Debt (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended							9 Months Ended										1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation	Sep. 30, 2012 LIN Television Corporation	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation	Sep. 30, 2012 LIN Television Corporation	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 28, 2013 LIN Television Corporation SVH	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Level 2	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Level 2	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation 8.375% Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation 8.375% Senior Notes	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation 6.375% Senior Notes	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation 6.375% Senior Notes	Sep. 30, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Senior Subordinated Notes	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Senior Subordinated Notes	Jan. 20, 2012 LIN Television Corporation 6.5% Senior Subordinated Notes Due 2013	Jan. 20, 2012 LIN Television Corporation 6.5% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013 - Class B, net of discount	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Capital lease obligations	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Capital lease obligations	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Other debt	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Other debt	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Term loans, net of discount	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Term loans, net of discount	Feb. 28, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Incremental term loans, net of discount	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Incremental term loans, net of discount	Sep. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Incremental term loans, net of discount	Dec. 31, 2012 LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility Incremental term loans, net of discount
Debt
Percentage of ownership in subsidiaries								100.00%
Interest rate (as a percent)														8.375%	8.375%	6.375%	6.375%		6.50%	6.50%	6.50%
Face amount of debt																										$ 120,313,000	$ 125,000,000		$ 315,000,000	$ 315,000,000	$ 257,400,000
Unamortized discount																										368,000	435,000		1,768,000	1,768,000	2,020,000
Total debt						942,352,000		942,352,000		890,227,000				200,000,000	200,000,000	290,000,000	290,000,000					14,718,000	14,881,000	4,457,000	5,401,000	119,945,000	124,565,000		313,232,000	313,232,000	255,380,000
Less current portion	15,801,000		15,801,000		10,756,000	15,801,000		15,801,000		10,756,000
Total long-term debt	926,551,000		926,551,000		879,471,000	926,551,000		926,551,000		879,471,000
Repayment of debt			49,394,000	308,128,000				49,394,000	308,128,000																				2,400,000	7,100,000
Additional borrowings																												60,000,000
Term of debt instrument																												5 years
Amount transferred pursuant to the JV Sale Transaction			100,000,000	0				100,000,000	0		100,000,000
Loss on extinguishment of debt				2,099,000		0	0	0	2,099,000									2,100,000
Carrying amounts and fair values of long-term debt
Carrying Amount												927,634,000	875,346,000
Fair Value												$ 944,212,000	$ 910,500,000