SEGMENT DATA - Schedule of Operating Segment Results (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 1,721,118	$ 1,570,418	$ 1,618,532	$ 1,363,505	$ 1,717,579	$ 1,579,514	$ 1,599,859	$ 1,344,564	$ 6,273,573	$ 6,241,516	$ 6,318,533
Direct operating expenses	631,094	595,576	617,246	568,371	651,108	627,150	615,163	577,692	2,412,287	2,471,113	2,540,035
Selling, general and administrative expenses	444,050	421,700	434,581	425,568	433,483	429,426	424,562	416,881	1,725,899	1,704,352	1,680,938
Corporate expenses	88,717	86,779	87,650	77,879	82,507	74,775	80,295	77,422	341,025	314,999	320,931
Depreciation and amortization	159,174	158,453	162,144	155,456	168,824	166,320	168,394	170,453	635,227	673,991	710,898
Impairment charges	0	8,000	0	0	0	21,631	0	0	8,000	21,631	24,176
Other operating income, net	133,788	(505)	(64,190)	284,463	(4,693)	6,914	100,754	(8,974)	353,556	94,001	40,031
Operating income (loss)	531,871	$ 299,405	$ 252,721	$ 420,694	376,964	$ 267,126	$ 412,199	$ 93,142	1,504,691	1,149,431	1,081,586
Segment assets	12,862,247				13,673,115				12,862,247	13,673,115	13,839,579
Capital expenditures									314,717	296,380	318,164
Share-based compensation expense									13,086	10,923	10,713
Corporate and other reconciling items
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Direct operating expenses									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									0	0	0
Corporate expenses									342,556	314,999	320,941
Depreciation and amortization									35,547	42,588	38,546
Impairment charges									8,000	21,631	24,176
Other operating income, net									353,556	94,001	40,031
Operating income (loss)									(32,547)	(285,217)	(343,632)
Segment assets	714,445				976,417				714,445	976,417	542,931
Capital expenditures									13,847	15,808	34,810
Share-based compensation expense									13,086	10,923	10,713
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									(3,455)	(2,744)	(6,726)
Direct operating expenses									0	0	(3,280)
Selling, general and administrative expenses									(1,924)	(2,744)	(3,436)
Corporate expenses									(1,531)	0	(10)
Depreciation and amortization									0	0	0
Impairment charges									0	0	0
Other operating income, net									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									0	0	0
Segment assets	(216)				(196,292)				(216)	(196,292)	0
Capital expenditures									0	0	0
Share-based compensation expense									0	0	0
Intersegment revenues
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									3,455	2,744	6,726
Other intersegment revenues
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	3,280
iHM
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Segment assets					7,522,998					7,522,998	7,700,435
iHM | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									3,403,040	3,284,320	3,161,503
Direct operating expenses									975,463	972,937	932,172
Selling, general and administrative expenses									1,102,998	1,065,066	1,013,407
Corporate expenses									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									243,964	240,207	240,846
Impairment charges									0	0	0
Other operating income, net									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									1,080,615	1,006,110	975,078
Segment assets	7,392,872								7,392,872
Capital expenditures									73,221	63,814	53,914
Share-based compensation expense									0	0	0
iHM | Intersegment revenues
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	10
Americas Outdoor Advertising | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									1,278,413	1,349,021	1,350,623
Direct operating expenses									570,310	597,382	605,771
Selling, general and administrative expenses									225,415	233,254	233,641
Corporate expenses									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									185,654	204,514	203,928
Impairment charges									0	0	0
Other operating income, net									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									297,034	313,871	307,283
Segment assets	3,175,355				3,567,764				3,175,355	3,567,764	3,648,735
Capital expenditures									81,401	82,165	109,727
Share-based compensation expense									0	0	0
Americas Outdoor Advertising | Intersegment revenues
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									3,455	2,744	3,436
International Outdoor Advertising | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									1,423,982	1,457,183	1,610,636
Direct operating expenses									865,259	897,520	991,117
Selling, general and administrative expenses									289,787	298,250	314,878
Corporate expenses									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									152,758	166,060	198,143
Impairment charges									0	0	0
Other operating income, net									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									116,178	95,353	106,498
Segment assets	1,342,356				1,573,161				1,342,356	1,573,161	1,680,598
Capital expenditures									143,788	132,554	117,480
Share-based compensation expense									0	0	0
International Outdoor Advertising | Intersegment revenues
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									0	0	0
Other | Operating Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue									171,593	153,736	202,497
Direct operating expenses									1,255	3,274	14,255
Selling, general and administrative expenses									109,623	110,526	122,448
Corporate expenses									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									17,304	20,622	29,435
Impairment charges									0	0	0
Other operating income, net									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									43,411	19,314	36,359
Segment assets	$ 237,435				$ 229,067				237,435	229,067	266,880
Capital expenditures									2,460	2,039	2,233
Share-based compensation expense									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0