments.

The 2014 Credit Agreement includes a senior secured term loan facility (the "Term Loan") of $ 185.0 million and a senior secured revolving credit facility of $20.0 million , and contains provisions for an uncommitted increase of up to $20.0 million principal amount (plus additional amounts so long as a pro forma total net senior secured leverage ratio condition is met) of the revolving credit facility and/or the Term Loan subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. The revolving credit facility includes a sub-facility for the issuance of up to $5.0 million of letters of credit. Pursuant to the 2014 Credit Agreement, the Borrower borrowed $185.0 million of the Term Loan on June 10, 2014.

As a result of the Fourth Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement discussed below, the Term Loan is due not later than April 18, 2019 and, subsequent to the Second Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement discussed below, is amortized in an amount equal to 1.25% per annum of the original principal amount of the Term Loan, payable in quarterly installments, with the balance payable on the maturity date. As a result of the Fourth Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement, the revolving credit facility expires not later than August 31, 2018. Subsequent to the Fourth Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement, 75 basis points per annum is payable quarterly on the average unused amount of the revolving credit facility. Prior to the amendments to the 2014 Credit Agreement discussed below, the Term Loan and amounts borrowed under the revolving credit facility bore interest, at the Borrower's option, at either (i) the Alternate Base Rate (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) (but not less than 2.00% ) plus 3.75% or (ii) the Adjusted LIBO Rate (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) (but not less than 1.00% ) plus 4.75% .

The 2014 Credit Agreement is carried on our condensed consolidated balance sheets net of an original issue discount. The original issue discount, which was $5.1 million and $6.1 million as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 , respectively, is being amortized as additional interest expense over the life of the 2014 Credit Agreement.

The obligations under the 2014 Credit Agreement are secured by a perfected first priority security interest in substantially all of the assets of the Company, the Borrower and the Subsidiary Guarantors.

On November 7, 2014, Emmis entered into the First Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement. The First Amendment (i) increased the maximum Total Leverage Ratio to 6.00 :1.00 for the period February 28, 2015 through February 29, 2016, (ii) adjusted the definition of Consolidated EBITDA to exclude during the term of the 2014 Credit Agreement up to $5 million in severance and/or contract termination expenses and up to $2.5 million in losses attributable to the reformatting of the Company's radio stations, (iii) extended the requirement for the Borrower to pay a 1.00% fee on certain prepayments of the Term Loan to November 7, 2015, (iv) increased the Applicable Margin by 0.25% for at least six months from the date of the First Amendment and until the Total Leverage Ratio is less than 5.00 :1.00, and (v) made certain technical adjustments to the definition of Consolidated Excess Cash Flow and to address the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Emmis paid a total of

approximately $1.0 million of transaction fees to the Lenders that consented to the First Amendment, which were recorded as original issue discount and are being amortized over the remaining life of the 2014 Credit Agreement.

On April 30, 2015, Emmis entered into the Second Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement. The Second Amendment (i) increased the maximum Total Leverage Ratio to (A) 6.75 :1.00 during the period from May 31, 2015 through February 29, 2016, (B) 6.50 :1.00 for the quarter ended May 31, 2016, (C) 6.25 :1.00 for the quarter ended August 31, 2016, (D) 6.00 :1.00 for the quarter ended November 30, 2016, and (E) 5.75 :1.00 for the quarter ended February 28, 2017, after which it reverted to the original ratio of 4.00 :1.00 for the quarters ended May 31, 2017 and thereafter, (ii) required Emmis to pay a 2.00% fee on certain prepayments of the Term Loan prior to the first anniversary of the Second Amendment and required Emmis to pay a 1.00% fee on certain prepayments of the Term Loan from the first anniversary of the Second Amendment until the second anniversary of the Second Amendment, (iii) increased the Applicable Margin throughout the remainder of the term of the Credit Agreement to 5.00% for ABR Loans (as defined in the Credit Agreement) and 6.00% for Eurodollar Loans (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement), and (iv) increased the amortization to 0.50% per calendar quarter through January 1, 2016 and to 1.25% per calendar quarter thereafter commencing April 1, 2016. Emmis paid a total of approximately $1.1 million of transaction fees to the Lenders that consented to the Second Amendment, which were recorded as original issue discount and are being amortized over the remaining life of the 2014 Credit Agreement.

