Stock-Based Compensation (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended									12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 Class A common stock	Dec. 31, 2009 Class A common stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Class B common stock	Dec. 31, 2009 Class B common stock	Dec. 31, 2011 DISH Network Awards	Dec. 31, 2011 DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Dec. 31, 2011 DISH Network Awards Held by EchoStar employees	Dec. 31, 2011 EchoStar Awards	Dec. 31, 2011 EchoStar Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Dec. 31, 2011 Non-Performance Based Stock Awards Y	Dec. 31, 2011 Restricted stock units	Dec. 31, 2010 Restricted stock units	Dec. 31, 2009 Restricted stock units	Jan. 02, 2008 Restricted stock units	Feb. 28, 2010 Stock options employee	Jan. 31, 2008 Stock options	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock options Y	Dec. 31, 2010 Stock options Y		Dec. 31, 2009 Stock options Y		Jan. 02, 2008 Stock options Stock multiplicationfactor	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock options Maximum	Dec. 31, 2010 Stock options Maximum	Dec. 31, 2009 Stock options Maximum	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock options Minimum	Dec. 31, 2010 Stock options Minimum	Dec. 31, 2009 Stock options Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Long-Term Performance Based Plans		Dec. 31, 2010 Long-Term Performance Based Plans		Dec. 31, 2009 Long-Term Performance Based Plans		Dec. 31, 2011 LTIP 2005	Dec. 31, 2011 LTIP 2005 DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees		Dec. 31, 2011 LTIP 2005 EchoStar Awards Held by EchoStar employees		Dec. 31, 2011 LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards	Dec. 31, 2010 LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards	Dec. 31, 2009 LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Employee Performance Awards	Dec. 31, 2010 Other Employee Performance Awards	Dec. 31, 2009 Other Employee Performance Awards
Share-based compensation
Expiration term (in years)																		P10Y
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)		73,000,000
Dividend in cash per share		$ 2.00	$ 2.00	$ 2.00	$ 2.00
Reduction in exercise price due to dividend declaration (in dollars per share)																		$ 2.00
Threshold for reduction in exercise price due to dividend declaration (in dollars per share)																		$ 1.00
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																		$ 0
Restricted stock unit converted into new restricted stock units															5
Stock option activity
Total options outstanding at the beginning of the period (in shares)						21,336,159	18,630,441	2,705,718	762,094	762,094								21,918,500	21,861,691		21,835,687									10,978,750	[1]	9,362,500	[1]
Granted (in shares)																		3,246,000	2,450,500		3,077,000
Exercised (in shares)																		(2,347,341)	(448,729)		(356,793)
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)																		(1,481,000)	(1,944,962)		(2,694,203)
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in shares)						21,336,159	18,630,441	2,705,718	762,094	762,094								21,336,159	21,918,500		21,861,691									9,549,375	[1]	10,978,750	[1]	9,362,500	[1]	3,278,500					3,270,875			3,000,000
Exercisable at the end of the period (in shares)																		8,389,683	7,590,264		8,062,091
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Total options outstanding, beginning of the period (in dollars per share)																		$ 18.62	$ 21.71	[2]	$ 22.50									$ 15.98		$ 17.23
Granted (in dollars per share)																		$ 28.55	$ 18.34		$ 15.69
Exercised (in dollars per share)																		$ 15.73	$ 9.23		$ 8.95
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)																		$ 17.44	$ 22.26		$ 22.93
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in dollars per share)																		$ 20.53	$ 18.62		$ 21.71	[2]								$ 19.20		$ 15.98		$ 17.23		$ 22.92					$ 11.84			$ 23.16
Exercisable, Weighted-Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)																		$ 21.70	$ 22.83		$ 27.74
Share-based compensation additional disclosures
Remaining portion to meet vesting condition (as a percent)																																									55.00%
Portion meeting vesting condition (as a percent)																																									45.00%
Future forfeiture rate (as a percent)											3.70%
Period for recognition of compensation cost (in years)											2
Tax benefit from stock awards exercised																		9,911,000	1,665,000		1,116,000
Aggregate intrinsic value
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding																		178,503,000
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercisable																		60,623,000
Restricted stock unit activity
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)						1,284,708	1,189,709	94,999	54,286	54,286		1,564,332	1,246,284	1,975,940																1,494,457	[3]	1,096,034	[3]
Granted (in shares)												300,000	600,000	6,666
Vested (in shares)												(70,830)	(69,875)	(113,197)
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)												(508,794)	(212,077)	(623,125)
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in shares)						1,284,708	1,189,709	94,999	54,286	54,286		1,284,708	1,564,332	1,246,284																1,284,708		1,494,457	[3]	1,096,034	[3]	363,163					21,545			900,000
Weighted - Average Grant Date Fair Value
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in dollars per share)												$ 23.00	$ 25.93	$ 27.44																$ 22.61		$ 25.18
Granted (in dollars per share)												$ 30.67	$ 18.15	$ 11.11
Vested (in dollars per share)												$ 27.15	$ 31.36	$ 28.47
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)												$ 27.32	$ 23.77	$ 30.09
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in dollars per share)												$ 23.25	$ 23.00	$ 25.93																$ 23.25		$ 22.61		$ 25.18
2005 LTIP Terms
Awards vesting period (in years)																																				7 years
Percentage awards vesting per annum during first four years																																				10.00%
Percentage awards vesting per annum after first four years																																				20.00%
Share-based expenses
Unrecognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense on vested portion																																				30,998,000	25,920,000	[4]	5,078,000	[4]
Unrecognized compensation expense relating to long-term performance based incentive awards																																				42,152,000	35,239,000		6,913,000
Unrecognized compensation expense											25,000,000
Estimated Remaining Non-Cash, Stock-Based Compensation Expense
Expense estimated to be recognized during 2012																																									4,637,000			162,000
Estimated contingent expense subsequent to 2012																																									3,457,000			51,258,000
Total estimated expense remaining over the term of plan																																									8,094,000			51,420,000
Recognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense recognized																														$ 19,240,000		$ 3,255,000		$ 3,794,000							$ 19,230,000	$ 2,984,000	$ 3,560,000	$ 10,000	$ 271,000	$ 234,000
Black-Scholes option valuation model, assumptions
Risk free interest rate, low end of range (as a percent)																		0.36%	1.50%		1.70%
Risk free interest rate, high end of range (as a percent)																		3.18%	2.89%		3.19%
Volatility factor, low end of range (as a percent)																		31.74%	33.33%		29.72%
Volatility factor, high end of range (as a percent)																		45.56%	38.63%		45.97%
Expected term of options, low end of range (in years)																		3.6	5.2		3.0
Expected term of options, high end of range (in years)																		10.0	7.5		7.3
Weighted-average fair value of options granted (in dollars per share)																								$ 14.77	$ 8.14	$ 8.29	$ 8.73	$ 6.33	$ 3.86
Dividend yield percentage																		0.00%

[1] 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.

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

[3] 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.

[4] Represents the amount of this award that has met the foregoing vesting schedule and would therefore vest upon achievement of the performance condition.