Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010
Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) attributable to DISH Network common shareholders	$ 334,760	$ 256,990	$ 884,154	$ 487,937
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in shares)	445,579,000	447,986,000	444,475,000	447,362,000
Dilutive impact of stock awards outstanding (in shares)	1,718,000	882,000	1,319,000	820,000
Diluted (in shares)	447,297,000	448,868,000	445,794,000	448,182,000
Earnings per share - Class A and B common stock:
Basic net income (loss) per share attributable to DISH Network common shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.75	$ 0.57	$ 1.99	$ 1.09
Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to DISH Network common shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.75	$ 0.57	$ 1.98	$ 1.09
Class A common stock | Stock awards
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)			5,500,000	10,600,000
Class A common stock | Performance based options
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)			10,997,000	11,070,000
Class A common stock | Restricted stock units
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)			1,387,000	1,571,000
Class A common stock | Long-Term Performance Based Plans
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)			12,384,000	12,641,000