On August 22, 2016, Emmis entered into the Third Amendment to the 2014 Credit Agreement. The Third Amendment made certain changes to the Credit Agreement to facilitate the Company's consideration of and, if approved by the Company's Board of Directors and shareholders, entry into a transaction that would have resulted in the Class A common stock of the Company ceasing to be registered under the Securities Act of 1934 (such potential transaction, a "Going Private Transaction"). Specifically, the Third Amendment added an exception to the covenant restricting transactions with affiliates that (i) permitted the Company to enter into a Going Private Transaction with an affiliate of the Company and (ii) permitted the Borrower to pay any costs incurred or reimbursed by an affiliate of the Company in connection with a Going Private Transaction, whether or not the transaction was consummated. The Third Amendment also allowed the Company to add certain costs and expenses incurred in connection with a Going Private Transaction to Consolidated EBITDA, as defined in the Credit Agreement, for purposes of determining compliance with the financial covenants in the Credit Agreement, subject to caps of (i) $2.5 million if a Going Private Transaction was not recommended by a special committee of the Company's Board of Directors and (ii) $8.0 million if a Going Private Transaction was recommended by a special committee of the Company's Board of Directors but not consummated. Finally, the Third Amendment made certain changes to the Credit Agreement that would have been effective only if a Going Private Transaction was consummated. The Third Amendment also required the Borrower to pay a 50 basis point fee to the lenders that consented to it either if a Going Private Transaction was consummated or if such a transaction was recommended by a special committee of the board of directors of the Company but not consummated. The special committee of the board of directors did not recommend the Going Private Transaction and no such transaction was consummated.

On April 18, 2017, Emmis entered into a Fourth Amendment to our 2014 Credit Agreement. The Fourth Amendment (i) eliminated the maximum Total Leverage Ratio covenant through May 31, 2018 and replaced it with a minimum Consolidated EBITDA covenant of $20.0 million , after which it reverts to a Total Leverage Ratio of 4.00 :1.00 for the quarters ended August 31, 2018 and thereafter, (ii) reduced the Interest Coverage Ratio from 2.00 :1.00 to 1.60 :1.00, (iii) required Emmis to enter into definitive agreements by January 18, 2018 to sell assets that generate at least $80 million of sale proceeds and close such transactions no later than July 18, 2018, (iv) increased the Applicable Margin throughout the remainder of the term of the Credit Agreement to 6.00% for ABR Loans (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) and 7.00% for Eurodollar Loans (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) and increased the unused commitment fee on the revolving credit facility to 75 basis points, and (v) accelerated the maturity of the Term Loans to April 18, 2019 and the Revolving Loans to August 31, 2018. In addition to tightening or eliminating baskets and other credit enhancements for lenders, the Fourth Amendment contains ratcheting fees and premiums if the existing credit facility is not refinanced by July 18, 2018. The Fourth Amendment also required Emmis to pay a fee of 1.0% of the Term Loan holdings and Revolving Commitment of each Lender that consented to the Fourth Amendment. This fee totaled $1.5 million and was recorded as additional original issue discount and is being amortized as interest expense over the remaining life of the 2014 Credit Agreement, beginning in the three-month period ending May 31, 2017.

In connection with the closing of the sale of Texas Monthly on November 1, 2016, Emmis repaid $15.0 million of Term Loans and $8.5 million of Revolver borrowings. Under the terms of the 2014 Credit Agreement, Emmis was required to use all Net Available Proceeds (as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement) from the sale of Texas Monthly to repay Term Loans unless it exercised its right under the 2014 Credit Agreement to reinvest a portion of the Net Available Proceeds in new long-term assets of the Company. On November 1, 2016, Emmis exercised this reinvestment right for up to $10.0 million of Net Available Proceeds. This election allows the Company to reduce the amount of Net Available Proceeds by amounts used to purchase assets within 365 days of the election, or 545 days of the election so long as the asset purchase is under contract within 365 days. Routine capital expenditures qualify as a reinvestment under the terms of the 2014 Credit Agreement. Future changes in these estimates will impact the calculation of Net Available Proceeds. The current calculation of Net Available Proceeds,

The current estimate of $4.4 million of remaining net available proceeds is included as a current maturity of long-term debt in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as of May 31, 2017. The amount is not yet final as reinvestments are estimated and could change prior to the conclusion of the reinvestment period as described above.

We were in compliance with all financial and non-financial covenants as of May 31, 2017 . Our Minimum Consolidated EBITDA and Interest Coverage Ratio (each as defined in the 2014 Credit Agreement and related amendments) requirements and actual amounts as of May 31, 2017 were as follows:

98.7FM Non-recourse Debt

On May 30, 2012, the Company, through wholly-owned, newly-created subsidiaries, issued $82.2 million of non-recourse notes. Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, through a participation agreement with Wells Fargo Bank Northwest, National Association, is entitled to receive payments made on the notes. The notes are obligations only of the newly-created subsidiaries, are non-recourse to the rest of the Company and its subsidiaries, and are secured by the assets of the newly-created subsidiaries, including the payments made to the newly-created subsidiary related to the 98.7FM LMA, which are guaranteed by Disney Enterprises, Inc. The notes bear interest at 4.1% . The 98.7FM non-recourse notes are carried on our condensed consolidated balance sheets net of an original issue discount. The original issue discount, which was $2.0 million and $1.9 million as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 , respectively, is being amortized as additional interest expense over the life of the notes.

