Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Share-based compensation

Schedule of stock awards outstanding

	As of December 31, 2011
	DISH Network Awards		EchoStar Awards
Stock Awards Outstanding	Stock Options	Restricted Stock Units	Stock Options	Restricted Stock Units
Held by DISH Network employees	18,630,441	1,189,709	762,094	54,286
Held by EchoStar employees	2,705,718	94,999	N/A	N/A
Total	21,336,159	1,284,708	762,094	54,286

Schedule of exercise prices for stock options outstanding and exercisable

	Options Outstanding				Options Exercisable
	Number Outstanding as of December 31, 2011	Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life	Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Number Exercisable as of December 31, 2011	Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life	Weighted- Average Exercise Price
$   -        -     $ 10.00	4,494,455	5.68	$	9.01	1,439,655	5.75	$	8.83
$10.01   -     $ 15.00	834,288	6.49	$	14.01	205,651	6.41	$	13.96
$15.01   -     $ 20.00	2,380,215	8.15	$	18.15	149,676	6.61	$	18.16
$20.01   -     $ 25.00	8,195,584	4.10	$	22.56	3,908,084	3.29	$	22.45
$25.01   -     $ 30.00	2,651,562	5.02	$	26.43	1,908,613	4.48	$	26.43
$30.01   -     $ 35.00	2,741,555	8.46	$	31.44	755,604	6.48	$	32.73
$35.01   -     $ 40.00	38,500	5.65	$	36.74	22,400	5.61	$	36.68
$   -        -     $ 40.00	21,336,159	5.66	$	20.53	8,389,683	4.41	$	21.70

Schedule of stock option activity

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2011				2010				2009
	Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Total options outstanding, beginning of period (1)	21,918,500		$	18.62	21,861,691		$	21.71	21,835,687		$	22.50
Granted	3,246,000		$	28.55	2,450,500		$	18.34	3,077,000		$	15.69
Exercised	(2,347,341	)	$	15.73	(448,729	)	$	9.23	(356,793	)	$	8.95
Forfeited and cancelled	(1,481,000	)	$	17.44	(1,944,962	)	$	22.26	(2,694,203	)	$	22.93
Total options outstanding, end of period	21,336,159		$	20.53	21,918,500		$	18.62	21,861,691		$	21.71
Performance based options outstanding, end of period (2)	9,549,375		$	19.20	10,978,750		$	15.98	9,362,500		$	17.23
Exercisable at end of period	8,389,683		$	21.70	7,590,264		$	22.83	8,062,091		$	27.74

(1)The beginning of period weighted-average exercise price for the year ended December 31, 2010 of $21.71 does not reflect the 2009 Stock Option Adjustment, which occurred subsequent to December 31, 2009.

(2)These stock options are included in the caption “Total options outstanding, end of period.”  See discussion of the 2005 LTIP, 2008 LTIP and other employee performance awards below.

Schedule of realized tax benefits from stock awards exercised

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
	(In thousands)
Tax benefit from stock awards exercised	$	9,911	$	1,665	$	1,116

Schedule of aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding and exercisable

	As of December 31, 2011
	Options Outstanding		Options Exercisable
	(In thousands)
Aggregate intrinsic value	$	178,503	$	60,623

Schedule of restricted stock unit activity

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2011				2010				2009
	Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value		Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value		Restricted Stock Units		Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period	1,564,332		$	23.00	1,246,284		$	25.93	1,975,940		$	27.44
Granted	300,000		$	30.67	600,000		$	18.15	6,666		$	11.11
Vested	(70,830	)	$	27.15	(69,875	)	$	31.36	(113,197	)	$	28.47
Forfeited and cancelled	(508,794	)	$	27.32	(212,077	)	$	23.77	(623,125	)	$	30.09
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period	1,284,708		$	23.25	1,564,332		$	23.00	1,246,284		$	25.93
Restricted Performance Units outstanding, end of period (1)	1,284,708		$	23.25	1,494,457		$	22.61	1,096,034		$	25.18

(1)These Restricted Performance Units are included in the caption “Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period.”  See discussion of the 2005 LTIP, 2008 LTIP and other employee performance awards below.

Schedule of non-cash, stock-based compensation expense recognized

	For the Years Ended December 31,
Non-Cash, Stock-Based Compensation Expense Recognized	2011		2010		2009
	(In thousands)
2008 LTIP	$	19,230	$	2,984	$	3,560
Other employee performance awards	10		271		234
Total non-cash, stock-based compensation expense recognized for performance based awards	$	19,240	$	3,255	$	3,794

Schedule of awards outstanding pursuant to performance-based stock incentive plans

	As of December 31, 2011
Performance Based Stock Options	Number of Awards	Weighted- Average Exercise Price
2005 LTIP	3,278,500	$	22.92
2008 LTIP	3,270,875	$	11.84
Other employee performance awards	3,000,000	$	23.16
Total	9,549,375	$	19.20

Restricted Performance Units and Other
2005 LTIP	363,163
2008 LTIP	21,545
Other employee performance awards	900,000
Total	1,284,708

Schedule of allocated non-cash, stock-based compensation expense for all employees

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
	(In thousands)
Subscriber-related	$	1,914	$	1,160	$	1,069
General and administrative	29,607		14,227		11,158
Total non-cash, stock-based compensation	$	31,521	$	15,387	$	12,227

Schedule of assumptions of Black-Scholes option valuation model

	For the Years Ended December 31,
Stock Options	2011	2010	2009
Risk-free interest rate	0.36% - 3.18%	1.50% - 2.89%	1.70% - 3.19%
Volatility factor	31.74% - 45.56%	33.33% - 38.63%	29.72% - 45.97%
Expected term of options in years	3.6   - 10.0	5.2 - 7.5	3.0 - 7.3
Weighted-average fair value of options granted	$8.73   - $14.77	$6.83 - $8.14	$3.86 - $8.29

LTIP 2005

Share-based compensation

Schedule of unrecognized non-cash, stock-based compensation expense under the 2005 LTIP

	2005 LTIP
	Total		Vested Portion (1)
	(In thousands)
DISH Network awards held by DISH Network employees	$	35,239	$	25,920
EchoStar awards held by DISH Network employees	6,913		5,078
Total	$	42,152	$	30,998

LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards

Share-based compensation

Schedule of unrecognized non-cash, stock-based compensation expense under the 2005 LTIP

Estimated Remaining Non-Cash, Stock-Based Compensation Expense	2008 LTIP		Other Employee Performance Awards
	(In thousands)
Expense estimated to be recognized during 2012	$	4,637	$	162
Estimated contingent expense subsequent to 2012	3,457		51,258
Total estimated remaining expense over the term of the plan	$	8,094	$	51,420