Segment Reporting (Details 3) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011 year satellite customer unit month	Sep. 30, 2010
Segment Reporting
Number of major customers			3
Sales to each customer and its percentage of total revenue
Revenue	$ 863,163	$ 607,040	$ 1,927,222	$ 1,837,169
DISH Network
Sales to each customer and its percentage of total revenue
Revenue	464,213	512,852	1,256,393	1,515,405
Percentage of total revenue (as a percent)	53.80%	84.50%	65.20%	82.50%
Bell TV
Sales to each customer and its percentage of total revenue
Revenue	62,809	41,248	152,792	164,556
Percentage of total revenue (as a percent)	7.30%	6.80%	7.90%	9.00%
Dish Mexico
Sales to each customer and its percentage of total revenue
Revenue	14,629	21,628	45,434	73,420
Percentage of total revenue (as a percent)	1.70%	3.60%	2.40%	4.00%
Other.
Sales to each customer and its percentage of total revenue
Revenue	$ 321,512	$ 31,312	$ 472,603	$ 83,788
Percentage of total revenue (as a percent)	37.20%	5.10%	24.50%	4.50%