Spectrum Investments (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended				6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2010 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Sprint Settlement Agreement	Apr. 30, 2011 Implementation Agreement	Mar. 31, 2011 Implementation Agreement	Apr. 30, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)	Feb. 28, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)	Jun. 30, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)		Feb. 02, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO)	Dec. 31, 2010 DBSD North America (ICO)		Apr. 30, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2010 DBSD North America (ICO) 7.5% Convertible Senior Secured Notes due 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) Investment Agreement	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) Investment Agreement Credit facility	Dec. 31, 2011 DBSD North America (ICO) Restructuring Support Agreement	Dec. 31, 2011 TerreStar Networks, Inc. ("TerreStar") Gamma Acquisition L.L.C. ("Gamma")	Jul. 07, 2011 TerreStar Networks, Inc. ("TerreStar") Gamma Acquisition L.L.C. ("Gamma")
Spectrum Investments
Cash purchase price payable																							$ 30,000,000	$ 1,345,000,000
Commitment to acquire percentage ownership interest	100.00%									100.00%	100.00%	100.00%								100.00%
Purchase price											1,400,000,000	1,400,000,000
Investment in DBSD North America (Note 10)	1,297,614,000	102,591,000		839,000,000	56,000,000	114,000,000						839,009,000	[1]		55,823,000	[1]		112,000,000	56,000,000
Interest rate (as a percent)	6.375%																	7.50%
Line of credit, amount outstanding																		47,000,000	47,000,000		78,000,000
Line of credit, maximum borrowing capacity														88,000,000
Purchase of strategic investments included in noncurrent marketable and other investment securities	9,275,000	11,742,000	62,142,000				280,000,000	35,000,000	19,000,000								727,000,000
Purchase of certain assets, rights and support from affiliate																						325,000,000
Portion of purchased assets, rights and support from affiliate which is paid																						$ 315,000,000

[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.