Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Intangible Assets

v2.4.0.6
Intangible Assets
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2012
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
Intangible Assets
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows:
 
QVC
 
E-commerce
 
TripAdvisor
 
Total
 
amounts in millions
Balance at January 1, 2011
$
5,363

 
620

 
—

 
5,983

Acquisitions


 
4

 
—

 
4

Foreign currency translation adjustments
(9
)
 
—

 
—

 
(9
)
Balance at December 31, 2011
$
5,354

 
624

 
—

 
5,978

Foreign currency translation adjustments
(26
)
 
—

 
—

 
(26
)
Acquisitions
21

 
19

 
3,649

 
3,689

Impairments
—

 
(82
)
 
—

 
(82
)
Other
—

 
(3
)
 
—

 
(3
)
Balance at December 31, 2012
$
5,349

 
558

 
3,649

 
9,556



Goodwill recognized from acquisitions primarily relate to assembled workforces, website community and other intangible assets that do not qualify for separate recognition. As of December 31, 2012 accumulated impairment losses for the E-commerce companies was $138 million.

As presented in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet trademarks is the other significant indefinite lived intangible asset. During the year ended December 31, 2012, Liberty acquired a controlling interest in TripAdvisor, see note 1 for additional details on the acquisition, which through the application of purchase accounting increased the trademarks balance by $1,800 million.
Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization
Intangible assets subject to amortization are comprised of the following:
 
December 31, 2012
 
December 31, 2011
 
Gross
 
 
 
Net
 
Gross
 
 
 
Net
 
carrying
 
Accumulated
 
carrying
 
carrying
 
Accumulated
 
carrying
 
amount
 
amortization
 
amount
 
amount
 
amortization
 
amount
 
amounts in millions
Television distribution rights
$
2,326

 
(1,554
)
 
772

 
2,305

 
(1,391
)
 
914

Customer relationships
3,608

 
(1,747
)
 
1,861

 
2,618

 
(1,535
)
 
1,083

Other
943

 
(459
)
 
484

 
600

 
(388
)
 
212

Total
$
6,877

 
(3,760
)
 
3,117

 
5,523

 
(3,314
)
 
2,209



Additions to intangible assets subject to amortization were the result of the acquistion of TripAdvisor, see note 1 for additional details on the acquisition. The weighted average life of these amortizable intangible assets acquired is approximately 9 years. However, amortization is expected to match the usage of the related asset and will be on an accelerated basis as demonstrated in table below.
Amortization expense for intangible assets with finite useful lives was $462 million, $490 million and $426 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Based on its amortizable intangible assets as of December 31, 2012, Liberty expects that amortization expense will be as follows for the next five years (amounts in millions):
2013
$
760

2014
$
682

2015
$
587

2016
$
472

2017
$
357