Related Party Transactions (Details 5) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Apr. 29, 2011 EchoStar TiVo v. Dish Network and EchoStar Corporation item	Jan. 31, 2012 EchoStar Receiver Agreement	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar Receiver Agreement	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar Receiver Agreement	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar Receiver Agreement	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar Receiver Agreement	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar Receiver Agreement Minimum	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar Tax Sharing Agreement Dish Network	Sep. 30, 2010 EchoStar RUS Implementation Agreement	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar RUS Implementation Agreement	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar RUS Implementation Agreement	Sep. 30, 2012 EchoStar RUS Implementation Agreement	Dec. 31, 2011 EchoStar Patent Cross-License Agreements Dish Network Maximum	Sep. 30, 2013 EchoStar Patent Cross-License Agreements Dish Network Maximum
General and administrative expenses - EchoStar
Notice period to exercise option to extend agreement									1 year
Notice period required to extend the agreement term						180 days
Required notice period for termination by the reporting entity											60 days		45 days
Purchased set-top boxes and other equipment from EchoStar							$ 341,000,000	$ 247,000,000	$ 947,000,000	$ 738,000,000
Net amount of the allocated tax attributes payable												83,000,000
Maximum grants receivable													14,000,000
Cost of sales - equipment, services and other	24,073,000	28,091,000	64,789,000	70,719,000										4,000,000	3,000,000	6,000,000
Settlement amount					500,000,000
Initial settlement amount paid					300,000,000
Aggregate of six annual installment amounts between 2012 and 2017, net of contribution from related party					200,000,000
Litigation settlement number of annual installments					6
Contribution from related party					10,000,000
Percentage of litigation settlement amount to be made by related party annually					95.00%
Payments to third party by related party																	10,000,000
Payments to third party by related party under extension option																		$ 3,000,000