Stock-Based Compensation (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended							9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011 Restricted stock units	Jan. 02, 2008 Restricted stock units	Sep. 30, 2011 Class A common stock Stock options	Feb. 28, 2010 Stock options person	Sep. 30, 2011 Stock options year	Sep. 30, 2010 Stock options year	Sep. 30, 2011 Stock options year	Sep. 30, 2010 Stock options year	Jan. 02, 2008 Stock options	Sep. 30, 2011 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Sep. 30, 2010 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Sep. 30, 2011 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Sep. 30, 2010 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Sep. 30, 2011 LTIP 2005	Sep. 30, 2011 LTIP 2005 DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Sep. 30, 2011 LTIP 2005 EchoStar Awards Held by EchoStar employees	Sep. 30, 2011 LTIP 2008	Sep. 30, 2010 LTIP 2008	Sep. 30, 2011 LTIP 2008	Sep. 30, 2010 LTIP 2008	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Employee Performance Awards	Sep. 30, 2010 Other Employee Performance Awards	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Employee Performance Awards	Sep. 30, 2010 Other Employee Performance Awards	Sep. 30, 2011 DISH Network Awards	Sep. 30, 2011 DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Sep. 30, 2011 DISH Network Awards Held by EchoStar employees	Sep. 30, 2011 EchoStar Awards	Sep. 30, 2011 EchoStar Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Sep. 30, 2011 Non-Performance Based Stock Awards year	Dec. 31, 2009 Class A common stock	Nov. 01, 2011 Class A common stock Dividends declared	Dec. 31, 2009 Class B common stock	Nov. 01, 2011 Class B common stock Dividends declared
Share-based compensation
Expiration term (in years)								ten years
Percentage of stock awards vesting per year (as a percent)	20% per year
Number of stock options subject to an exercise price change in connection with the Stock Option Adjustment					20,600,000
Number of common stock available for future grant under stock incentive plans (in shares)				72,900,000
Dividend in cash per share (in dollars per share)																																$ 2.00		$ 2.00
Number of employees affected by stock option adjustment					700
Decrease in exercise price due to stock option adjustment (in dollars per share)					$ 2.00
Stock option converted into new stock options										2
Multiplication factor for conversion of original stock option to adjusted stock option										0.831219
Portion of the number of shares that were exercisable under the original option needed to receive a new stock option										one-fifth
Multiplication factor for conversion of original stock option to new stock option										0.843907
Additional non-cash stock-based compensation cost in connection with Stock Option Adjustment									$ 3,000,000
Restricted stock unit converted into new restricted stock units (in shares)			5
Stock option activity
Total options outstanding at the beginning of the period (in shares)								21,918,500																		22,552,594	19,540,791	3,011,803	823,454	823,454
Granted (in shares)								3,210,000
Exercised (in shares)								(1,567,056)
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)								(1,008,850)
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in shares)						22,552,594		22,552,594			11,027,625		11,027,625		3,350,000			4,477,625		4,477,625		3,200,000		3,200,000		22,552,594	19,540,791	3,011,803	823,454	823,454
Exercisable at the end of the period (in shares)						7,543,468		7,543,468
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Total options outstanding, beginning of the period (in dollars per share)								$ 18.62
Granted (in dollars per share)						$ 28.55		$ 28.55
Exercised (in dollars per share)						$ 15.78		$ 15.78
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)								$ 17.57
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in dollars per share)						$ 20.63		$ 20.63			$ 18.30		$ 18.30		$ 22.93			$ 11.48		$ 11.48		$ 23.01		$ 23.01
Exercisable, Weighted-Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)						$ 22.61		$ 22.61
Share-based compensation additional disclosures
Remaining portion to meet vesting condition (as a percent)																		75.00%		75.00%
Portion meeting vesting condition (as a percent)																		25.00%		25.00%
Future forfeiture rate (as a percent)																															3.70%
Period for recognition of compensation cost (in years)																															3
Tax benefit from stock awards exercised						713,000	80,000	7,122,000	1,351,000
Aggregate intrinsic value
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding						129,148,000		129,148,000
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercisable						25,616,000		25,616,000
Restricted stock unit activity
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)		1,564,332																								1,431,996	1,220,872	211,124	57,786	57,786
Granted (in shares)		300,000
Vested (in shares)		(6,875)
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)		(425,461)
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in shares)		1,431,996									1,375,871		1,375,871		443,996			31,875		31,875		900,000		900,000		1,431,996	1,220,872	211,124	57,786	57,786
Weighted - Average Grant Date Fair Value
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in dollars per share)		$ 23.00
Granted (in dollars per share)		$ 30.67
Vested (in dollars per share)		$ 11.09
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)		$ 26.44
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in dollars per share)		$ 23.66									$ 23.35		$ 23.35
2005 LTIP Terms
Awards vesting period (in years)															seven years
Percentage awards vesting per annum during first four years (as a percent)															10.00%
Percentage awards vesting per annum after first four years (as a percent)															20.00%
Share-based expenses
Unrecognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense on vested portion															31,327,000	26,207,000	5,120,000
Unrecognized compensation expense relating to long-term performance based incentive awards															43,495,000	36,373,000	7,122,000
Unrecognized compensation expense																															29,000,000
Estimated Remaining Non-Cash, Stock-Based Compensation Expense
Remaining expense estimated to be recognized during 2011																		1,828,000		1,828,000		1,086,000		1,086,000
Estimated contingent expense subsequent to 2011																		9,051,000		9,051,000		51,237,000		51,237,000
Total estimated expense remaining over the term of plan																		10,879,000		10,879,000		52,323,000		52,323,000
Recognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense recognized											$ 2,666,000	$ 796,000	$ 16,953,000	$ 2,639,000				$ 2,507,000	$ 781,000	$ 16,806,000	$ 2,392,000	$ 159,000	$ 15,000	$ 147,000	$ 247,000
Black-Scholes option valuation model, assumptions
Risk free interest rate, low end of range (as a percent)						0.69%	1.50%	0.69%	1.50%
Risk free interest rate, high end of range (as a percent)						1.31%	1.71%	3.18%	2.89%
Volatility factor, low end of range (as a percent)						36.67%	35.50%	31.74%	33.33%
Volatility factor, high end of range (as a percent)						44.68%	37.86%	44.68%	37.86%
Expected term of options, low end of range (in years)						3.9	5.4	3.9	5.4
Expected term of options, high end of range (in years)						6.5	6.4	10.0	7.5
Weighted-average fair value of options granted, low end of the range (in dollars per share)						$ 8.73	$ 7.05	$ 8.73	$ 6.83
Weighted-average fair value of options granted, high end of the range (in dollars per share)						$ 9.68	$ 7.32	$ 14.77	$ 8.14
Dividend yield percentage (as a percent)								0.00%
Dividend declared (in dollars per share)																																	$ 2.00		$ 2.00