The aggregate expense charged against earnings to allocate the cost of intangible assets (nonphysical assets not used in production) in a systematic and rational manner to the periods expected to benefit from such assets. As a noncash expense, this element is added back to net income when calculating cash provided by or used in operations using the indirect method.

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Goodwill and Intangible Assets Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2017	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2019	Jan. 01, 2017
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired				$ 40,000
Amortization expense		$ 241,000	$ 247,000	489,000	$ 495,000
Goodwill and other intangible asset impairment				0
Goodwill		14,691,000		14,691,000		$ 15,408,000
KVH Media Group
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Goodwill		10,290,000		10,290,000
Other intangible assets		$ 4,195,000		$ 4,195,000
Intellectual property
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets, useful lives				7 years
Headland Media Limited \| Subscriber relationships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets, useful lives				10 years
Headland Media Limited \| Distribution rights
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets, useful lives				15 years
Q1 2017 Acquisition
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired				$ 311,000
Contingent consideration, value, high							$ 114,000
Q1 2017 Acquisition \| Subscriber relationships
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets, useful lives	10 years
Finite-lived intangible assets acquired	$ 100,000