SEGMENT INFORMATION, Sources of Revenue for Cable Segment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	$ 1,653,393	$ 1,628,137	$ 3,268,164	$ 3,203,723
Cable
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	1,481,144	1,454,911	2,932,682	2,872,059
Cable | Video (including equipment rental, DVR, franchise fees, video-on-demand and pay-per-view)
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	812,547	805,852	1,613,515	1,599,298
Cable | High-speed data
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	370,170	354,376	733,042	701,275
Cable | Voice
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	232,059	226,833	463,652	446,955
Cable | Advertising
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	36,401	41,046	67,178	72,709
Cable | Other (including installation, advertising sales commissions, home shopping, and other products)
Revenue from External Customer [Line Items]
Revenues, net from continuing operations	$ 29,967	$ 26,804	$ 55,295	$ 51,822