Property and Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

Property and Equipment

6. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 consists of (in millions):

	Estimated useful life (years)			2019		2018
Buildings	40		$	21.9	$	21.8
Construction in progress		—		15.1		10.0
Transmission, studio and other broadcast equipment	5-15			162.1		151.3
Office and computer equipment	3-7			31.4		30.6
Transportation equipment	5			6.3		6.3
Leasehold improvements and land improvements	Lesser of lease life or useful life			22.1		23.0
				258.9		243.0
Less accumulated depreciation				188.6		187.4
				70.3		55.6
Land				9.3		9.3
			$	79.6	$	64.9

Depreciation expense was $10.6 million, $10.1 million, and $10.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.  

As part of the FCC auction for broadcast spectrum, the FCC has reassigned some stations to new post-auction channels and will reimburse station owners for the cost of the relocation. The Company has received notification from the FCC that 16 of its stations have been assigned to new channels with an estimated reimbursable cost of approximately $16.0 million.  The Company recorded gains on involuntary conversion associated with the repack process of $6.0 million and $1.2 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively.