Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Thousands			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended					24 Months Ended	49 Months Ended
	Mar. 23, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 08, 2008 subsidiary	Feb. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) claim		Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	[1]	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	[1]	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)		Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	[1]	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	[1]	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) claim		Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) claim	Dec. 31, 2012 claim	Mar. 01, 2019 radio_station station	Apr. 13, 2017 station	Aug. 12, 2016 case
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Contractual commitments, broadcast rights				$ 603,000								$ 860,000								$ 603,000		$ 860,000			$ 603,000
Net lease expense from continuing operations																				33,000		31,000		$ 24,000
Commitments related to purchase of technology services, news and market data services, and talent contracts				$ 247,000																$ 247,000					$ 247,000
FCC Regulation, television and radio broadcast station license terms, years																				8 years
FCC Regulation, television ownership cap, percent				39.00%																39.00%					39.00%
The UHF Discount, percent				50.00%																50.00%					50.00%
FCC Regulation, maximum reimbursement amount for required product modifications			$ 1,750,000
FCC Regulation, additional reimbursement amount for required product modifications	$ 1,000,000
Federal Communications Commission Regulation, Proceeds Received From Auction																						191,000
Repayments of long-term debt																				$ 0		703,527		27,842
Proceeds from FCC spectrum auction																				$ 0		172,102		0
Proceeds from Spectrum, Sharing Arrangement, Pretax																						84,000
Payments for Spectrum, Sharing Arrangements, Pretax																						66,000
Deferred Revenue and Other LT Liability, Useful Lives, Spectrum																				30 years
Prepaid and Other LT Asset, Useful Lives, Spectrum																				30 years
Number of Stations Subject to Spectrum Frequency Transition | station																												22
Capital expenditures related to spectrum repack																				$ 24,000					$ 27,000
Spectrum repack reimbursements																				11,276		984		0
Bankruptcy Proceedings, Number of Subsidiaries Included in Bankruptcy Filing | subsidiary		110
Bankruptcy closed cases | case																													106
Number of complaints filed | claim																										7,400
Restricted cash and cash equivalents				$ 16,607								17,566								$ 16,607		17,566		17,566	$ 16,607
Bankruptcy Claims, Number of Claims under Review by Management | claim				403																403					403
Reorganization Items				$ 578	[1]	$ 244		$ 685		$ 893	[1]	$ 657	[1]	$ 753	[1]	$ 449		$ 250		$ 2,400	[1]	2,109	[1]	1,422
Debtor Reorganization Items, Net Cash Outflows for Reorganization Costs																				$ 2,000		2,000		$ 2,000
FCC licenses
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Intangible Assets										$ 133,000
Term Loan Facility | Amended Secured Credit Facility
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Repayments of long-term debt														102,000
Dreamcatcher Stations
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Federal Communications Commission Regulation, Proceeds Received From Auction																						$ 26,000
Repayments of long-term debt														$ 12,600
Subsequent Event
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
FCC Regulation, number of television stations authorized | station																											39
FCC Regulation, number of radio stations authorized | radio_station																											1

[1] See Note 10 to the Company’s consolidated financial statements for information pertaining to reorganization items recorded in 2018 and 2017.