ACQUISITIONS Btv Group (Details) (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				9 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member]		Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member]		Dec. 31, 2009 Btv Group [Member]	Apr. 19, 2010 Btv Group [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member] General and Administrative Expense [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member] Trademarks [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Btv Group [Member] Broadcast Licenses [Member] years	Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member] Broadcast Licenses [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Btv Group [Member] Customer Relationships [Member] years	Dec. 31, 2010 Btv Group [Member] Customer Relationships [Member]		Apr. 19, 2010 Btv Media [Member]	Apr. 19, 2010 RCJ [Member]	Apr. 19, 2010 TV Europe BV [Member]	Apr. 19, 2010 Triada [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Revenue			$ 759,287,000		$ 773,966,000
Business Acquisition, Percentage of Voting Interests Acquired																100.00%	74.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid						409,900,000
Acquisition related costs							4,400,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Assets Acquired (Liabilities Assumed), Net [Abstract]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	485,000		485,000
Restricted cash	3,560,000		3,560,000
Other intangible assets subject to amortization											178,158,000	[1]		37,322,000	[2]
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Intangible Assets Not Amortizable								74,066,000	[3]
Program rights	6,383,000		6,383,000
Property, plant and equipment	8,579,000		8,579,000
Goodwill	115,641,000	[4]	115,641,000	[4]
Total purchase price	409,945,000		409,945,000
Estimated life										24			15
Acquired receivables	21,000,000		21,000,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Revenues	58,300,000
Net income / (loss)			98,945,000		(92,190,000)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd.			102,347,000		(81,540,000)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - basic and diluted earnings per share			$ 1,600		$ (1,500)
Weighted average common shares - basic and diluted earnings per share			64,029		54,344
Business Acquisition Purchase Price Allocation Other Assets Net	14,851,000	[5]	14,851,000	[5]
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Deferred Income Taxes, Asset (Liability), Net	(29,100,000)		(29,100,000)
Contractual Cash Flows From The Receivable Contracts Held By The Acquired Entity			$ 21,000,000

[1] License agreements are being amortized on a straight-line basis over an estimated life of 24 years as at December 31, 2011.

[2] Customer relationships are being amortized on a straight-line basis over an estimated life of 15 years.

[3] The trademark is deemed to have an indefinite life.

[4] No goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

[5] Amount includes US$ 21.0 million of acquired receivables which represent the best estimate of the US$ 21.0 million contractual cash flows expected to be collected as of the acquisition date.