Amendment #4 To Form 10: Rainbow Media Enterprises (all related articles posted here)

[alandail]

the thing that troubles me is that Voom has some holes in their current offering, and instead of fixing the holes to attract new customers, they leave the holes there and let the current customers leave. It's almost like they've reached the point where they intend to fail.

They should be aggressive while the window of opportunity is still open. They should have had the regional sports networks all lined up, the NBA channel, and NBA League Pass available, and in HD in time for the start of the NBA season. They have the bandwidth to do that with the new satellite space they leased. And doing that would have brought more people onto Voom.

They spend the money to lease the satellite space, but don't spend the money to give people the larger dish and instead only order 5000 dishes even though they have 26k customers. That tells me that the new bandwidth isn't going to be used any time soon. They should have ordered 50k dishes, not 5k, and they should already have installed them for existing customers so they can turn new channels on. My account has said for months that fox sports Ohio was active - but it's not available and shows no signs of being available.

I just don't get why Voom has spent all of this money to launch their service then got cheap about making it work.

 

[Bruce]

If everyone thinks this report is bad,wait til next week when the earnings report come out for the third quarter.

 

[klen]

Voom customers

I read that at least 50% of the customers that VOOM lost can be directly connected to the "Voom guy".

Seriously, though- Surely some of those "non-payers" are here on this forum.

Why would such a large percentage of people risk their credit rating or anything else like that? Are they the ones that paid $799 start-up and thought it was payback for overpaying in the first place? (I paid the $399 start up and own the equipment) Were people just used to not paying, and continued to "not pay"? Was Voom just really bad at billing and collecting, so people did not feel pressured to do the right thing?

I know I did not make any payments until VOOM was able to take credit cards through their website, so I fell a few months behind, but I am now current with them. I just don't write any checks any more.

Just curious to know why people would never pay. It blows my mind.

-k

 

[martin21]

My impression is that they did not have a well considered go to market strategy from the beginning. They really need to decide whether they are a niche, providing only HD and priced accordingly, or a full service alternative to D* and E*. Renting space on Americom 6 is laughable. Although I know some number of people would be willing to have a very large dish or two dishes I don't think there would be enough interest to be commercially successful. I am one of those who loves the HD on VOOM but must continue to subscibe to D* for a variety of reasons, including owning two Tivos that I use. Frankly, I am paying way too much in total and I am really just marking time until D* sufficiently expands its offering of HD, which is now simply an appetizer. I'd like to see VOOM survive but I am among th skeptics.

Martin21

 

[PhilipF]

They may have leased the satellite space and ordered 5K dishes, but to add channels using this new space would have to require a software updgrade. I don't see a clear plan of action on any front from VOOM.
Installing new dishes and bringing a new Sat online seems too far reaching.
The current Sat needs to be utilized better. Which means either filling the SD holes or dropping the SD content to a minimum and concentrate on HD.

 

[rtt2]

Voom losing more than it's gaining

Voom losing more than it's gaining
BY HARRY BERKOWITZ

November 9, 2004

In a sign of mounting woes, the nationwide satellite TV service that Cablevision Systems Corp. launched last year lost more customers than it signed up in August and September, the company said yesterday.

And that's before the service, called Voom, began dropping its many non-paying customers in October, Cablevision said.

The disclosure came in an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is considering whether to approve the spinoff of Voom and three cable channels owned by Cablevision.

Cablevision also disclosed that rather than retain $350 million in preferred securities from AMC and WE: Women's Entertainment when the channels are spun off as part of the new company, as it had planned, it will shift the interest back into the spinoff because of "expected increases in the financing requirements."

That move will increase the new company's $1 billion in borrowing capacity and may smooth the approval process for the spinoff by cutting off links to Cablevision, said analyst Aryeh Bourkoff of UBS.

Cablevision's stock price fell by $1.06 per share, or 5 percent, to $20.03, on the news.

Voom, which competes with satellite TV giants DirecTV and EchoStar Communications, had 26,000 customers Sept. 30, compared with 28,700 on Aug. 31 and 25,000 on June 30, according to the SEC filing.

