Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Aug. 07, 2018
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	SINCLAIR BROADCAST GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000912752
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Class A Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (shares)		76,613,152
Class B Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (shares)		25,670,684