Other Non-recourse Debt

Digonex non-recourse notes payable consist of notes payable issued by Digonex, which were recorded at fair value on June 16, 2014, the date that Emmis acquired a controlling interest in Digonex. The notes payable, some of which are secured by the assets of Digonex, are non-recourse to the rest of the Company and its subsidiaries. The notes payable mature on December 31, 2017 and accrue interest at 5.0% per annum. Interest is due at maturity. The face value of the notes payable is $6.2 million . The Company is accreting the difference between this face value and the original $3.6 million fair value of the notes payable recorded in the acquisition of its controlling interest of the business as interest expense over the remaining term of the notes payable. Digonex is seeking to extend the maturity date of the notes to December 31, 2020. This extension requires the consent of all noteholders. As of July 13, 2017, the holders of the secured notes had agreed to the extension if the unsecured noteholders also consented, but consent from the unsecured noteholders had not yet been obtained.

During the quarter ended May 31, 2017, NextRadio, LLC issued $0.7 million of notes payable, bringing the cumulative total of notes payable issued by NextRadio, LLC to $4.0 million . The notes initially bear interest at 4.0% with interest due quarterly beginning in August 2018. The notes mature on December 23, 2021 and are to be repaid through revenues generated by enhanced advertisement revenues earned by NextRadio, LLC. If any portion of the notes remain unpaid at maturity, the lender has the option to exchange the notes for senior preferred equity of NextRadio, LLC's parent entity, TagStation, LLC. These notes are obligations of NextRadio, LLC and TagStation, LLC and are non-recourse to the rest of Emmis' subsidiaries.

Note 5. Liquidity

The Company continually projects its anticipated cash needs, which include its operating needs, capital needs, and principal and interest payments on its indebtedness. As of the filing of this Form 10-Q, management believes the Company can meet its liquidity needs for the next twelve months with cash and cash equivalents on hand and projected cash flows from operations. Based on these projections, management also believes the Company will be in compliance with its debt covenants for the next twelve months.

Note 6. Fair Value Measurements

As defined in ASC Topic 820, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated or generally unobservable. The Company utilizes valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. ASC Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement).

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The following table sets forth by level within the fair value hierarchy the Company's financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 . The financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company's assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment and may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy levels.

Available for sale securities - Emmis' available for sale securities are comprised of preferred stock of a private company that is not traded in active markets and is included in other assets, net in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The investment is recorded at fair value, which was generally estimated using significant unobservable market parameters, resulting in a level 3 categorization. The carrying value of our preferred stock investment was determined by using implied valuations of recent rounds of financing and by other corroborating evidence, which may include the application of various valuation methodologies including option-pricing and discounted cash flow based models.

Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The Company has certain assets that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis under circumstances and events that include those described in Note 3, Intangible Assets and Goodwill, and are adjusted to fair value only when the carrying values are more than the fair values. The categorization of the framework used to price the assets is considered a Level 3 measurement due to the subjective nature of the unobservable inputs used to determine the fair value (see Note 3 for more discussion).

Fair Value of Other Financial Instruments

Certain nonfinancial assets and liabilities are measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis and are subject to fair value adjustments in certain circumstances, such as when there is evidence of impairment. Assets and liabilities acquired in business combinations are recorded at their fair value as of the date of acquisition.

The estimated fair value of financial instruments is determined using the best available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is necessary, however, in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value. Accordingly, the estimates presented are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that the Company could realize in a current market exchange, or the value that ultimately will be realized upon maturity or disposition. The use of different market assumptions may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts.

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of financial instruments:

- Cash and cash equivalents : The carrying amount of these assets approximates fair value because of the short maturity of these instruments.

- 2014 Credit Agreement debt : As of May 31, 2017 , the fair value and carrying value, excluding original issue discount, of the Company's 2014 Credit Agreement debt was $149.3 million and $157.2 million , respectively. The Company's estimate of fair value was based on quoted prices of this instrument and is considered a Level 2 measurement.

- Other long-term debt : The Company's 98.7FM non-recourse debt and other non-recourse debt is not actively traded and is considered a level 3 measurement. The Company believes the current carrying value of its other long-term debt approximates its fair value.

Note 7. Segment Information

The Company's operations have historically been aligned into three business segments: (i) Radio, (ii) Publishing and (iii) Corporate & Emerging Technologies. Emerging Technologies includes our TagStation, NextRadio and Digonex businesses. These business segments are consistent with the Company's management of these businesses and its financial reporting structure. Corporate expenses are not allocated to reportable segments. The Company's segments operate exclusively in the United States.

