Missouri May Sue Dish Over Fox Blackout By Phillip Swann TVPredictions.com
http://www.tvpredictions.com/dishag102210.htm Washington, D.C. (October 22, 2010) -- The Missouri Attorney General is threatening legal action against Dish Network for not carrying the Fox-owned FX channel, National Geographic Channel and 19 regional sports channels. Dish was forced to remove the channels on October 1 when it could not reach a new programming pact with Fox to carry them. However, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says Dish is now violating customer contracts by not carrying the Fox channels, according to the Southeast Missourian. "Essentially, subscribers are paying for the cost of receiving Fox programming when they are not," Koster said in a press release. "Dish Network is being unjustly enriched by engaging in this unfair practice." Koster said Dish subscribers signed two-year programming contracts thinking that the channels would be available during the entire two years. (Dish and other TV providers often require customers to sign time-based contracts in exchange for cheaper rates on programming and equipment.) Dish has tried to make up for the loss of the Fox channels by giving customers free access to 19 other HD networks and two sports channels. But Koster says Dish should allow subscribers to cancel their service without a cancellation fee. Additionally, he says, Dish subs should get a refund for the time when they could not watch the Fox channels. The attorney general says he will give Dish 10 to 14 days to respond before taking any action. Dish and Fox are reportedly still negotiating a new pact. But the satcaster faces another potential problem on November 1 when its contract to carry Fox's local stations expires. -- ======================================== George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 Mail: antunes at uh dot edu _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
