Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended									1 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013 LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 28, 2013 LIN Television Corporation Incremental term loans, net of discount Senior Secured Credit Facility	Feb. 12, 2013 Joint venture	Dec. 31, 2012 Joint venture	Feb. 12, 2013 Joint venture NBCUniversal item	Dec. 31, 2012 Joint venture NBCUniversal	Feb. 28, 2013 Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 12, 2013 Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Dec. 31, 2012 Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture Period until March 1, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture Period until March 1, 2013 LIN Television Corporation	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture Period after March 1, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013 GECC Note Joint venture Period after March 1, 2013 LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 28, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture	Jun. 30, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture	Jul. 30, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture Forecast Subsequent event	Feb. 12, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 28, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Jun. 30, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Dec. 31, 2012 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation	Feb. 28, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation Senior Secured Credit Facility	Feb. 28, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation Incremental term loans, net of discount Senior Secured Credit Facility	Jul. 30, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television Corporation Forecast Subsequent event	Feb. 12, 2013 Sale Transaction Joint venture LIN Television of Texas	Jul. 30, 2013 Merger Forecast Subsequent event	Jul. 30, 2013 Merger LIN Television Corporation Forecast Subsequent event
Commitment and Contingencies
Debt financing provided by GECC											$ 815,500,000	$ 815,500,000
Interest rate (as a percent)													8.00%	8.00%	9.00%	9.00%
Ownership interest percentage					20.38%					20.38%																	20.38%
Equity interest held by NBCUniversal (as a percent)							79.62%																				79.62%
Voting interest (as a percent)				50.00%		50.00%			50.00%
Number of television stations operated						2
Capital contribution in exchange of equity interest sold	100,000,000	100,000,000						100,000,000												100,000,000
Ownership interest sold (as a percent)																											20.38%
Proceeds from sale of equity interest																											1.00
Accrued liability to secure the release of the guarantee and the related income tax consequences																							100,000,000
Additional borrowings			60,000,000																						60,000,000
Amount of cash on hand and borrowings under the revolving credit facility utilized to fund the payment																	40,000,000				40,000,000			40,000,000
Short-term deferred Federal and State tax liability associated with sale transaction																		163,000,000	115,000,000			163,000,000				115,000,000
Tax saving due to setting offsetting of realized capital loss and net operating losses with the capital gain																												115,000,000	115,000,000
Ownership interest (as a percent)		100.00%
Capital loss resulting from difference between tax basis and fair value of subsidiary stock																												$ 316,000,000