Acquisitions - Additional Information (Details) $ in Thousands, € in Millions, shares in Millions							3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Nov. 16, 2015 EUR (€)	Oct. 16, 2015 EUR (€)	Sep. 15, 2015 EUR (€)	Jul. 31, 2015 EUR (€)	Jul. 02, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 02, 2015 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) shares		Dec. 31, 2015 EUR (€) shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 28, 2015	Jul. 06, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 06, 2015 PLN / shares	Jul. 02, 2015 EUR (€)	Jun. 26, 2015 USD ($)	May. 18, 2015 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business acquisition consideration																	$ 853,853
Cash consideration | €																			€ 584.0
Foreign currency option premium																	16,000
Call option cost					$ 625,000
Gain (loss) on derivatives							$ 3,088		$ 4,037	$ 37,198	$ 5,933	$ 5,246		$ 2,041	$ (1,339)	$ (3,137)	50,256			$ 2,810		$ (7,085)
Derivative contract net gain (loss)																	44,200
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), before Tax																	22,400			4,200		2,800
Business acquisition related costs																	28,300
Net income attributable to SNI							164,708		124,559	193,718	123,843	131,846		131,339	153,794	128,296	606,828			545,275		505,070
Pre-payment of long term debt																	1,930,000			195,000
Debt Instrument, Principal amount | €				€ 364.9
Goodwill							1,804,748	[1]				573,119	[1]				1,804,748	[1]		573,119	[1]	574,582
Operating income							$ 275,091		$ 270,996	$ 332,035	$ 225,810	$ 230,458		$ 238,794	$ 283,465	$ 239,592	1,103,932			$ 992,309		$ 958,476
Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Net income attributable to SNI																	$ 17,400
Term Loan
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Face Amount																											$ 250,000
TVN 7.38% Senior Notes [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument Stated interest rate							7.38%										7.38%
Senior note maturity date | €		€ 45.6	€ 45.1
Debt Instrument, Principal amount | €		43.0	43.0
Debt Instrument, Accrued but unpaid interest | €		1.3	0.8
Debt Instrument, premium | €		1.3	€ 1.3
TVN 7.88% Senior Notes [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument Stated interest rate							7.88%										7.88%
Revolving Credit Facility
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity																												$ 900,000
Foreign Currency Option Contract [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Gain (loss) on derivatives																	$ 31,900
N-Vision B.V. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Outstanding shares acquired, percentage					100.00%																					100.00%
Business acquisition consideration																	1,608,600		€ 1,440.0
Cash consideration					$ 652,365	€ 584.0
Assumption of debt					956,200																					€ 856.0
Proceeds from issuance of debt					1,500,000
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain (Loss), before Tax																	(24,200)
Payments To Retire | €				364.9
Senior P I K Toggle Notes Value | €				300.0
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired | €				363.4
Accrued And Unpaid Interest | €				€ 1.5
Goodwill					1,259,447		$ 1,259,400										$ 1,259,400
TVN [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Outstanding shares acquired, percentage									100.00%														100.00%
Assumption of debt					621,100																					€ 556.0
Outstanding voting share purchase price amount					831,500																			$ 853,900
Outstanding voting share purchase price amount through squeeze-out.					22,400
Total consideration for acquisition					$ 2,462,500
Percentage of voting share controlling interest					52.70%																					52.70%
Percentage offer of minimum ownership																	66.00%		66.00%
Company Intention																	On June 9, 2015 the Company announced its intention to tender for all remaining outstanding voting shares of TVN to achieve 100.0 percent ownership		On June 9, 2015 the Company announced its intention to tender for all remaining outstanding voting shares of TVN to achieve 100.0 percent ownership
Outstanding voting share purchase price per share | PLN / shares																									PLN 20.0
Acquisition of additional shares | shares																	156.7		156.7
Cumulative percentage of ownership of outstanding share capital																								98.80%
Senior note maturity date | €																			€ 118.9
Revenues																	$ 224,700
Operating income																	$ 36,700
TVN [Member] | TVN 7.38% Senior Notes [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument Stated interest rate			7.38%
Pre-payment of long term debt | €			€ 45.1
Pre-payment of principal amount | €			43.0
Pre-payment of accrued interest | €			0.8
Pre-payment of premium | €	€ 1.3		€ 1.3
Pre Payment Percentage Of Right From Outstanding Principal Amount			10.00%
Senior note maturity date | €	45.6
Debt Instrument, Principal amount | €	43.0
Debt Instrument, Accrued but unpaid interest | €	€ 1.3
TVN [Member] | TVN 7.88% Senior Notes [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Debt instrument Stated interest rate	7.88%
Senior note maturity date | €	€ 118.9
Debt Instrument, Principal amount | €	116.6	116.6
Debt Instrument, premium | €	€ 2.3	€ 2.3

[1] Includes accumulated impairments of $44,386 in 2015 and 2014