Commitments And Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Oct. 21, 2012
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation, Due Within One Year	$ 188,612,000								$ 188,612,000
Guarantees, Future Minimum Payments, Due In One Year	71,483,000								71,483,000
Guarantees, Future Minimum Payments, Due Within Two To Three Years	1,145,000								1,145,000
Contractual Obligation, Due Within One Year	23,465,000								23,465,000
Contractual Obligation, Due Within Two To Three Years	22,780,000								22,780,000
Contractual Obligation, Due Within Four To Five Years	2,233,000								2,233,000
Affiliation Fees Payable Excess Of Fair Value Recorded As Deferred Revenue												31,000,000
Revenues, Net	366,712,000	332,056,000	327,570,000	326,239,000	338,959,000	283,914,000	291,965,000	272,903,000	1,352,577,000	1,187,741,000	1,078,300,000
Deferred Litigation Settlement Proceeds	307,944,000				0				307,944,000	0
Gain (Loss) Related to Litigation Settlement									0
Damages Sought In Compensation-related Claims									11,000,000
DISH Network Contract Dispute [Member]
Equity Interest EchoStar Media Holdings Corporation Acquired In VOOM HD Holdings	20.00%								20.00%
Term EchoStar Satellite LLC Agreed To Distribute VOOM On DISH Network (In Years)									15 years
Minimum Annual Spending Requirement By VOOM HD Per The EchoStar Satellite Affiliation Agreement									100,000,000
Minimum Number Of Offered Channels Per Affiliation Agreement									21
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
Payments For Legal Settlements, Gross									700,000,000
Deferred Revenue	26,000,000								26,000,000			31,000,000
Revenues, Net									5,000,000
Proceeds Received FromTemporary Allocation Of Litigation Settlement	11,000,000								11,000,000
Deferred Litigation Settlement Proceeds	308,000,000								308,000,000
Maximum [Member] | DISH Network Contract Dispute [Member]
Temporary Allocated Litigation Settlement To Company	350,000,000								350,000,000
Due Within Two To Three Years From The Balance Sheet Date [Member]
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation	52,819,000								52,819,000
Due Within Four To Five Years From Balance Sheet Date [Member]
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation	$ 4,595,000								$ 4,595,000