Goodwill and Other Asset Impairment	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill and Other Asset Impairment	Goodwill and Other Asset Impairment The Company’s Digital business units were recorded at fair value in conjunction with the LIN Merger in December of 2014. Due to a projected decrease in operating results of the Company's Digital businesses, the Company performed an interim impairment assessment as of September 30, 2015 on three Digital reporting units acquired as part of the LIN Merger. The turnover of key sales personnel and the industry-wide shift to software enabled automated buying and placement of digital advertising led to a decrease in projected operating results for the Company's historical arbitrage media placement businesses. As a result of the impairment review, two of the three reporting units passed the first step of the evaluation as their fair values exceeded their carrying values by more than 10%. The fair value of the third reporting unit, LIN Digital, did not exceed its carrying value. As a result, the Company performed the second step of the impairment test and recorded a non-cash pretax goodwill impairment charge at its LIN Digital reporting unit of $53 million in the third quarter of 2015. After recording the impairment charge, the goodwill allocated to the LIN Digital reporting unit was $80 million at September 30, 2015. The total goodwill allocated to the Digital segment at September 30, 2015 was $195 million, including the Company’s social media business. In early 2016, the Company combined these three distinct businesses into one business, New Federated Media, under new management and made significant changes to its sales force. The Company had expected these changes would enable the business to operate more effectively in the marketplace with an acceleration of growth in the second half of 2016. However, the industry-wide shift to software enabled automated buying and placement of digital advertising quickened and combined with a rapid rise in social media advertising have led to compressed margins and lowered demand for the Company’s other digital products. As a result the Company has not experienced the acceleration of revenues it had expected in the second half of 2016. Therefore the Company performed another interim impairment test as of September 30, 2016. Additionally, the dynamics of the marketplace have changed significantly due to the industry-wide shifts discussed above so that the Company’s long-term forecast now reflects margins at half the level it had previously expected. This combination of slower growth and reduced margins has resulted in both non-cash goodwill impairment and non-cash intangible asset impairment totaling a combined $113 million that was recorded in the third quarter of 2016. After recording the impairment charges, the goodwill allocated to New Federated Media was $30 million as of September 30, 2016. The total goodwill allocated to the Digital segment, which includes the Company’s social media business that was unaffected by the impairment charges, as of September 30, 2016 was $101 million. Identified intangible assets of the Digital segment include trade names, advertiser and publisher relationships, and certain existing technology assets and totaled $23 million following the impairment with a weighted average useful life of 3 years. The estimated fair value of reporting units was determined using a combination of an income approach and a market comparable method. The income approach utilizes the estimated discounted cash flows expected to be generated by the reporting unit assets. The market comparable method employs comparable company information, and where available, recent transaction information for similar assets. The fair value of identifiable intangible assets were determined using the relief from royalty, comparable profit margin, and reproduction new less depreciation methods. The determination of fair value requires the use of significant judgment and estimates that management believes are appropriate in the circumstances although it is reasonably possible that actual performance will differ from these estimates and the effect of any differences could be material. These estimates include those relating to revenue growth, compensation levels, digital advertising placement prices, capital expenditures, discount rates and market trading multiples for digital advertising assets.

Goodwill and Other Asset Impairment

The Company’s Digital business units were recorded at fair value in conjunction with the LIN Merger in December of 2014. Due to a projected decrease in operating results of the Company's Digital businesses, the Company performed an interim impairment assessment as of September 30, 2015 on three Digital reporting units acquired as part of the LIN Merger. The turnover of key sales personnel and the industry-wide shift to software enabled automated buying and placement of digital advertising led to a decrease in projected operating results for the Company's historical arbitrage media placement businesses. As a result of the impairment review, two of the three reporting units passed the first step of the evaluation as their fair values exceeded their carrying values by more than 10%. The fair value of the third reporting unit, LIN Digital, did not exceed its carrying value. As a result, the Company performed the second step of the impairment test and recorded a non-cash pretax goodwill impairment charge at its LIN Digital reporting unit of $53 million in the third quarter of 2015. After recording the impairment charge, the goodwill allocated to the LIN Digital reporting unit was $80 million at September 30, 2015. The total goodwill allocated to the Digital segment at September 30, 2015 was $195 million, including the Company’s social media business.

In early 2016, the Company combined these three distinct businesses into one business, New Federated Media, under new management and made significant changes to its sales force. The Company had expected these changes would enable the business to operate more effectively in the marketplace with an acceleration of growth in the second half of 2016. However, the industry-wide shift to software enabled automated buying and placement of digital advertising quickened and combined with a rapid rise in social media advertising have led to compressed margins and lowered demand for the Company’s other digital products. As a result the Company has not experienced the acceleration of revenues it had expected in the second half of 2016. Therefore the Company performed another interim impairment test as of September 30, 2016. Additionally, the dynamics of the marketplace have changed significantly due to the industry-wide shifts discussed above so that the Company’s long-term forecast now reflects margins at half the level it had previously expected. This combination of slower growth and reduced margins has resulted in both non-cash goodwill impairment and non-cash intangible asset impairment totaling a combined $113 million that was recorded in the third quarter of 2016. After recording the impairment charges, the goodwill allocated to New Federated Media was $30 million as of September 30, 2016. The total goodwill allocated to the Digital segment, which includes the Company’s social media business that was unaffected by the impairment charges, as of September 30, 2016 was $101 million. Identified intangible assets of the Digital segment include trade names, advertiser and publisher relationships, and certain existing technology assets and totaled $23 million following the impairment with a weighted average useful life of 3 years.

The estimated fair value of reporting units was determined using a combination of an income approach and a market comparable method. The income approach utilizes the estimated discounted cash flows expected to be generated by the reporting unit assets. The market comparable method employs comparable company information, and where available, recent transaction information for similar assets. The fair value of identifiable intangible assets were determined using the relief from royalty, comparable profit margin, and reproduction new less depreciation methods. The determination of fair value requires the use of significant judgment and estimates that management believes are appropriate in the circumstances although it is reasonably possible that actual performance will differ from these estimates and the effect of any differences could be material. These estimates include those relating to revenue growth, compensation levels, digital advertising placement prices, capital expenditures, discount rates and market trading multiples for digital advertising assets.