Acquisitions - Acquisition Information (Details) $ in Thousands					3 Months Ended
	Sep. 19, 2019 USD ($) television_station	Jun. 10, 2019 USD ($)	May 01, 2019 USD ($) television_station	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($) television_station	Mar. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Programming					$ 7,779	$ 60,184
Programming (less current portion)					146,187	96,256
Goodwill					1,275,327	1,271,855
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses					385,915	385,915
Current programming liability					75,004	96,682
Programming liability					(47,912)	$ (57,291)
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of businesses acquired | television_station	8
Business acquisition, purchase price	$ 582,000
Programming	11,997
Other current assets	3,541
Property and equipment	61,909
Right-of-use assets	82,447
Programming (less current portion)	9,830
Goodwill	167,322
Accrued expenses	(4,580)
Current programming liability	16,211
Other current liabilities	(3,185)
Operating lease liabilities	(79,766)
Programming liability	(15,079)
Net purchase price	582,325
Cordillera Communications, LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of businesses acquired | television_station			15
Business acquisition, purchase price			$ 521,000
Net working capital adjustment used in combination			23,900
Accounts receivable			26,264
Other current assets			986
Property and equipment			53,734
Right-of-use assets			4,667
Goodwill			254,176
Accounts payable			(15)
Accrued expenses			(5,239)
Other current liabilities			(280)
Operating lease liabilities			(4,387)
Net purchase price			544,906
Raycom Media, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Number of businesses acquired | television_station				3
Business acquisition, purchase price				$ 55,000
Property and equipment				11,721
Right-of-use assets				296
Goodwill				18,349
Operating lease liabilities				(296)
Net purchase price				54,970
Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Accounts receivable					26,264
Programming					11,997
Other current assets					4,527
Property and equipment					127,364
Right-of-use assets					87,410
Programming (less current portion)					9,830
Goodwill					439,847
Accounts payable					(15)
Accrued expenses					(9,819)
Current programming liability					16,211
Other current liabilities					(3,465)
Operating lease liabilities					(84,449)
Programming liability					(15,079)
Net purchase price					1,182,201
Omny Studio
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business acquisition, purchase price		$ 8,300
Goodwill		5,300
Television network affiliation relationships | Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	181,000
Television network affiliation relationships | Cordillera Communications, LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets			169,400
Television network affiliation relationships | Raycom Media, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets				17,400
Television network affiliation relationships | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets					$ 367,800
Intangible asset, estimated amortization period					20 years
Advertiser relationships | Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets	7,100
Advertiser relationships | Cordillera Communications, LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets			5,900
Advertiser relationships | Raycom Media, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets				700
Advertiser relationships | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets					$ 13,700
Advertiser relationships | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc. | Minimum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible asset, estimated amortization period					5 years
Advertiser relationships | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc. | Maximum
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Intangible asset, estimated amortization period					10 years
Shared Service Agreements | Cordillera Communications, LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets			$ 13,000
Intangible asset, estimated amortization period			20 years
Shared Service Agreements | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets					$ 13,000
Developed Technology Rights | Omny Studio
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Other intangible assets		$ 3,800
Intangible asset, estimated amortization period		10 years
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses | Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses	$ 176,000
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses | Cordillera Communications, LLC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses			$ 26,700
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses | Raycom Media, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses				$ 6,800
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses | Raycom Media, Inc., Cordillera Communications, LLC And Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Indefinite-lived intangible assets - FCC licenses					$ 209,500