Earnings per Share (Details 3) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Net income attributable to EchoStar
Net income attributable to EchoStar	$ 34,669	$ 36,801	$ 79,324	$ 141,742
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to EchoStar Tracking Stock	0	157	(1,209)	(1,709)
Net income attributable to EchoStar common stock	34,669	36,644	80,533	143,451
Net income from continuing operations	35,323	32,145	74,079	114,238
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$ (654)	$ 4,499	$ 6,454	$ 29,213
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Class A and B common stock:
Basic (in shares)	95,656	93,898	95,316	93,661
Dilutive impact of stock awards outstanding (in shares)	1,234	503	1,310	528
Diluted (in shares)	96,890	94,401	96,626	94,189
Earnings Per Share, Basic [Abstract]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.37	$ 0.34	$ 0.78	$ 1.22
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	(0.01)	0.05	0.06	0.31
Total basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.36	0.39	0.84	1.53
Earnings Per Share, Diluted [Abstract]
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	0.36	0.34	0.77	1.21
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0.05	0.06	0.31
Total diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.36	$ 0.39	$ 0.83	$ 1.52