v3.20.2

Revenue Recognition - Depreciation Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
Customer premises equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total depreciation expense	$ 54,059	$ 45,546	$ 154,625	$ 138,197
Satellites
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total depreciation expense	1,744	1,802	5,231	5,277
Real estate
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total depreciation expense	245	232	710	697
Total Assets Leased to Others
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total depreciation expense	$ 56,048	$ 47,580	$ 160,566	$ 144,171

X

- Definition

The amount of expense recognized in the current period that reflects the allocation of the cost of tangible assets over the assets' useful lives. Includes production and non-production related depreciation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121586364&loc=d3e3602-108585

+ Details

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

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=sats_AssetsLeasedToOthersCustomerPremisesEquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=sats_AssetsLeasedToOthersSatellitesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=sats_AssetsLeasedToOthersRealEstateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_AssetsLeasedToOthersMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: