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Basis of Presentation
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2014
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| Basis of Presentation [Abstract] | |
| Basis of presentation |
Basis of Presentation
QVC, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries ("QVC" or the "Company") 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 Germany ("QVC-Germany"), Japan ("QVC-Japan"), the United Kingdom ("QVC-U.K.") and Italy ("QVC-Italy"). QVC-Germany distributes its program 24 hours per day with 17 hours of live programming, QVC-Japan distributes live programming 24 hours per day, 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's Japanese operations are conducted through a joint 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. During the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, QVC-Japan paid dividends to Mitsui of $42 million, $45 million and $29 million, respectively.
Additionally, the Company also has a joint venture with CNR Media Group, formerly known as 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 17 hours per day and recorded programming for seven hours per day. This joint venture is accounted for as an equity method investment recorded as equity in losses of investee in the consolidated statements of operations.
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 expected in the summer of 2015.
QVC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation ("Liberty," formerly known as Liberty Media Corporation). Liberty, which owns interests in a broad range of digital commerce businesses. On August 9, 2012, Liberty completed the recapitalization of its common stock into shares of the corresponding series of two new tracking stocks, Liberty Interactive (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB), of which QVC was a part of, and Liberty Ventures ("Ventures Group") (Nasdaq: LVNTA, LVNTB). On October 3, 2014, the Company declared and paid a dividend in cash to Liberty in the amount of $1 billion with funds drawn from the Company's credit facility. Additionally, Liberty reattributed from the Interactive Group to the Ventures Group $970 million in cash and certain of its digital commerce companies, including Backcountry.com, Inc., Bodybuilding.com, LLC, CommerceHub, Provide Commerce, Inc., Evite, Inc. and LMC Right Start, Inc. As a result of these transactions, the Interactive Group is now referred to as the QVC Group, which tracks the Company and Liberty's 38% equity interest in HSN, Inc. ("HSN"), one of the Company's two closest televised shopping competitors, along with cash and certain liabilities. The Liberty Interactive tracking stock trading symbol "LINTA" was changed to "QVCA" and the "LINTB" trading symbol to "QVCB," effective October 7, 2014. The foregoing transactions are referred to as the "2014 Reattribution."
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions were eliminated in consolidation.
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