Note 8. Regulatory, Legal and Other Matters

Emmis is a party to various legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management of the company, however, there are no legal proceedings pending against the company that we believe are likely to have a material adverse effect on the company.

Note 9. Income Taxes

Our effective income tax rate was 17% and (4)% for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017, respectively. In the prior year, the Company recorded a valuation allowance for its net deferred tax assets generated during the period, including its net operating loss carryforwards, but excluding deferred tax liabilities related to indefinite-lived intangibles. Given the pending sale of KPWR-FM as discussed in Note 10 and the gain that will result from the transaction, the Company is estimating its effective tax rate for the fiscal year, which incorporates the reversal of a portion of the valuation allowance, and applying that rate to the pre-tax income for the applicable period.

Note 10. Other Significant Events

Sale of KPWR-FM

On May 8, 2017, Emmis entered into a definitive agreement to sell KPWR-FM in Los Angeles to the Meruelo Group for $82.8 million . As discussed in Note 4, under the terms of the Fourth Amendment to the 2014 Credit Facility, Emmis was required to enter into definitive agreements to sell assets that generated at least $80 million of proceeds by January 18, 2018. Entering into this definitive agreement satisfied that requirement. Emmis found it more advantageous to sell its standalone radio station in Los Angeles than to sell other assets to meet this requirement. This transaction is subject to, among other things, FCC approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the back half of 2017.

Also on May 8, 2017, Emmis and the Meruelo Group entered into an LMA related to KPWR-FM in Los Angeles. Under the terms of this agreement, the Meruelo Group makes monthly payments to Emmis equal to 80% of Projected BCF, as defined in the agreement, in exchange for the right to program and sell advertising for the entirety of the station's inventory of broadcast time. If, during the term of the LMA, the Meruelo Group uses commercially reasonable efforts to maximize revenues of KPWR-FM, but despite such efforts reports a Deficiency as defined in the LMA, Emmis will reimburse the Meruelo Group for such Deficiency amount in arrears on a monthly basis. Furthermore, if station cash flow performance during the term of the LMA is less than certain agreed-upon amounts in the LMA, the purchase price of KPWR-FM will be reduced by four times the cash flow shortfall, but in no event will the purchase price be adjusted by more than $2.75 million . This LMA started on July 1, 2017.

KPWR-FM has historically been included in our Radio segment. The following table summarizes certain operating results of KPWR-FM for all periods presented. Interest expense has not been allocated to KPWR-FM in the table below as the Company can not yet estimate the amount of required Term Loan repayments associated with the eventual sale of the radio station.

Emmis determined that KPWR-FM met the requirements for held for sale classification as of May 31, 2017. Noncurrent assets related to KPWR-FM as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 consisted of property and equipment and FCC Licenses and other intangibles. KPWR-FM assets held for sale of $3.4 million as of May 31, 2017 are included in other current assets in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as the Company expects to close on the sale of the station within the next twelve months. No reclassifications were made to classify KPWR-FM assets as held for sale as of February 28, 2017. The carrying amounts of major classes of assets expected to be included in the sale of KPWR-FM as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017 were as follows:

The pending sale of KPWR-FM does not qualify for reporting as a discontinued operation as it does not represent a strategic shift for the Company as described in Accounting Standards Codification 205-20-45-1C.

Item 2.     Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Note: Certain statements included in this report or in the financial statements contained herein which are not statements of historical fact, including but not limited to those identified with the words "expect," "should," "will" or "look" are intended to be, and are, by this Note, identified as "forward-looking statements," as defined in the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future result, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. Such factors include, among others:

For a more detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, see the Risk Factors section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended February 28, 2017 . Emmis does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.

GENERAL

We principally own and operate radio properties located in the United States. Our revenues are mostly affected by the advertising rates our entities charge, as advertising sales represent approximately 70% of our consolidated revenues. These rates are in large part based on our entities' ability to attract audiences/subscribers in demographic groups targeted by their advertisers. The Nielsen Company generally measures radio station ratings in our domestic markets on a weekly basis using a passive digital system of measuring listening (the Portable People Meter ™ ). Because audience ratings in a station's local market are critical to the station's financial success, our strategy is to use market research and advertising and promotion to attract and retain audiences in each station's chosen demographic target group.

Our revenues vary throughout the year. As is typical in the broadcasting industry, our revenues and operating income are usually lowest in our fourth fiscal quarter.

In addition to the sale of advertising time for cash, stations typically exchange advertising time for goods or services, which can be used by the station in its business operations. These barter transactions are recorded at the estimated fair value of the product or service received. We generally confine the use of such trade transactions to promotional items or services for which we would otherwise have paid cash. In addition, it is our general policy not to preempt advertising spots paid for in cash with advertising spots paid for in trade.

