Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Regulatory requirement of restricted net assets in Venezuelan subsidiary exceeding total consolidated net assets (as a percent)	25.00%
Reportable legal entity \| DTV Holdings
Ownership percentage in subsidiary	100.00%

Represents the regulatory requirement of restricted net assets in Venezuelan subsidiary exceeding total consolidated net assets, expressed as a percentage.

No definition available.

Name:	dtv_RegulatoryRequirementOfRestrictedNetAssetsInVenezuelanSubsidiaryExceedingTotalConsolidatedNetAssetsAsPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	dtv_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration