SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Program Rights [Policy Text Block]

Program Rights

Purchased program rights

The costs incurred to acquire program rights are capitalized and amortized over their expected useful lives in a manner which reflects the pattern we expect to use and benefit from the programming. If the initial airing of content allowed by a license is expected to provide more value than subsequent airings, we apply an accelerated method of amortization. These accelerated methods of amortization depend on the estimated number of runs the content is expected to receive, and are determined based on a study of historical results for similar programming. For programming that is not advertising supported, each program's costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the license period. For content that is expected to be aired only once, the entire cost is recognized as an expense on the first run.

During the third quarter of 2011, we concluded a comprehensive examination of the appropriateness of our program rights policy. This review included a study of the relative value generated by all runs of a license in past periods. We concluded that the existing allocation for films and series with an estimated two runs of 65% on showing the first run and 35% on showing the second run was still appropriate. However, past performance showed that content with an estimated three runs generated more relative value on the third run than our previous estimate. Consequently, from July 1, 2011 these titles were amortized 50% on showing the first run, 28% on showing the second run and 22% on showing the third run. The impact of this change is a lower amortization charge of approximately US$ 1.8 million and US$ 3.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively. Had we continued with our estimate to amortize content with an estimated three runs by 60% on the first run, 30% on the second run and 10% on the third run from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012 our net income attributable to CME Ltd., basic net income per common share and diluted net income per common share would have been US$ 2.2 million, US$ 0.03 and US$ 0.03 for the three months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, and our net loss attributable to CME Ltd., basic net loss per common share and diluted net loss per common share would have been US$ (13.2) million, US$ (0.20) and US$ (0.20), respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2012.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Goodwill

On January 1, 2012, we adopted guidance issued in September 2011 to simplify how entities test goodwill for impairment by providing an option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If an entity determines it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then performing the two-step impairment test is not necessary. The adoption of this guidance may impact how we perform our goodwill testing, but not the amount of impairment recognized in the financial statements if goodwill is found to be impaired.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Financial Instruments

On January 1, 2012, we adopted guidance issued in May 2011, which represents clarifications of common principles and requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. It also includes instances where a particular principle or requirement for measuring fair value has changed. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows, but did result in additional disclosure.

ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosure”, establishes a hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to those valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are:

Basis of Fair Value Measurement

Level 1 Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted instruments.

Level 2 Quoted prices in markets that are not considered to be active or financial instruments for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3 Prices or valuations that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.

A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

We evaluate the position of each financial instrument measured at fair value in the hierarchy individually based on the valuation methodology we apply. The carrying value of financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable and accrued liabilities, approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of these items.  The fair value of our Senior Debt (as defined therein) is included in Note 4, “Long-Term Debt and Other Financing Arrangements”.