Stock-Based Compensation (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended									1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011 Class A common stock	Mar. 31, 2012 Class A common stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Class B common stock	Mar. 31, 2012 Non-Performance Based Stock Awards Y	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units	Jan. 02, 2008 Restricted stock units	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units DISH Network Awards	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units DISH Network Awards Held by EchoStar employees	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units EchoStar Awards	Mar. 31, 2012 Restricted stock units EchoStar Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Jan. 31, 2008 Stock options	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options Y	Mar. 31, 2011 Stock options Y	Jan. 02, 2008 Stock options Stock multiplicationfactor	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options Maximum	Mar. 31, 2011 Stock options Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options Minimum	Mar. 31, 2011 Stock options Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options DISH Network Awards	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options DISH Network Awards Held by EchoStar employees	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options EchoStar Awards	Mar. 31, 2012 Stock options EchoStar Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Jan. 31, 2012 2012 stock option adjustment employee	Mar. 31, 2012 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Mar. 31, 2011 Long-Term Performance Based Plans	Mar. 31, 2012 LTIP 2005	Mar. 31, 2012 LTIP 2005 DISH Network Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Mar. 31, 2012 LTIP 2005 EchoStar Awards Held by DISH Network employees	Mar. 31, 2012 LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards	Mar. 31, 2011 LTIP 2008 and Other Performance Awards	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Employee Performance Awards	Mar. 31, 2011 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 (in shares)																										21,200,000
Number of common stock available for future grant under stock incentive plans (in shares)			72,600,000
Dividend in cash per share		$ 2.00		$ 2.00
Reduction in exercise price due to dividend declaration (in dollars per share)																										$ 2.00
Number of employees affected by stock option adjustment																										600
Stock option converted into new stock options (in shares)																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
One Echostar restricted stock unit converted into new Dish Network restricted stock units (in shares)							5
Stock option activity
Total options outstanding at the beginning of the period (in shares)														21,336,159							21,343,332	18,762,631	2,580,701	791,554	791,554
Granted (in shares)														411,000
Exercised (in shares)														(363,027)
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)														(40,800)
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in shares)														21,343,332							21,343,332	18,762,631	2,580,701	791,554	791,554		9,619,075		3,332,500			3,286,575		3,000,000
Exercisable at the end of the period (in shares)														8,538,056
Weighted-Average Exercise Price
Total options outstanding, beginning of the period (in dollars per share)														$ 20.53
Granted (in dollars per share)														$ 32.93
Exercised (in dollars per share)														$ 13.66
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)														$ 20.45
Total options outstanding at the end of the period (in dollars per share)														$ 18.90													$ 17.35		$ 21.12			$ 10.06		$ 21.16
Exercisable, Weighted-Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)														$ 20.05
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)					3.90%
Weighted average period for recognition of compensation cost (in years)					2
Tax benefit from stock awards exercised														$ 1,743,000	$ 795,000
Aggregate intrinsic value
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options outstanding														299,451,000
Aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercisable														109,990,000
Restricted stock unit activity
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in shares)						1,284,708		1,281,375	1,186,376	94,999	53,620	53,620
Forfeited and cancelled (in shares)						(3,333)
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in shares)						1,281,375		1,281,375	1,186,376	94,999	53,620	53,620															1,281,375		359,830			21,545		900,000
Weighted - Average Grant Date Fair Value
Total restricted stock units outstanding, beginning of period (in dollars per share)						$ 23.25
Forfeited and cancelled (in dollars per share)						$ 25.07
Total restricted stock units outstanding, end of period (in dollars per share)						$ 23.24																					$ 23.24
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																													36,206,000	30,587,000	5,619,000
Unrecognized compensation expense relating to long-term performance based incentive awards																													45,069,000	38,172,000	6,897,000
Unrecognized compensation expense					29,000,000
Estimated Remaining Non-Cash, Stock-Based Compensation Expense
Remaining expense estimated to be recognized during 2012																																3,474,000		3,139,000
Estimated contingent expense subsequent to 2012																																3,619,000		47,594,000
Total estimated expense remaining over the term of plan																																7,093,000		50,733,000
Recognized non-cash stock-based compensation expense
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense recognized																											$ 8,978,000	$ 12,879,000				$ 5,839,000	$ 12,804,000	$ 3,139,000	$ 75,000
Black-Scholes option valuation model, assumptions
Risk free interest rate, low end of range (as a percent)														0.51%	2.24%
Risk free interest rate, high end of range (as a percent)														1.29%	2.68%
Volatility factor, low end of range (as a percent)														38.80%	35.82%
Volatility factor, high end of range (as a percent)														39.34%	39.59%
Expected term of options, low end of range (in years)														3.4	4.9
Expected term of options, high end of range (in years)														5.9	6.3
Weighted-average fair value of options granted (in dollars per share)																	$ 12.69	$ 9.81	$ 9.49	$ 9.16