Organization and Business Activities (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010
Organization and Business Activities
Number of primary business segments			2
Number of DISH Network subscribers			13,967,000
Spectrum Investments
Commitment to acquire percentage ownership interest			100.00%
Investment in DBSD North America			$ 1,297,614,000		$ 102,591,000
Sprint Settlement Agreement
Spectrum Investments
Investment in DBSD North America			114,000,000
DBSD North America (ICO)
Spectrum Investments
Commitment to acquire percentage ownership interest	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%
Purchase price		1,400,000,000	1,400,000,000
Investment in DBSD North America			839,009,000	[1]	55,823,000	[1]
Gamma Acquisition L.L.C. ("Gamma") | TerreStar Networks, Inc. ("TerreStar")
Spectrum Investments
Cash purchase price payable		$ 1,375,000,000	$ 30,000,000

[1] Of our total investment in DBSD North America of $1.298 billion as of December 31, 2011 and $103 million as of December 31, 2010, only our $839 million and $56 million, respectively, investment in the 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009 are accounted for as available-for-sale investments.