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Aggregate number of restricted stock awards for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share. Such restricted stock awards shall be considered to be outstanding as of the grant date for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share even though their exercise may be contingent upon vesting. These restricted stock awards are included in the diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) computation even if the employee may not receive (or be able to sell) the stock until some future date. Accordingly, all shares to be issued shall be included in computing diluted EPS if the effect is dilutive.

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Aggregate number of stock options for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share. Such stock options shall be considered to be outstanding as of the grant date for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share even though their exercise may be contingent upon vesting. These stock options are included in the diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) computation even if the employee may not receive (or be able to sell) the stock until some future date. Accordingly, all shares to be issued shall be included in computing diluted EPS if the effect is dilutive.

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The percentage of Cablevision's Board of Directors that Class A stockholders are entitled to elect.

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The aggregate amount of restricted dividends declared, but not paid, as of the financial reporting date. Maximum amount of dividends that will be paid when, and if, restrictions lapse on restricted shares outstanding.

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Number of shares issued during the period as a result of (a) the exercise of stock options, (b) restricted shares granted and (c) restricted shares acquired by the Company and recorded as treasury stock.

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The vesting percentage of restricted stock units granted to non-employee directors.

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Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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Face amount or stated value of common stock per share; generally not indicative of the fair market value per share.

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Total number of shares of common stock held by shareholders. May be all or portion of the number of common shares authorized. These shares represent the ownership interest of the common shareholders. Excludes common shares repurchased by the entity and held as Treasury shares. Shares outstanding equals shares issued minus shares held in treasury. Does not include common shares that have been repurchased.

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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Nov. 10, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 CSC Holdings, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 CSC Holdings, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 CSC Holdings, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 CNYG Class A Common Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 CNYG Class A Common Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 CNYG Class A Common Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 CNYG Class B Common Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 CNYG Class B Common Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 CNYG Class B Common Stock [Member]	Oct. 27, 2011 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Aug. 05, 2011 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	May 04, 2011 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Feb. 15, 2011 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Nov. 03, 2010 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Aug. 04, 2010 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	May 05, 2010 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Feb. 24, 2010 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Nov. 02, 2009 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Jul. 29, 2009 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	May 06, 2009 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]	Feb. 25, 2009 CNYG Class A and Class B Common Stock [Member]
Gross Versus Net Revenue Recognition [Abstract]
Franchise fees included as component of net revenue		$ 147,498	$ 134,730	$ 127,716
Advertising Expenses [Abstract]
Advertising expenses		177,694	164,314	157,777
Share-Based Compensation [Abstract]
Vesting percentage of restricted stock units granted to non-employee directors (in hundredths)		100.00%
Common Stock of Cablevision [Abstract]
Number of votes per share of common stock									1			10
Number of shares of Class A common stock received upon conversion from Class B (in shares)		1
Percentage of Board of Directors Class A stockholders are entitled to elect (in hundredths)									25.00%
Balance (in shares)									241,055,283	247,668,143	242,258,240	54,148,223	54,354,251	54,873,351
Conversion of CNYG Class B common stock to CNYG Class A common stock (in shares)									10,550	206,028	519,100	(10,550)	(206,028)	(519,100)
Employee and non-employee director stock transactions (in shares)									(35,172)	4,006,712	4,890,803	0	0	0
Share repurchases (in shares)									(20,860,400)	(10,825,600)		0	0
Balance (in shares)									220,170,261	241,055,283	247,668,143	54,137,673	54,148,223	54,354,251
Dividends [Abstract]
Dividends payable, date declared															Oct. 27, 2011	Aug. 05, 2011	May 04, 2011	Feb. 15, 2011	Nov. 03, 2010	Aug. 04, 2010	May 05, 2010	Feb. 24, 2010	Nov. 02, 2009	Jul. 29, 2009	May 06, 2009	Feb. 25, 2009
Common stock, dividend declared per share (in dollars per share)															$ 0.15	$ 0.15	$ 0.15	$ 0.125	$ 0.125	$ 0.125	$ 0.125	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Dividends payable, date of record															Nov. 11, 2011	Aug. 19, 2011	May 16, 2011	Feb. 28, 2011	Nov. 15, 2010	Aug. 16, 2010	May 17, 2010	Mar. 08, 2010	Nov. 13, 2009	Aug. 10, 2009	May 18, 2009	Mar. 09, 2009
Dividends payable, date to be paid															Dec. 02, 2011	Sep. 09, 2011	Jun. 06, 2011	Mar. 21, 2011	Dec. 06, 2010	Sep. 07, 2010	Jun. 07, 2010	Mar. 29, 2010	Dec. 04, 2009	Sep. 01, 2009	Jun. 09, 2009	Mar. 31, 2009
Dividends paid by Cablevision		162,032	140,734	123,499
Maximum dividends to be paid when, and if, restriction lapse on restricted shares outstanding		8,552
CSC Holdings Equity Interests [Abstract]
Common stock issued by CSC Holdings to Cablevision (in shares)	1,607,119
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01								$ 0.01	$ 0.01		$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Proceeds from the issuance of common stock	869,600
Shares of common stock converted into membership units (in shares)					14,432,750
Distributions to Cablevision						929,947	556,272	790,082
Reconciliation of denominator of basic and diluted net income per share calculation [Abstract]
Basic weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)		276,369,000	293,165,000	291,759,000
Effect of dilution [Abstract]
Stock options (in shares)		3,320,000	3,181,000	2,483,000
Restricted stock awards (in shares)		5,215,000	5,534,000	4,202,000
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)		284,904,000	301,880,000	298,444,000
Antidilutive stock options excluded from diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)		303,000,000	237,000,000	1,736,000,000
Shares excluded from diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)		193,000,000
Concentrations of Credit Risk [Abstract]
Concentration of customer credit risk maximum percentage, consolidated net revenues (in hundredths)		10.00%	10.00%	10.00%
Concentration of customer credit risk maximum percentage, consolidated net trade receivables (in hundredths)		10.00%	10.00%
Amount used to redeem outstanding debt				(196,269)
Repayment of outstanding balance of Cablevision's April 2009 Notes upon maturity				$ (303,731)