Equity And Long-Term Incentive Plans (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012 Y	Jun. 30, 2012 Restricted Shares/Units [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted Shares/Units [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 AMC Networks Class A Common Stock Restricted On The Same Basis As The Underlying Cablevision Restricted Shares Vested [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Liability Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Liability Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Liability Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Equity Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Equity Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Cablevision Allocation [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Cablevision Allocation [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Cablevision Allocation [Member] Equity Classified Awards [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Cablevision Allocation [Member] Equity Classified Awards [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Awards granted in period			30,393	441,111
Awards granted in period whereby subject to performance condition				97,915
Award vesting period										3 years
Share-based compensation expense						$ 101	$ 0	$ 147	$ 4,901	$ 8,484			$ 4,412	$ 8,343
Long-term incentive plan compensation expense	2,045	5,070									3,967	7,285
Total unrecognized share-based compensation costs	33,764	33,764
Total unrecognized share-based compensation costs, remaining period of recognition (in years)		2.2
Number of shares vested in period					1,032,018
Shares surrendered to Company for tax withholding					352,910
Aggregate value of shares surrendered					$ 15,988
Forfeited unvested restricted shares					80,848