"Through the end of September 2004, we had attracted fewer subscribers than we anticipated and have lost more subscribers than we expected," the SEC filing states.

The service, which has struggled to overcome equipment, installation and operating glitches, continues to test and alter pricing, promotion and marketing approaches and probably will continue to do so into 2005, according to the filing.

"It is possible that at various times during this period we may lose more customers than we add," the SEC filing says.

A "large number" of the customers have never made payments to Voom or are behind in payments. In October, Voom began to cut them off. And many are unable to watch local broadcast channels through Voom.

Cablevision, the biggest cable TV operator in the New York City metro area, had hoped to complete the spinoff by September but now is aiming for the current quarter and has revised its filing four times.

The filing says Jericho-based Voom is considering scaling back its national effort to target "specific markets in the country which we believe are most promising" - referring to those with digital broadcast signals from local stations that Voom equipment can pick up.

Wall Street analysts are skeptical Voom will ever succeed, given its setbacks and the dominance of DirecTV and EchoStar. Those two have a total of more than 23 million customers, including a gain by DirecTV of more than 400,000 in the third quarter. Also, DirecTV plans to vastly expand its ability to provide high-definition TV programming, which is the heart of Voom's offering.

Since Voom was launched in October 2003, one of every three customers it attracted ended up dropping the service.

 

[Sean Mota]

Posted already in the SEC filing thread. Will merge.... Sorry

 

[Bruce]

Cablevision Third Quarter Report-2004

Motley Fool
Cablevision Captures Customers
Tuesday November 9, 2:19 pm ET
By Nathan Slaughter


Few companies see their shares move solidly higher after posting a $63 million ($0.22) quarterly loss, but that is exactly the reaction Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC - News) received this morning after reporting third-quarter results. Of course, that loss was 40% narrower than last year's $107 million shortfall and topped analysts' forecasts by $0.13. Revenues also came in well above expectations, rising 20% to $1.17 billion.

The number of basic cable subscribers was basically flat at 2.9 million, but the company continues to see growth in other services. For the quarter, Cablevision added nearly 75,000 Internet-based voice customers, with the total growing to almost 190,000 versus only 5,000 at this time last year. It also picked up 171,000 digital video subscribers and 80,000 new high-speed Internet customers, bringing those totals to 1.3 million and 1.2 million, respectively.

The company now boasts the highest digital video penetration rate (45.3%) and high-speed data penetration rate (28.4%) in the industry. The combined number of customers for each of these services, an aggregate measure known as revenue generating units (RGU), improved 6% from the second quarter and has risen 22% year over year to reach 5.7 million.

By comparison, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA - News) recently reported 341,000 new digital cable subscribers and 549,000 additional high-speed Internet customers. The nation's leading cable company operates in a far larger territory, but with penetration rates of only 39% and 17%, has not been as successful in coaxing customers to switch to premium services. RGU growth has also been more restrained, rising about 8% over the past year to 37.7 million.

Cablevision's other divisions also reported solid results, including a 20% increase in revenues at Lightpath, the company's business services unit, and a 58% surge at Rainbow Media. That subsidiary -- which is scheduled to be spun off soon -- posted revenues of $236 million, driven by healthy double-digit gains in the three core networks (AMC, IFC, and WE) and a 147% spike in the Fox Sports Net regional networks. Adjusted operating cash flows for the segment jumped 39% to $92.6 million.

However, income fell slightly at Madison Square Garden, owner of the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, and Radio City Music Hall. Losses also continue to mount at Voom, with the satellite TV unit reporting a steep operating loss of $75.3 million on a mere $5.9 million in revenues. Cablevision has funneled tremendous resources to get this venture off the ground, and content development and subscriber acquisition costs continue to weigh heavily. Voom, also part of the spinoff, has only 26,000 subscribers, but hopes to eventually be a formidable adversary for DirectTV (NYSE: DTV - News) and EchoStar's (Nasdaq: DISH - News) DISH Network.