The following table summarizes the sources of our revenues for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017. The category "Non Traditional" principally consists of ticket sales and sponsorships of events our stations and magazines conduct in their local markets. The category "Other" includes, among other items, revenues related to our TagStation and Digonex businesses, network revenues and barter. In the year ended February 28, 2017, we sold Texas Monthly, our radio stations in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Los Angeles Magazine , Atlanta Magazine , Cincinnati Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine. These sales impact the comparability of the three months ended May 31, 2016 to the three months ended May 31, 2017.

As previously mentioned, we derive approximately 70% of our net revenues from advertising sales. In the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 , local sales, excluding political revenues, represented approximately 84% of the advertising revenues for our radio division.

No customer represents more than 10% of our consolidated net revenues. Our top ten categories for radio represent approximately 60% of our radio division's total advertising net revenues for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017. The automotive industry was the largest category for our radio division for the three-month periods ended May 31, 2016 and 2017, representing approximately 12% of our radio net revenues.

The majority of our expenses are fixed in nature, principally consisting of salaries and related employee benefit costs, office and tower rent, utilities, property and casualty insurance and programming-related expenses. However, approximately 20% of our expenses vary in connection with changes in revenues. These variable expenses primarily relate to sales commissions, music license fees and bad debt reserves. In addition, costs related to our marketing and promotions department are highly discretionary and incurred primarily to maintain and/or increase our audience and market share.

KNOWN TRENDS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The U.S. radio industry is a mature industry and its growth rate has stalled. Management believes this is principally the result of two factors: (1) new media, such as various media distributed via the Internet, telecommunication companies and cable interconnects, as well as social networks, have gained advertising share against radio and other traditional media and created a proliferation of advertising inventory and (2) the fragmentation of the radio audience and time spent listening caused by satellite radio, audio streaming services and podcasts has led some investors and advertisers to conclude that the effectiveness of radio advertising has diminished.

The Company and the radio industry are leading several initiatives to address these issues. The radio industry is working aggressively to increase the number of smartphones and other wireless devices that contain an enabled FM tuner. Most smartphones currently sold in the United States contain an FM tuner. However, most wireless carriers in the United States have not historically permitted the FM tuner to receive the free over-the-air local radio stations it was designed to receive. Furthermore, in many countries outside the United States, enabled FM tuners are made available to smartphone consumers; consequently, radio listening increases. Activating FM as a feature on smartphones sold in the United States has the potential to increase radio listening and improve the perception of the radio industry while offering wireless network providers the benefits of a proven emergency notification system, reduced network congestion from audio streaming services, and a host of new revenue generating applications. Emmis is at the leading edge of this initiative and has developed TagStation ® , a cloud-based software platform that allows a broadcaster to manage album art, meta data and enhanced advertising on its various broadcasts, and NextRadio ® , a smartphone application that marries over-the-air FM radio broadcasts with visual and interactive features, as an industry solution to enrich the user experience of listening to free over-the-air radio broadcasts on their FM-enabled smartphones and other wireless devices. Recently, we introduced the Dial Report TM , an online data portal that enables advertisers and other users of radio to access rich data about the usage and consumption of radio and the behavior of radio listeners.

On August 9, 2013, NextRadio LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emmis, entered into an agreement with Sprint whereby Sprint agreed to pre-load the Company's NextRadio smartphone application on a minimum of 30 million FM-enabled wireless devices on the Sprint wireless network over a three-year period. In return, NextRadio LLC agreed to serve as a conduit for the radio industry to pay Sprint $15 million per year in equal quarterly installments over the three year term and to share

with Sprint certain revenue generated by the NextRadio application. NextRadio LLC collected money from the radio industry and forwarded it to Sprint. Emmis has not guaranteed NextRadio LLC's performance under this agreement and Sprint does not have recourse to any Emmis related entity other than NextRadio LLC. Additionally, the agreement does not limit the ability of NextRadio LLC to place the NextRadio application on FM-enabled devices on other wireless networks. Through May 31, 2017, the NextRadio application had not generated a material amount of revenue.

Since the inception of NextRadio LLC's agreement with Sprint through December 7, 2016, NextRadio LLC had remitted to Sprint approximately $33.2 million. Effective December 8, 2016, NextRadio LLC and Sprint entered into an amendment of their original agreement. The amendment called for NextRadio LLC to make installment payments totaling $6.0 million through March 15, 2017, which have been paid. In exchange, Sprint agreed to forgive the remaining $5.8 million that it was due under the original agreement, and in return receive a higher share of certain revenue generated by the NextRadio application. NextRadio LLC received a loan of $4.0 million for the sole purpose of fulfilling the payment obligations to Sprint under the amendment. The loan will be repaid out of proceeds from sales of enhanced advertising through the NextRadio application. During the three months ended May 31, 2017, NextRadio LLC received $0.65 million under the loan, which was promptly remitted to Sprint and included in station operating expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations. In addition, during the three months ended May 31, 2017, Emmis funded $0.3 million of the final payment to Sprint. This amount is also included in station operating expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations.

