Acquisitions (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 08, 2011
Hughes Acquisition
Acquisition
Percentage of issued and outstanding shares acquired					100.00%
Cash to be paid for each issued and outstanding share of common stock, vested stock option, unvested restricted stock unit and unvested stock option of Hughes pursuant to the Hughes Agreement (in dollars per share)					$ 60.70
Maximum liability for the unvested stock options of acquired entity				$ 16,000,000
Portion of liability accrued for the unvested stock options of acquired entity				12,000,000
Purchase Price Allocation
Cash					98,900,000
Marketable investment securities					22,148,000
Other current assets, net					282,471,000
Property and equipment					930,426,000
Goodwill (non-deductible)					504,173,000
Other intangible assets					420,907,000
Regulatory authorizations					400,000,000
Other noncurrent assets					61,463,000
Current liabilities					(293,029,000)
Deferred tax liabilities					(220,928,000)
Long-term liabilities					(22,239,000)
Noncontrolling interests					(9,679,000)
Total purchase price					2,174,613,000
Acquisition related transaction costs	35,000,000
Supplemental pro forma financial information (Unaudited)
Total revenue		3,226,721,000	3,387,978,000
Net income attributable to EchoStar		21,582,000	109,582,000
Basic EPS (in dollars per share)		$ 0.25	$ 1.29
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)		$ 0.25	$ 1.29
Move Networks
Purchase Price Allocation
Other current assets, net			33,000
In-process research and development			26,482,000
Property and equipment			7,213,000
Goodwill (non-deductible)			6,457,000
Other intangible assets			4,271,000
Accounts receivable			535,000
Total purchase price			$ 44,991,000