Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 29, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 29, 2019	Sep. 30, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 620,318	$ 655,774	$ 1,845,023	$ 1,929,978
Cost of sales	(384,916)	(394,917)	(1,143,870)	(1,180,931)
Gross profit	235,402	260,857	701,153	749,047
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(120,169)	(132,716)	(365,439)	(396,430)
Research and development expenses	(31,351)	(33,471)	(100,539)	(107,781)
Amortization of intangibles	(22,243)	(25,533)	(67,952)	(74,990)
Goodwill and other asset impairment	(342,146)	0	(342,146)	0
Gain from patent litigation	0	62,141	0	62,141
Operating income (loss)	(280,507)	131,278	(174,923)	231,987
Interest expense, net	(14,200)	(14,472)	(42,561)	(46,538)
Non-operating pension benefit	489	1,356	1,517	824
Loss on debt extinguishment	0	0	0	(22,990)
Income (loss) before taxes	(294,218)	118,162	(215,967)	163,283
Income tax expense	(2,797)	(32,304)	(13,580)	(46,063)
Net income (loss)	(297,015)	85,858	(229,547)	117,220
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests	(6)	(23)	60	(148)
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden	(297,009)	85,881	(229,607)	117,368
Less: Preferred stock dividends	971	8,732	18,437	26,198
Net income (loss) attributable to Belden common stockholders	$ (297,980)	$ 77,149	$ (248,044)	$ 91,170
Weighted average number of common shares and equivalents:
Basic (in shares)	44,444	40,510	41,090	40,960
Diluted (in shares)	44,444	47,678	41,090	41,268
Basic income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (6.70)	$ 1.90	$ (6.04)	$ 2.23
Diluted income per share attributable to Belden common stockholders (in usd per share)	$ (6.70)	$ 1.80	$ (6.04)	$ 2.21
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Belden	$ (263,530)	$ 68,620	$ (183,811)	$ 129,727
Common stock dividends declared per share (in usd per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.05	$ 0.15	$ 0.15