INDENTURE CONVENANTS (Details)	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)		Sep. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2010 USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2008 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Issuer and Restricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2010 Issuer and Restricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Issuer and Restricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Issuer and Restricted Subsidiary [Member] Less than [Member] times	Dec. 31, 2011 Issuer and Restricted Subsidiary [Member] Greater than [Member] times	Dec. 31, 2011 Unrestricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2010 Unrestricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Unrestricted Subsidiary [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Intergroup Elimination [Member] USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2010 Intergroup Elimination [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 Intergroup Elimination [Member] USD ($)
Indenture Convenants [Line Items]
Coverage Ratio																						2.0
Ratio Of Indebtedness To EBITDA																							2.25
Restricted Payment amount	$ 115,600,000										$ 115,600,000					€ 80,000,000
Cash Remaining Balance Amount	1,500,000										1,500,000
Net revenues	276,882,000		165,472,000	249,656,000	172,772,000	257,413,000		134,354,000	201,726,000	143,641,000	864,782,000		737,134,000		681,945,000			861,810,000		735,062,000	678,424,000			3,092,000		3,928,000	3,521,000	(120,000)		(1,856,000)	0
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment											52,954,000		54,415,000		51,591,000			51,639,000		50,666,000	48,894,000			1,315,000		3,749,000	2,697,000	0		0	0
Amortization of broadcast licenses and other intangibles											34,881,000		25,987,000		19,919,000			34,881,000		25,987,000	18,373,000			0		0	1,546,000	0		0	0
Operating Income (Loss)	(12,106,000)		(12,910,000)	39,473,000	(7,665,000)	41,903,000		(25,345,000)	25,452,000	(19,133,000)	6,792,000		22,877,000		(38,971,000)			12,129,000		53,482,000	91,464,000			(5,337,000)		(30,560,000)	(130,435,000)	0		(45,000)	0
Net (loss) / income attributable to CME Ltd.	(72,391,000)		(82,074,000)	968,000	(21,114,000)	(26,116,000)		3,416,000	165,169,000	(42,294,000)	(174,611,000)		100,175,000		(97,157,000)			(140,946,000)		(139,409,000)	63,448,000			(33,665,000)		239,629,000	(160,605,000)	0		(45,000)	0
Cash and cash equivalents	186,386,000					244,050,000					186,386,000		244,050,000		445,954,000		94,423,000	184,935,000		219,789,000				1,451,000		24,261,000		0		0
Third Party Debt	1,324,369,000	[1]				1,359,784,000					1,324,369,000	[1]	1,359,784,000					1,324,369,000	[1]	1,359,330,000				0	[1]	454,000		0	[1]	0
Total assets	2,681,769,000	[2]				2,940,550,000	[2]				2,681,769,000	[2]	2,940,550,000	[2]				2,864,664,000		3,212,077,000				1,451,000		37,942,000		(184,346,000)		(309,469,000)
Total CME Ltd. shareholders' equity	$ 1,001,692,000					$ 1,226,879,000					$ 1,001,692,000		$ 1,226,879,000					$ 1,183,974,000		$ 1,493,511,000				$ 1,327,000		$ (36,981,000)		$ (183,609,000)		$ (229,651,000)

[1] Third party debt is defined as credit facilities and capital leases or debt with entities that are not part of the CME Ltd. consolidated group.

[2] Segment assets exclude any intercompany investments.