Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010
Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) attributable to DISH Network common shareholders	$ 319,099	$ 244,964	$ 1,203,253	$ 732,901
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in shares)	446,133,000	445,662,000	445,034,000	446,789,000
Dilutive impact of stock awards outstanding (in shares)	1,598,000	670,000	1,442,000	786,000
Diluted (in shares)	447,731,000	446,332,000	446,476,000	447,575,000
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)	$ 0.72	$ 0.55	$ 2.70	$ 1.64
Diluted net income (loss) per share attributable to DISH Network common shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.71	$ 0.55	$ 2.70	$ 1.64
Class A common stock | Stock awards
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)			5,300,000	11,100,000
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)			11,028,000	11,003,000
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)			1,376,000	1,518,000
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)			12,404,000	12,521,000