On July 27, 2015, NextRadio LLC entered into an agreement with AT&T whereby AT&T agreed to include FM chip activation in its Android device specifications to wireless device manufacturers. In exchange, AT&T will receive a share of certain revenue generated by the NextRadio application. This agreement was subsequently assigned to TagStation LLC (the parent entity of NextRadio LLC and owner of the TagStation and NextRadio applications). In August 2015, T-Mobile expressed its intent to include FM chip activation in its device specifications. On September 9, 2016, TagStation LLC entered into an agreement with T-Mobile whereby T-Mobile agreed to include FM chip activation in its Android device specifications to wireless device manufacturers. In exchange, T-Mobile will receive a share of certain revenue generated by the NextRadio application. TagStation LLC has been working directly with numerous device manufacturers to accelerate the availability of NextRadio to consumers. BLU Products, an American mobile phone manufacturer, has chosen to make NextRadio the native FM tuner on its Android smartphones. In April 2016 and May 2017, Alcatel and LG, respectively, entered into similar arrangements for NextRadio. The Samsung S7 and S8 family of smartphones are FM-enabled and NextRadio-compatible across all major U.S. wireless networks. TagStation LLC and the radio industry continue to work with other leading United States wireless network providers, device manufacturers, regulators and legislators to cause FM tuners to be enabled in all smartphones. In addition, NextRadio is incorporating streaming capabilities into its application so listeners can enjoy NextRadio regardless of whether or not the FM chip in their phone has been enabled.

Emmis granted the U.S. radio industry (as defined in the funding agreements) a call option on substantially all of the assets used in the NextRadio and TagStation businesses in the United States. The call option may be exercised in August 2017 or August 2019 by paying Emmis a purchase price equal to the greater of (i) the appraised fair market value of the NextRadio and TagStation businesses, or (ii) two times Emmis' cumulative investments in the development of the businesses through August 2015. If the call option is exercised, the businesses will continue to be subject to the operating limitations applicable today, and no radio operator will be permitted to own more than 30% of the NextRadio and TagStation businesses.

Along with the rest of the radio industry, the majority of our stations have deployed HD Radio ® . HD Radio offers listeners advantages over standard analog broadcasts, including improved sound quality and additional digital channels. In addition to offering secondary channels, the HD Radio spectrum allows broadcasters to transmit other forms of data. We are participating in a joint venture with other broadcasters to provide the bandwidth that a third party uses to transmit location-based data to hand-held and in-car navigation devices. The number of radio receivers incorporating HD Radio has increased in the past year, particularly in new automobiles. It is unclear what impact HD Radio will have on the markets in which we operate.

The Company has also aggressively worked to harness the power of broadband and mobile media distribution in the development of emerging business opportunities by developing highly interactive websites with content that engages our listeners, deploying mobile applications and streaming our content, harnessing the power of digital video on our websites and YouTube channels, and delivering real-time traffic to navigation devices.

The results of our radio operations are heavily dependent on the results of our stations in the New York and Los Angeles markets. These markets account for approximately 50% of our radio net revenues. Our acquisition of WBLS-FM and WLIB-AM in New York in fiscal 2015 enhanced our ability to adapt to competitive environment shifts in that market, but our single station in the Los Angeles market, KPWR-FM, has less ability to adapt. Furthermore, some of our competitors that operate larger station clusters in New York and Los Angeles are able to leverage their market share to extract a greater percentage of

available advertising revenue through packaging a variety of advertising inventory at discounted unit rates and may be able to realize operating efficiencies by programming multiple stations in these markets. In February 2015, one of our large competitors changed the format of one of its radio stations in the Los Angeles radio market to more directly compete with our radio station in Los Angeles. In addition, the new station hired our former KPWR-FM morning radio host to be its morning radio host. This development in Los Angeles negatively impacted our financial performance in fiscal 2016 and 2017, as well as the early months of fiscal 2018. On May 8, 2017, we entered into an agreement to sell our radio station in Los Angeles, subject to certain regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Both the Los Angeles and New York radio markets were weak during the quarter ended May 31, 2017. Market revenues for Los Angeles and New York as measured by Miller Kaplan Arase LLP ("Miller Kaplan"), an independent public accounting firm used by the radio industry to compile revenue information, were down 5.0% and 1.1%, respectively, for the three months ended May 31, 2017, as compared to the same period of the prior year. During the same period, our station in Los Angeles, KPWR-FM, and our cluster in New York both lagged their respective market performance. As discussed above, KPWR-FM has been adversely affected by the introduction of a format competitor. Our New York operations were negatively impacted by intensifying competition for transactional business in the local market. We have made changes in our local sales organization in New York to derive more local, direct business and reduce our reliance on transactional, agency business.

