LONG-TERM DEBT - Mandatorily Redeemable Preferred Stock (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019	May 01, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Preferred stock, shares issued	0		0
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.001		$ 0.001
Preferred stock issued	$ 0		$ 0
Acceleration or payment default amount	100,000
Redeemable Preferred Stock
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Preferred stock, shares issued		60,000
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)		$ 0.001
Liquidation preference value	$ 60,000	$ 60,000
Preferred stock issued		$ 60,000

Debt Instrument, Covenant Terms, Triggering Event, Acceleration or Payment Default Amount

No definition available.

Name:	ihrt_DebtInstrumentCovenantTermsTriggeringEventAccelerationorPaymentDefaultAmount
Namespace Prefix:	ihrt_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Value of the difference between preference in liquidation and the par or stated values of the preferred shares.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PreferredStockLiquidationPreferenceValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Face amount or stated value per share of preferred stock nonredeemable or redeemable solely at the option of the issuer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(28))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PreferredStockParOrStatedValuePerShare
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Total number of nonredeemable preferred shares (or preferred stock redeemable solely at the option of the issuer) issued to shareholders (includes related preferred shares that were issued, repurchased, and remain in the treasury). May be all or portion of the number of preferred shares authorized. Excludes preferred shares that are classified as debt.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PreferredStockSharesIssued
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Aggregate par or stated value of issued nonredeemable preferred stock (or preferred stock redeemable solely at the option of the issuer). This item includes treasury stock repurchased by the entity. Note: elements for number of nonredeemable preferred shares, par value and other disclosure concepts are in another section within stockholders' equity.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PreferredStockValue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_RedeemablePreferredStockMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: