Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended					6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2007 Katz Communications-Patent infringement	Apr. 30, 2011 Retailer Class Actions	Sep. 30, 2010 Retailer Class Actions	Jun. 30, 2011 Retailer Class Actions	Dec. 31, 2010 Retailer Class Actions	Sep. 20, 2010 Retailer Class Actions	Jun. 30, 2011 Satellite lease guarantees	Jun. 30, 2011 Satellite transponder guarantees	Apr. 30, 2009 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2008 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Jun. 30, 2011 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Jun. 30, 2011 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2010 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Mar. 15, 2010 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Jul. 31, 2009 Technology Development Licensing	Jun. 30, 2011 Tivo Inc	Jun. 30, 2011 Tivo Inc	Apr. 20, 2011 Tivo Inc	Dec. 31, 2010 Tivo Inc	Apr. 30, 2011 Voom HD Holdings
Loss contingencies
Guarantees for payments											$ 245,000,000	$ 529,000,000
Guarantee term											four years
Claim amount													30,000,000	35,000,000										2,500,000,000
Court ruling																		66,000,000
Litigation accrual								60,000,000	60,000,000						66,000,000	66,000,000	42,000,000						517,000,000
Litigation Expense	23,728,000	30,709,000	(316,949,000)	60,902,000											24,000,000	24,000,000
Settlement amount							60,000,000														500,000,000
Aggregate maximum value of all monthly incentive payments										23,000,000
Disablement provision contempt sanction amount																						90,000,000
Initial settlement amount paid																				300,000,000
Aggregate of six annual installment amounts between 2012 and 2017, gross																				200,000,000	200,000,000
Aggregate of six annual installment amounts between 2012 and 2017, net of contribution from related party																				190,000,000	190,000,000
Litigation settlement number of annual installments																				6
Settlement payment						60,000,000															290,000,000
Estimated percentage of annual payments payable by entity (as a percent)																					95.00%
Contribution from related party																					10,000,000
Reversal of litigation accrual																				335,000,000	335,000,000
Portion of litigation payment related to prior periods																					182,000,000
Portion of litigation payment related to future period prepayments																				108,000,000	108,000,000
Dish Network's share of remaining litigation payments																					190,000,000
Litigation settlement gross amount related to future periods																				298,000,000	298,000,000
Reduction in litigation expense																					6,000,000
Litigation settlement intellectual property liability contribution from related party																				$ 5,000,000	$ 5,000,000
Loss contingency terms
Number of set-top boxes not required to be disabled																						192,000
Number of reexamination petitions pending before patent and trademark office																			2
Number of patents the suit alleges infringement of					19
Number of motions seeking discovery sanctions																								2