Property and Equipment and Intangible Assets (Details 3) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended												12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended								9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013 Item	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2008	Dec. 31, 2013 DBS Licenses	Dec. 31, 2012 DBS Licenses	Dec. 31, 2013 MVDDS	Dec. 31, 2012 MVDDS	Dec. 31, 2013 700 MHz Licenses	Dec. 31, 2012 700 MHz Licenses	Dec. 31, 2013 AWS Licenses	Dec. 31, 2012 AWS Licenses	Dec. 31, 2013 Wireless	Dec. 31, 2008 Wireless	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar I	Dec. 31, 2012 EchoStar VII	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar VII	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar VII	Dec. 31, 2012 EchoStar X	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar X	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar X	Dec. 31, 2012 EchoStar XI	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar XI	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar XI	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar XIV	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar XV	Dec. 31, 2013 AWS-4 Satellites Item	Dec. 31, 2013 T1	Dec. 31, 2013 D1	Jun. 30, 2013 D1	Jun. 30, 2013 T2	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar XII	Dec. 31, 2013 EchoStar XVIII	Dec. 31, 2012 148 degree orbital location
Property and equipment
Depreciable life of assets																12 years	15 years	12 years	15 years	15 years	12 years	15 years	15 years	12 years	15 years	15 years	15 years		15 years	15 years			18 months	15 years
Number of satellites added																												3
Number of satellites in-orbit																												2
Number of satellites under construction																												1
Net book value of long-lived assets before impairment																															$ 358,000,000	$ 270,000,000
Net book value of long-lived assets																													353,000,000		150,000,000	40,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets		437,575,000												438,000,000
Number of other satellites to be relocated in the event of failure or loss of any satellite		1
FCC authorizations		3,296,665,000	3,296,665,000			611,794,000	611,794,000	24,000,000	24,000,000	711,871,000	711,871,000	1,949,000,000	1,949,000,000
Payment to acquire certain 700 MHz wireless licenses					712,000,000										712,000,000
Depreciation and amortization expense	$ 53,000,000	$ 1,054,026,000	$ 964,484,000	$ 912,203,000																															$ 67,776,000