Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Satellite lease guarantees	Mar. 31, 2012 Satellite transponder guarantees	Feb. 29, 2012 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Apr. 30, 2009 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2011 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2008 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Mar. 31, 2012 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Jun. 21, 2011 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2010 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Mar. 15, 2010 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Jul. 31, 2009 Technology Development Licensing petition	Apr. 30, 2010 Voom HD Holdings motion	Dec. 31, 2007 Katz Communications-Patent infringement patent
Loss contingencies
Guarantees for payments		$ 169,000,000	$ 486,000,000
Guarantee term		P3Y
Claim amount					30,000,000		35,000,000						2,500,000,000
Court ruling									66,000,000		66,000,000
Attorneys' fees				5,000,000
Litigation accrual								71,000,000		42,000,000
Litigation Expense	$ (340,677,000)					$ 24,000,000
Loss contingency terms
Number of reexamination petitions pending before patent and trademark office												2
Number of patents the suit alleges infringement of														19
Number of motions seeking discovery sanctions													2