As part of our business strategy, we continually evaluate potential acquisitions of radio stations and other businesses that we believe hold promise for long-term appreciation in value and leverage our strengths. However, Emmis' 2014 Credit Agreement substantially limits our ability to make acquisitions. We also regularly review our portfolio of assets and may opportunistically dispose of assets when we believe it is appropriate to do so. In that respect, on August 19, 2016, we announced that we were exploring strategic alternatives for our publishing division (except Indianapolis Monthly ), our radio stations in Terre Haute, Indiana, and WLIB-AM in New York. We completed our sale of Texas Monthly on November 1, 2016, our sale of radio stations in Terre Haute, Indiana on January 30, 2017, and the sale of the remainder of our publishing division (except Indianapolis Monthly ) on February 28, 2017. We continue to explore our options with WLIB-AM in New York. On May 8, 2017, we entered into an agreement to sell our radio station in Los Angeles for $82.8 million. Closing is subject to certain regulatory approvals and closing conditions, but we expect the closing of this transaction to occur in the back half of 2017.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Critical accounting policies are defined as those that encompass significant judgments and uncertainties, and potentially lead to materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. We believe that our critical accounting policies are those described below.

Revenue Recognition

Broadcasting revenue is recognized as advertisements are aired. Publication revenue is recognized in the month of delivery of the publication. Both broadcasting revenue and publication revenue recognition is subject to meeting certain conditions such as persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists and collection is reasonably assured. These criteria are generally met at the time the advertisement is aired for broadcasting revenue and upon delivery of the publication for publication revenue. Advertising revenues presented in the financial statements are reflected on a net basis, after the deduction of advertising agency fees, usually at a rate of 15% of gross revenues. LMA fee revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the LMA.

Digonex provides a dynamic pricing service to online retailers, attractions, live event producers and other customers. Revenue is recognized as recommended prices are delivered to customers. In some cases, this is upon initial delivery of prices, such as for implementations, or over the period of the services agreement for fee-based pricing. Revenue pursuant to some service agreements is not earned until tickets or merchandise are sold and, therefore, revenue is recognized as tickets are sold for the related events or as merchandise is sold.

FCC Licenses and Goodwill

We have made acquisitions in the past for which a significant amount of the purchase price was allocated to FCC licenses and goodwill assets. As of May 31, 2017 , excluding amounts classified as held for sale we have recorded approximately $200.3 million in goodwill and FCC licenses, which represents approximately 71% of our total assets.

In the case of our radio stations, we would not be able to operate the properties without the related FCC license for each property. FCC licenses are renewed every eight years; consequently, we continually monitor our stations' compliance with the various regulatory requirements. Historically, all of our FCC licenses have been renewed at the end of their respective periods, and we expect that all FCC licenses will continue to be renewed in the future. We consider our FCC licenses to be indefinite-lived intangibles.

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. When evaluating our radio broadcasting licenses for impairment, the testing is performed at the unit of accounting level as determined by Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 350-30-35. In our case, radio stations in a geographic market cluster are considered a single unit of accounting, provided that they are not being operated under an LMA by another broadcaster. Major assumptions involved in the valuation of our FCC licenses include market revenue, market revenue growth rates, unit of accounting audience share, unit of accounting revenue share and discount rate. Each of these assumptions may change in the future based upon changes in general economic conditions, audience behavior, consummated transactions, and numerous other variables that may be beyond our control. A change in one or more of our major assumptions could result in an impairment charge related to our FCC Licenses.

We complete our annual impairment tests as of December 1 of each year and perform additional interim impairment testing whenever triggering events suggest such testing is warranted.

Valuation of Indefinite-lived Broadcasting Licenses

Fair value of our FCC licenses is estimated to be the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. To determine the fair value of our FCC licenses, the Company uses an income valuation method when it performs its impairment tests. Under this method, the Company projects cash flows that would be generated by each of its units of accounting assuming the unit of accounting was commencing operations in its respective market at the beginning of the valuation period. This cash flow stream is discounted to arrive at a value for the FCC license. The Company assumes the competitive situation that exists in each market remains unchanged, with the exception that its unit of accounting commenced operations at the beginning of the valuation period. In doing so, the Company extracts the value of going concern and any other assets acquired, and strictly values the FCC license. Major assumptions involved in this analysis include market revenue, market revenue growth rates, unit of accounting audience share, unit of accounting revenue share and discount rate. Each of these assumptions may change in the future based upon changes in general economic conditions, audience behavior, consummated transactions, and numerous other variables that may be beyond our control. The projections incorporated into our license valuations take current economic conditions into consideration.

