MO Attorney General Fired Up About Dish Network's Dispute With FOX

From Chad Garrison at the RFT:

Since October 1, Missouri subscribers to DISH Network have been without one of the most popular stations on the local broadcast dial: Fox Sports Midwest.

DISH and FSM (which airs the St. Louis Cardinals, Blues and Missouri Tigers) have been in a pissing match since last year over the rates the sports network charges the satellite provider. Last October DISH blacked out several Blues hockey games during a similar skirmish and has done the same this month. Also off the air is the National Geographic Channel. (Read FSM's take on the controversy here.)

Needless to say, the blackout of Missouri's favorite sports teams has enraged couch potatoes across the Show-Me State -- including Attorney General Chris Koster. In a letter fired off to DISH Network yesterday, Koster warned the company that it is violating a July 2009 "assurance of voluntary compliance" agreement to air Fox Sports Midwest.

Says Chris "hey-I-can-relate-to-Joe-six-pack" Koster: "Whether they are watching our undefeated Mizzou Tigers roll through the Big 12 or watching Shark Hunters on Expedition Great White, these stations are important pieces in a consumers' TV choices. Our job is to stand up for Missouri consumers."

The attorney general argues that subscribers entered the contract believing the channels would be provided throughout their term of service. Now that the channels are gone, Koster is demanding that DISH allow its subscribers to end their service without incurring cancellation fees and/or to reduce their rates to reflect the savings DISH has garnered since canceling broadcast of the stations.