Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Revenue, Initial Application Period Cumulative Effect Transition [Line Items]
Inventory	$ 304,944	$ 321,008
Other current assets	197,990	329,394
Other noncurrent assets, net	444,645	393,426
Total assets	30,137,410	29,773,766
Deferred revenue and other	685,683	709,074
Deferred tax liabilities	2,329,011	2,019,538
Long-term deferred revenue and other long-term liabilities	457,479	470,487
Total liabilities	21,454,201	22,452,470
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)	8,243,038	6,937,906
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)	30,137,410	$ 29,773,766
ASU 2014-09
Revenue, Initial Application Period Cumulative Effect Transition [Line Items]
Deferred tax liabilities	1,000
DISH Network (as would have been reported under previous standard) | ASU 2014-09
Revenue, Initial Application Period Cumulative Effect Transition [Line Items]
Inventory	273,227
Other current assets	159,381
Other noncurrent assets, net	345,739
Total assets	29,968,178
Deferred revenue and other	643,205
Deferred tax liabilities	2,298,388
Long-term deferred revenue and other long-term liabilities	455,052
Total liabilities	21,378,673
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)	8,149,334
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)	29,968,178
Impact of adoption ASU 2014-09 | ASU 2014-09
Revenue, Initial Application Period Cumulative Effect Transition [Line Items]
Inventory	31,717
Other current assets	38,609
Other noncurrent assets, net	98,906
Total assets	169,232
Deferred revenue and other	42,478
Deferred tax liabilities	30,623
Long-term deferred revenue and other long-term liabilities	2,427
Total liabilities	75,528
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)	93,704
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)	$ 169,232