Valuation of Goodwill

ASC Topic 350-20-35 requires the Company to test goodwill for impairment at least annually. The Company conducts its impairment test on December 1 of each fiscal year, unless indications of impairment exist during an interim period. When assessing its goodwill for impairment, the Company generally uses an enterprise valuation approach to determine the fair value of each of the Company's reporting units, with radio stations grouped by market. Management determines enterprise value for each of its reporting units by multiplying the two-year average station operating income generated by each reporting unit (current year based on actual results and the next year based on budgeted results) by an estimated market multiple. The Company uses a blended station operating income trading multiple of publicly traded radio operators as a benchmark for the multiple it applies to its radio reporting units. Management believes this methodology for valuing radio properties is a common approach and believes that the multiples used in the valuation are reasonable given our peer comparisons and recent market transactions. To corroborate the fair values determined using the market approach described above, management also uses an income approach, which is a discounted cash flow method to determine the fair value of the reporting unit. If the carrying value of a reporting unit's goodwill exceeds its fair value, the Company recognizes an impairment charge equal to the difference in the statement of operations.

Deferred Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequence of events that have been recognized in the Company's financial statements or income tax returns. Income taxes are recognized during the year in which the underlying transactions are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations. Deferred taxes are provided for temporary differences between amounts of assets and liabilities as recorded for financial reporting purposes and amounts recorded for income tax purposes. After determining the total amount of deferred tax assets, the Company determines whether it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. If the Company determines that a deferred tax asset is not likely to be realized, a valuation allowance will be established against that asset to record it at its expected realizable value.

Insurance Claims and Loss Reserves

The Company is self-insured for most healthcare claims, subject to stop-loss limits. Claims incurred but not reported are recorded based on historical experience and industry trends, and accruals are adjusted when warranted by changes in facts and circumstances. The Company had $0.8 million and $0.6 million for employee healthcare claims as of February 28, 2017 and May 31, 2017, respectively. The Company also maintains large deductible programs (ranging from $10 thousand to $2 million per occurrence) for general liability, property, director and officer liability, crime, fiduciary liability, workers' compensation, employment liability, automotive liability and media liability claims.

Results of Operations for the Three-Month Period Ended May 31, 2017 , Compared to May 31, 2016

Net revenues:

Radio net revenues were down for the three-month period ended May 31, 2017. We typically monitor the performance of our stations against the aggregate performance of the markets in which we operate based on reports for the period prepared by Miller Kaplan. Miller Kaplan reports are generally prepared on a gross revenues basis and exclude revenues from barter and syndication arrangements. Miller Kaplan reported gross revenues for our radio markets decreased 3.0% for the three-month period ended May 31, 2017, as compared to the same period of the prior year. Our gross revenues reported to Miller Kaplan were down 8.7% for the three-month period ended May 31, 2017, as compared to the same period of the prior year. Our performance exceeded the market average in St. Louis and Austin, but we lagged the market average in New York, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis.

For the three-month period ended May 31, 2017, as compared to the same period of the prior year, our average rate per minute for our domestic radio stations was down 11.1%, and our minutes sold were up 1.4%.

Publishing net revenues decreased during the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 due to the sale of all but one of our magazines during the year ended February 28, 2017.

Emerging technologies net revenues, which primarily relates to licensing fees of our TagStation software and pricing services provided by Digonex, increased during the three-month period ended May 31, 2017. This increase principally relates to client growth at Digonex.

Station operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense:

The decrease in station operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense for our radio division for the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 is due to the sale of our Terre Haute radio stations in the prior year, coupled with lower revenue-related expenses.

Station operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense for publishing decreased during the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 due to the sale of all but one of our magazines during the year ended February 28, 2017.

Station operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense for emerging technologies increased during the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 mostly due to (i) NextRadio funding $0.65 million of its obligation to Sprint with the proceeds of a third party loan, (ii) Emmis contributing $0.3 million to NextRadio, which was remitted to Sprint in connection with the final payment to Sprint, and (iii) costs associated with enhancements to the NextRadio application and TagStation platform, including the addition of streaming and enhancements to our data reporting capabilities.

Corporate expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense:

Corporate expenses excluding depreciation and amortization expense decreased during the three-month period ended May 31, 2017 mostly due to certain bonuses accrued in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year that were not achieved and accrued this year.

Depreciation and amortization: