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Property and Equipment | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
Property and Equipment | Note 8: Property and Equipment
December 31 (in millions) | Weighted-Average Original Useful Life As of December 31, 2014 |  | 2014 |  | 2013
Cable distribution system | 11 | years | $ | 31,655 | $ | 30,498
Customer premise equipment | 6 | years |  | 27,086 |  | 25,949
Other equipment | 6 | years |  | 7,860 |  | 6,826
Buildings and leasehold improvements | 22 | years |  | 8,650 |  | 8,057
Land |  | N/A |  | 1,112 |  | 1,084
Property and equipment, at cost |  |  |  | 76,363 |  | 72,414
Less: Accumulated depreciation |  |  |  | 45,410 |  | 42,574
Property and equipment, net |  |  | $ | 30,953 | $ | 29,840
Property and equipment are stated at cost. We capitalize improvements that extend asset lives and expense repairs and maintenance costs as incurred. We record depreciation using the straight-line method over the asset’s estimated useful life. For assets that are sold or retired, we remove the applicable cost and accumulated depreciation and, unless the gain or loss on disposition is presented separately, we recognize it as a component of depreciation expense. We capitalize the costs associated with the co nstruction of and improvements to our cable transmission and distribution facilities, costs associated with acquiring and deploying new customer premise equipment, and costs associated with installation of our services in accordance with accounting guidanc e relate d to cable television companies. Costs capitalized include all direct labor and materials, as well as various indirect costs. All costs incurred in connection with subsequent disconnects and reconnects are expensed as they are incurred. We evaluat e the recoverability of our property and equipment whenever events or substantive changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The evaluation is based on the cash flows generated by the underlying asset groups, includi ng estimated future operating results, trends or other determinants of fair value. If the total of the expected future undiscounted cash flows were less than the carrying amount of the asset group, we would recognize an impairment charge to the extent the carrying amount of the asset group exceed ed its estimated fair value. Unless presented separately, the impairment charge is included as a component of depreciation expense. Acquisitions of Real Estate Properties Real estate acquisitions in 2013 i ncluded NBCUniversal’s purchase from GE of certain properties NBCUniversal occupies at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The CNBC property was previously recorded as a capital lease in our consol idated balance sheet. Other purchases in 2013 included NBCUniversal’s acquisition of a business whose primary asset is a property located at 10 Universal City Plaza, which is adjacent to our Universal theme park in Hollywood, California, and our acquisition o f an 80% interest in a business whose primary asset is our corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These purchases resulted in increases in 2013 of $2.2 billion in property and equipment, which are included, as applicable, within the captions “buildings and leasehold improvements” and “land” in the table above.
NBCUniversal Media, LLC [Member] |
Property and Equipment | Note 8: Property and Equipment
December 31 (in millions) | Weighted-Average Original Useful Life As of December 31, 2014 |  | 2014 |  | 2013
Buildings and leasehold improvements | 21 | years | $ | 5,780 | $ | 5,239
Furniture, fixtures and equipment | 7 | years |  | 2,930 |  | 2,383
Construction in process |  | N/A |  | 775 |  | 828
Land |  | N/A |  | 820 |  | 799
Property and equipment, at cost |  |  |  | 10,305 |  | 9,249
Less: Accumulated depreciation |  |  |  | 2,167 |  | 1,599
Property and equipment, net |  |  | $ | 8,138 | $ | 7,650
Property and equipment are stated at cost. We capitalize improvements that extend asset lives and expense repairs and maintenance costs as incurred. We record depreciation using the straight-line method over the asset’s estimated useful life. For assets that are sold or retired, we remove the applicable cost and accumulated depreciation and, unless the gain or loss on disposition is presented separately, we recognize it as a component of depreciation expense. We evaluate the recoverability of our propert y and equipment whenever events or substantive changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The evaluation is based on the cash flows generated by the underlying asset groups, including estimated future operating resul ts, trends or other determinants of fair value. If the total of the expected future undiscounted cash flows were less than the carrying amount of the asset group, we would recognize an impairment charge to the extent the carrying amount of the asset group exceeded its estimated fair value. Unless presented separately, the impairment charge is included as a component of depreciation expense. Acquisitions of Real Estate Properties Real estate acquisitions in 2013 included our purchase from GE of cer tain properties we occupy at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and CNBC’s headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The CNBC property was previously recorded as a capital lease in our consolidated balance sheet. Other purchases in 2013 included our acquisition of a business whose primary asset is a property located at 10 Universal City Plaza, which is adjacent to our Universal theme park in Hollywood, California. These purchases resulted in increases in 2013 of $1.7 billion in property and equipment, which are included, as applicable, within the captions “building s and leasehold improvements” and “land” in the table above.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale. Includes, but is not limited to, accounting policies and methodology, roll forwards, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, including composite depreciation, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, useful lives and method used, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391110&loc=d3e2921-110230 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 20 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6360339&loc=d3e1361-107760 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.13-14) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 + Details
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