v3.20.2

Revenue Recognition - Contract Acquisition Costs Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Capitalized Contract Cost [Line Items]
Amortization expense related to contract acquisition costs	$ 75,429	$ 72,412
Contract Acquisition Costs
Capitalized Contract Cost [Line Items]
Amortization expense related to contract acquisition costs	$ 25,700	$ 24,700

X

- Definition

Amount of amortization expense for asset recognized from cost incurred to obtain or fulfill contract with customer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 340
-SubTopic 40
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68051541&loc=SL49131252-203054

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CapitalizedContractCostLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CapitalizedContractCostAxis=sats_ContractAcquisitionCostsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: