Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 09, 2013 Garnet Digital item	Sep. 30, 2014 LightSquared transaction shareholder derivative actions item	Sep. 30, 2014 Katz Communications-Patent infringement item patent	Dec. 31, 2007 Katz Communications-Patent infringement patent	Sep. 30, 2014 Satellite lease guarantees	Sep. 30, 2014 Satellite transponder guarantees	Oct. 11, 2012 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Apr. 30, 2009 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Mar. 31, 2013 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2012 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2011 ESPN-Affiliation agreements	Dec. 31, 2008 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 item	May 31, 2012 Hopper litigation Maximum	Sep. 30, 2014 Norman IP Holdings item	Mar. 31, 2012 Personalized Media Communications, Inc. Minimum	Mar. 31, 2012 Personalized Media Communications, Inc. Maximum	Sep. 30, 2014 Do Not Call Litigation	Dec. 23, 2013 Do Not Call Litigation DISH Network L.L.C.	Jul. 25, 2014 Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC item	Sep. 30, 2014 Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC	Jul. 25, 2014 Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC Mr. Ergen item	Jul. 25, 2014 Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC Director Defendants item	Jul. 08, 2014 Lightsquared Harbinger Capital Partners LLC Minimum
Loss contingencies
Guarantees for payments									$ 10,000,000	$ 327,000,000
Guarantee term									P5M
Claim amount												30,000,000				35,000,000							500,000,000	650,000,000		270,000,000					500,000,000
Period of injunctive relief sought from placing any outbound telemarketing calls to market or promote its goods or services																									5 years
Court ruling																	66,000,000		66,000,000
Litigation accrual														71,000,000				42,000,000
Attorneys' fees											5,000,000		71,000,000		24,000,000
General and administrative expenses	189,961,000	172,100,000	547,926,000	502,974,000										5,000,000
Payment of accrued interest													$ 12,000,000
Number of companies against whom similar complaints brought					15
Number of days to store HD primetime programs recordings																					8 days
Business days allowed to terminate existing agreements																												3 days
Number of shareholders who filed lawsuits						5
Number of claims asserted by Jacksonville PFPF																											5		3	1
Minimum number of autonomous streamlined signal processors																						1
Loss Contingency Terms
Number of patents the suit alleges infringement of								19
Number of patents remain in the lawsuit							4
Number of reexamination petitions pending before patent and trademark office							2													2