Acquisitions (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 Blockbuster, Inc. item	Jan. 31, 2013 Blockbuster, Inc. Subsequent event item	Dec. 31, 2012 DBSD North America and TerreStar Transactions
Business acquisition
Number of domestic retail stores closed	700	300
Number of domestic retail stores	800
Purchase price allocation of assets acquired
Cash	$ 107,061		$ 5,230
Current assets	153,258		5,600
Property and equipment	28,663		1,206,663
Intangibles	17,826		119,904
Other noncurrent assets	12,856		1,949,000
Current liabilities	(86,080)		(58,873)
Noncurrent liabilities			(367,876)
Total purchase price	$ 233,584		$ 2,859,648