Earnings per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Net income (loss) attributable to EchoStar
Net income (loss) attributable to EchoStar	$ 4,320	$ 22,554	$ (1,981)	$ 184,824
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in shares)	89,868,000	87,279,000	89,081,000	87,031,000
Dilutive impact of stock awards outstanding (in shares)	1,398,000	719,000		721,000
Diluted (in shares)	91,266,000	87,998,000	89,081,000	87,752,000
Earnings per share - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.26	$ (0.02)	$ 2.12
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.05	$ 0.26	$ (0.02)	$ 2.11
Long-term performance based plans | Class A common stock
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share
Dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	700,000	700,000	700,000	700,000
Stock awards | Class A common stock
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share
Anti-dilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	1,900,000	4,500,000	4,000	5,000,000