Commitments And Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Consideration for purchase of multichannel video and data distribution service licenses	$ 80,000,000
Decrease in off-balance sheet arrangements not reflected in the consolidated balance sheet		26,000,000
Off-balance sheet arrangements not reflected in the consolidated balance sheet		317,600,000	343,600,000
Payments for Legal Settlements	700,000,000
Damages sought in compensation-related claims		11,000,000
DISH Network Contract Dispute [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Equity interest EchoStar Media Holdings Corporation acquired in VOOM HD Holdings		20.00%
Term EchoStar Satellite LLC agreed to distribute VOOM on DISH Network (in years)		15 years
Minimum number of offered channels per affiliation agreement		21
Minimum annual spending requirement by VOOM HD per the EchoStar Satellite affiliation agreement		100,000,000
Maximum annual spending requirement by VOOM HD per the EchoStar Satellite affiliation agreement		$ 500,000,000
Number of court rulings appealed by Dish Network		2