Property and Equipment and Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) item	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 USD ($)
Property and equipment
Depreciation and amortization expense	$ 1,000,048,000	$ 1,077,936,000	$ 1,054,026,000
Number of other satellites to be relocated in the event of failure or loss of any satellite | item	1
Impairment of long-lived assets	$ 123,352,000		437,575,000
Wireless
Property and equipment
Depreciation and amortization expense	44,299,000	71,854,000	101,233,000
Impairment of long-lived assets			438,000,000
DISH Network
Property and equipment
Depreciation and amortization expense	$ 955,749,000	1,006,082,000	$ 952,793,000
AWS-4 Satellites
Property and equipment
Number of satellites in-orbit | item	2
EchoStar XV
Property and equipment
Depreciable Life	15 years
T1
Property and equipment
Depreciable Life	15 years
Net book value of long-lived assets		299,000,000
D1
Property and equipment
Net book value of long-lived assets before impairment	$ 55,000,000	150,000,000		$ 358,000,000
Net book value of long-lived assets	55,000,000			150,000,000
D1 Ground Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment
Net book value of long-lived assets	$ 0	$ 28,000,000
T2 satellite
Property and equipment
Net book value of long-lived assets before impairment				270,000,000
Net book value of long-lived assets				$ 40,000,000
EchoStar XVIII
Property and equipment
Depreciable Life	15 years