Acquisitions - Narrative (Details)									5 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 22, 2015 USD ($) show	Apr. 01, 2015 USD ($) radio_station television_station shares	Sep. 16, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 16, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 16, 2014 USD ($) station	Jan. 02, 2014	Jan. 01, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) television_station shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of television stations acquired						2					2
Goodwill									$ 585,787,000	$ 585,787,000	$ 585,787,000	$ 106,261,000	$ 27,966,000
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Acquisitions | shares											26,350,993
Customer Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired								$ 4,000,000
Estimated useful life							5 years
Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired								2,000,000
2015 Midroll acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of Television Shows | show		200
Intangible assets acquired		$ 10,700,000
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											$ 45,586,000
Goodwill		46,000,000
Operating revenues									4,600,000
Business combination, purchase price		$ 56,963,000
Business combination, contingent consideration, payment term		3 years
Business combination, earn-out provision									7,000,000	7,000,000	7,000,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred		$ 50,000,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred, Other		10,000,000
2015 Midroll acquisition | Advertiser Relationship [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired		$ 7,000,000
Estimated useful life		5 years
2015 Midroll acquisition | Other Intangible Assets [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired		$ 4,000,000
2015 Journal acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired			$ 294,800,000
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											456,440,000
Operating revenues										200,000,000
Number of Television Stations Acquired | television_station			12
Number of Radio Stations Acquired | radio_station			34
Business combination, purchase price			$ 636,000,000
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred			636,000,000
2015 Journal acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired			$ 183,000,000
2015 Journal acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member] | Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated useful life			10 years
2015 Journal acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member] | Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated useful life			20 years
2015 Journal acquisition | Licensing Agreements [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired			$ 112,000,000
2014 Granite stations acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payments to acquire business					$ 110,000,000
Intangible assets acquired					53,500,000	$ 53,500,000
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												44,715,000
Goodwill					44,715,000	44,715,000
Business combination, purchase price					110,000,000	110,000,000
2014 Granite stations acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired					19,000,000	$ 19,000,000
2014 Granite stations acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member] | Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated useful life						10 years
2014 Granite stations acquisition | Retransmission Agreements, Television Network Affiliate Relationships, Advertiser Relationships [Member] | Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated useful life						20 years
2014 Granite stations acquisition | Licensing Agreements [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible assets acquired					$ 34,000,000	$ 34,000,000
Media Convergence Group (Newsy) [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payments to acquire business								35,000,000
Intangible assets acquired								5,900,000
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												28,983,000
Goodwill								28,983,000
Business acquisition, working capital adjustment								200,000
Business combination, purchase price								$ 35,222,000
2014 WeatherSphere acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												4,597,000
Business combination, purchase price				$ 4,000,000
Business combination, contingent consideration, maximum				$ 2,500,000
Business combination, contingent consideration, payment term				3 years
Business combination, earn-out provision				$ 1,200,000
Common Stock | Common Class A | 2015 Journal acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Acquisitions | shares			26,400,000
KNIN [Member] | Raycom Media, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Disposition, Consideration Received Or To Be Received	$ 14,500,000
Television [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill									466,121,000	466,121,000	466,121,000	72,681,000	27,966,000
Television [Member] | 2015 Journal acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											395,000,000
Television [Member] | 2014 Granite stations acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												44,715,000
Radio
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill									41,000,000	41,000,000	41,000,000	0	0
Radio | 2015 Journal acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											41,000,000
Digital
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill									$ 78,666,000	$ 78,666,000	78,666,000	33,580,000	$ 0
Digital | 2015 Midroll acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											45,586,000
Digital | 2015 Journal acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period											$ 20,000,000
Digital | Media Convergence Group (Newsy) [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												28,983,000
Digital | 2014 WeatherSphere acquisition
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill, Acquired During Period												$ 4,597,000