Discontinued Operations (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2011 USD ($) installment	Jan. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2017	Aug. 31, 2014	Feb. 28, 2013 transponder	Jul. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2009 transponder	Nov. 30, 2008 transponder
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations											$ 39,401	$ 93,729	$ 270,582
Income Statement
Total revenue			$ 499,006	$ 472,262	$ 460,431	$ 454,382	$ 453,983	$ 456,274	$ 438,549	$ 413,832	1,886,081	1,762,638	1,525,155
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations											39,401	93,729	270,582
Balance Sheet
Current assets of discontinued operations			0				3,486				0	3,486
Non-current assets of discontinued operations			0				962,433				0	962,433
Current liabilities of discontinued operations			0				50,136				0	50,136
Non-current liabilities of discontinued operations			$ 0				406,188				0	406,188
Cash flows from financing activities:
Financing cash flows from finance leases											654
Repayments of Other Debt											5,447	5,350	5,487
Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Depreciation and amortization											97,435	141,062	136,528
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations											39,401	93,729	262,073
Cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization											97,435	141,062	136,528
Cash flows from investing activities:
Expenditures for property and equipment											510	175	699
Cash flows from financing activities:
Financing cash flows from finance leases											27,203	35,886	32,177
Repayments of Other Debt											4,474	4,883	4,727
BSS Business | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Total revenue											212,202	328,725	360,353
Cost of services and other											28,057	40,398	62,573
Selling, general and administrative expenses											8,946	159	(4,493)
Depreciation and amortization											97,435	141,062	136,528
Total costs and expenses											134,438	181,619	194,608
Operating income											77,764	147,106	165,745
Interest expense											(17,865)	(29,280)	(32,851)
Total other income (expense), net											(17,865)	(29,280)	(32,851)
Income from discontinued operations before income taxes											59,899	117,826	132,894
Income tax benefit (provision), net											(20,498)	(24,097)	129,179
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations											39,401	93,729	262,073
Balance Sheet
Prepaids and deposits							3,486					3,486
Current assets of discontinued operations							3,486					3,486
Property and equipment, net							880,242					880,242
Regulatory authorizations, net							65,615					65,615
Other non-current assets, net							16,576					16,576
Non-current assets of discontinued operations							962,433					962,433
Total assets of discontinued operations							965,919					965,919
Current portion of finance lease obligations							39,995					39,995
Accrued interest							2,066					2,066
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities							8,075					8,075
Current liabilities of discontinued operations							50,136					50,136
Finance lease obligations							187,002					187,002
Deferred tax liabilities, net							177,944					177,944
Other non-current liabilities							41,242					41,242
Non-current liabilities of discontinued operations							406,188					406,188
Total liabilities of discontinued operations							$ 456,324					456,324
Cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization											97,435	141,062	136,528
EchoStar Technologies segment | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations													8,509
Income Statement
Total revenue													153,462
Cost of services and other													121,967
Selling, general and administrative expenses													5,439
Research and development expenses													4,635
Depreciation and amortization													11,659
Total costs and expenses													143,700
Operating income													9,762
Interest expense													(15)
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated affiliates, net													(1,159)
Other, net													(57)
Total other income (expense), net													(1,231)
Income from discontinued operations before income taxes													8,531
Income tax benefit (provision), net													(22)
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations													8,509
Cash flows from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization													11,659
Cash flows from investing activities:
Expenditures for property and equipment													12,516
Cash flows from financing activities:
Financing cash flows from finance leases													607
DISH Network | D I S H Online. Com Services Agreement | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Agreement term		2 years
DISH Network | DISH Nimiq 5 Agreement
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of DBS transponders available to receive services | transponder																		32
NagraStar | Discontinued Operations
Cash flows from financing activities:
Equity interest, percentage in joint venture														50.00%
SmarDTV SA | Discontinued Operations
Cash flows from financing activities:
Equity interest, percentage in joint venture														23.00%
Services and other revenue
Income Statement
Total revenue											1,619,271	1,557,228	1,285,666
Services and other revenue | BSS Business | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Total revenue											16,260	23,496	23,274
Services and other revenue | EchoStar Technologies segment | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Total revenue													10,344
Services and other revenue | DISH Network | BSS Business | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Total revenue											$ 195,942	$ 305,229	337,079
Services and other revenue | DISH Network | EchoStar Technologies segment | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement
Total revenue													$ 143,118
Sling TV Holding | DISH Network | Discontinued Operations
Cash flows from financing activities:
Ownership interest acquired by related party (as a percent)															90.00%		67.00%
Percentage of voting interests acquired by related party															100.00%
Sling TV Holding | EchoStar Corporation | Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Nonvoting ownership percentage															10.00%
Cash flows from financing activities:
Equity interest, percentage in joint venture																	33.00%
TiVo vs Dish Network And Echostar Corporation | DISH Network | Discontinued Operations
Cash flows from financing activities:
Litigation settlement, amount awarded to other party	$ 500,000
Initial settlement amount paid	300,000
Litigation settlement amount paid in six month installments	$ 200,000
Litigation settlement, number of annual installments | installment	6
Portion of the $300 million initial settlement agreement payment paid by EchoStar	$ 10,000
Estimated percentage of annual payments	5.00%
Telesat Canada | TeleSat Transponder Agreement
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of DBS transponders available to receive services | transponder																		32
QuetzSat-1 | DISH Network | Satellite Capacity Lease Agreement
Cash flows from financing activities:
Number of DBS transponders receiving services | transponder																			24
Number of DBS transponders receiving services sublease | transponder																5
QuetzSat-1 | S E S Latin America | Satellite Services Agreement
Cash flows from financing activities:
Number of DBS transponders expected to receive services | transponder																			32