Dish Network 2015 Annual Report Download - page 135

DISH NETWORK CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
F-31
Satellite Anomalies
Operation of our DISH branded pay-TV service requires that we have adequate satellite transmission capacity for
the programming that we offer. Moreover, current competitive conditions require that we continue to expand our
offering of new programming. While we generally have had in-orbit satellite capacity sufficient to transmit our
existing channels and some backup capacity to recover the transmission of certain critical programming, our backup
capacity is limited.
In the event of a failure or loss of any of our owned or leased satellites, we may need to acquire or lease additional
satellite capacity or relocate one of our other owned or leased satellites and use it as a replacement for the failed or
lost satellite. Such a failure could result in a prolonged loss of critical programming or a significant delay in our
plans to expand programming as necessary to remain competitive and thus may have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In the past, certain of our owned and leased satellites have experienced anomalies, some of which have had a
significant adverse impact on their remaining useful life and/or commercial operation. There can be no assurance
that future anomalies will not impact the remaining useful life and/or commercial operation of any of the owned and
leased satellites in our fleet. See Note 2 “Impairment of Long-Lived Assets” for further information on evaluation
of impairment. There can be no assurance that we can recover critical transmission capacity in the event one or
more of our owned or leased in-orbit satellites were to fail. We generally do not carry commercial launch or in-orbit
insurance on any of the owned or leased satellites that we use, other than certain satellites leased from third parties,
and therefore, we will bear the risk associated with any uninsured in-orbit satellite failures. In light of current
favorable market conditions, during January 2016, we procured commercial launch and in-orbit insurance (for a
period of one year following launch) for the EchoStar XVIII satellite, which is expected to launch during the second
quarter 2016.
Intangible Assets
As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, our identifiable intangibles subject to amortization consisted of the following:
As of
December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014
Intangible Accumulated Intangible Accumulated
Assets Amortization Assets Amortization
(In thousands)
Technology-based $ 14,510 $ (6,297) $ 7,210 $ (4,445)
Trademarks 16,257 (2,512) 19,704 (5,644)
Contract-based 8,650 (8,650) 8,650 (8,650)
Customer relationships 2,900 (2,900) 2,900 (2,900)
Total $ 42,317 $ (20,359) $ 38,464 $ (21,639)
These identifiable intangibles are included in “Other noncurrent assets, net” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Amortization of these intangible assets is recorded on a straight line basis over an average finite useful life primarily
ranging from approximately five to 20 years. Amortization was $9 million, $6 million and $11 million for the years
ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.