Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Basis of Presentation

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Basis of Presentation
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2014
Basis of Presentation [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation
Basis of Presentation
QVC, Inc. (unless otherwise indicated or required by the context, the terms "we," "our," "us," the "Company" and "QVC" refer to QVC, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries) is a retailer of a wide range of consumer products, which are marketed and sold primarily by merchandise-focused televised shopping programs, the Internet and mobile applications. In the United States, QVC's live programming is distributed via its nationally televised shopping program 24 hours per day, 364 days per year ("QVC-U.S."). Internationally, QVC's program services are based in Japan ("QVC-Japan"), Germany ("QVC-Germany"), the United Kingdom ("QVC-U.K.") and Italy ("QVC-Italy"). QVC-Japan distributes live programming 24 hours per day, QVC-Germany distributes its program 24 hours per day with 17 hours of live programming and QVC-U.K. distributes its program 24 hours per day with 17 hours of live programming. QVC-Italy distributes programming live for 17 hours per day on satellite and digital terrestrial television and an additional seven hours per day of recorded programming on satellite and seven hours per day of general interest programming on digital terrestrial television.
The Company also has a joint venture with China Broadcasting Corporation, a limited liability company owned by China National Radio (''CNR''). The Company owns a 49% interest in a CNR subsidiary, CNR Home Shopping Co., Ltd. (''CNRS''). CNRS distributes live programming for 15 hours per day and recorded programming for nine hours per day. This joint venture is accounted for as an equity method investment recorded as equity in (losses) earnings of investee in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Additionally, the Company's Japanese operations are conducted through a venture with Mitsui & Co. LTD ("Mitsui") for a television and multimedia retailing service in Japan. QVC-Japan is owned 60% by the Company and 40% by Mitsui. The Company and Mitsui share in all profits and losses based on their respective ownership interests. For both the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013, QVC-Japan paid dividends to Mitsui of $25 million, respectively.
We are an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation ("Liberty") (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB, LVNTA and LVNTB), which owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses. We are attributed to the Liberty Interactive tracking stock, which tracks the assets and liabilities of Liberty's Interactive Group (the "Interactive Group"). The Interactive Group does not represent a separate legal entity; rather, it represents those businesses, assets and liabilities that are attributed to that group. Liberty also attributes to its Interactive Group those businesses primarily focused on digital commerce and its approximate 38% ownership interest in HSN, Inc. ("HSN"), one of our two closest televised shopping competitors.
In October 2013, Liberty announced that its board had authorized management to pursue a plan to recapitalize its Interactive Group tracking stock into two new tracking stocks, one (currently the Liberty Interactive common stock) to be renamed the QVC Group common stock and the other to be designated as the Liberty Digital Commerce common stock. The Digital Commerce Group would have had attributed to it Liberty's subsidiaries Provide Commerce, Inc. ("Provide"), Backcountry.com, Inc., Bodybuilding.com, LLC, CommerceHub and the Evite.com business, along with cash and certain liabilities. The QVC Group, which is currently known as the Interactive Group, would have attributed to it Liberty’s subsidiary QVC, Inc. and its approximate 38% interest in HSN, Inc., along with cash and certain liabilities.
On July 30, 2014, Liberty announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which FTD Companies, Inc. ("FTD") will acquire Provide. FTD and Liberty expect to complete the transaction by the end of 2014. Liberty still plans to create the QVC Group tracking stock but in light of the pending Provide transaction, and other factors, management is reevaluating the optimal structure and best alignment of the Digital Commerce Group. As a result, the timing of the transition to the QVC Group has been delayed.
On April 16, 2014, QVC announced plans to expand its global presence into France. Similar to its other markets, QVC plans to offer a highly immersive digital shopping experience, with strong integration across e-commerce, TV, mobile and social platforms, with the launch scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.
The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority‑owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions were eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying (a) condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2013, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and (b) interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results for such periods have been included. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in QVC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates include, but are not limited to, sales returns, uncollectible receivables, inventory obsolescence, depreciable lives of fixed assets, internally-developed software, valuation of acquired intangible assets and goodwill, income taxes and stock-based compensation.
On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective. The new standard is effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. Early application is not permitted. The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU No. 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting.
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform with current period presentation.