BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details 2) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011 Broadcasting licenses	Sep. 30, 2011 Broadcasting licenses	Sep. 30, 2011 Umbrella broadcasting license DTV Network	Dec. 31, 2010 Umbrella broadcasting license DTV Network	Sep. 30, 2011 Regional broadcasting licenses DTV Network	Sep. 30, 2011 Regional broadcasting licenses CTC Network	Sep. 30, 2011 Regional broadcasting licenses HTC Network	Sep. 30, 2011 Goodwill: DTV Network
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Company's consolidated net book value (or shareholders' equity)	$ 761,829
Market capitalization	1,400,149
Long-lived assets, for which a hypothetical 10% decrease in audience share would have resulted in additional impairment
Percentage by which fair value exceeded carrying value of reporting unit					33.00%	5.00%
Percentage by which fair value exceeded carrying value of broadcasting umbrella license					24.00%	15.00%
Carrying amount of assets/ reporting units
Carrying amount of assets for which hypothetical 10% decrease in the fair value of each asset/reporting unit would have resulted in additional impairment	185,047						23,386	21,794	9,031	130,836
Carrying amount of assets for which hypothetical 15% decrease in the fair value of each asset/reporting unit would have resulted in additional impairment	248,635				53,974		23,386	26,601	13,838	130,836
Estimated impairment charge
Estimated impairment charge if hypothetical decrease in advertising market growth forecast is lower by 5 percentage points	30,351				4,498		1,038	1,276	533	23,006
Estimated impairment charge if hypothetical decrease in advertising market growth forecast is lower by 10 percentage points	75,846				17,122		2,063	4,000	1,072	51,589
Estimated Impairment Charge if Hypothetical Decrease in Advertising Market Growth Forecast is Lower by Fifteen Percentage Points	120,390				29,746		3,338	5,329	1,806	80,171
Cost of capital assumption used in the analysis of impairment tests, low end of range (as a percent)	13.40%	13.50%	13.40%	13.50%
Cost of capital assumption used in the analysis of impairment tests, high end of range (as a percent)	17.70%	18.40%	17.70%	18.40%
Estimated impairment charge if cost of capital is higher by 3 percentage points	$ 53,444				$ 8,060		$ 4,981	$ 5,302	$ 2,625	$ 32,476