By shedding the money-losing satellite TV business and returning to its core strengths, Cablevision should return to profitability sooner rather than later. Subscriber growth in each of the company's advanced consumer services (voice, Internet, and digital cable) came in substantially above expectations, and revenues per basic customer have increased 14% over last year to $83.89. The company still has a long road ahead, but with raised forecasts projecting over 1 million new RGUs this year, it should be less rocky than the road behind.


http://biz.yahoo.com/fool/041109/1100027940_1.html

 

[0U812]

CSR told me they had around 40,000 subcribers

When I Joined Voom In March 04 There Were 6,000 Subs. By June 36,000 & Now 26,000 Subs. That's Not Good.
No MPEG 4, No New East & West Coast Sat.s (Means No New Channels)
I Love The Channels They Have But Because Of Vooms Financial Proplems It Is An Incomplete Service.
Right Now I Have Voom But Still Need D* To Get All The Channels I Require.

Last Thursday 40000 subcribers is the number that I got from CSR . I like VOOM so far except they could drop a channel or two and add some that are worth watching . Twenty locals and reception 97 with no rain fade so far.

 

[vurbano]

SO, is everyone ready for the price increase? LMAO

 

[Tvlman]

Hey, I'm hanging in there as long as VOOM does. Nowhere else can you get 10 Hd movie channels with classics, gunslingers, epics, etc and nowhere else can you get 10 Premium channel HD movie channels. That's a total of 20 Hd movie channels every day.Don't like a channel? Good, don't tune to it. Their are 39 more HD channels to watch.
DirecTV has 9 HD channels, cable has 10 VOOm has 40. It didn't cost me anything to get hooked up so I'm gonna stick this out as long as MONSTERS, RAVE, EQUATOR, RUSH and all the others are there! (Besides, I love HD!!)

 

[Walter L.]

I'm hanging on with VOOM also. What the heck, what are my choices?

1) Comcast - No DVR, tried before and PQ sucks in my area
2) E* - doesn't have plans for new HD channels addition due to lack of capacity
3) D* - HD-Lite? no thanks

 

[Mr. Biggles]

SO, is everyone ready for the price increase? LMAO

Is that a kicker or what!?!?

They have had a year to straighten out the mess they created themselves....but yet it's the same-ol-same-ol modus operanda.

What they need to do is fire everyone in the upper eschelon and get in some fresh blood before it's too late. Actually, it's beginning to appear it may be to late to reverse the trend. Pretty sad!

 

[hongcho]

> 1) Comcast - No DVR, tried before and PQ sucks in my area

Alas... If you were a bit more north in WA, you could have tried the Motorola 6412 dual tuner DVR with MSTV FE 1.7...

BTW... Voom does not have a DVR either.

Hong.

 

[Walter L.]

> 1) Comcast - No DVR, tried before and PQ sucks in my area

Alas... If you were a bit more north in WA, you could have tried the Motorola 6412 dual tuner DVR with MSTV FE 1.7...

BTW... Voom does not have a DVR either.

Hong.

Maybe I should wait for Comcast to offer me a DVR first. After all, it's been only one year since it was initially rumored in my area

 

[Eric_C]

Walter,

Double check, Motorola advertises that every Comcast Market with HD has the DVR.

 

[Walter L.]

Walter,

Double check, Motorola advertises that every Comcast Market with HD has the DVR.

I'm sure that there is no DVR in my area. But even if there is, I still prefer to stay with VOOM because it offers me much more HD channels plus better PQ for about the same price (even with the price increase).

 

[GadgetRick]

Hmm...

Well, this has me a bit concerned. What has me more concerned, however, is the announcement the NFL just made that they have extended the contract for NFL Sunday Ticket. It didn't list whether it's still exclusive or not but I'm betting it is.

I really want to totally ditch DTV but with Sunday Ticket and the few other things I'd like I have had no choice but to keep them on. I hate their pq and their HD is a joke (the amount of it). I've also been reading more reports of the HD pq not being all that great with DTV lately.

All in all, I'm not very happy about the state of HD broadcasting these days...

The Rickster

 

[Bruce]

DirecTV deal with the NFL is exclusive til 2010 now,with the money that D* is paying the NFL it should be.

 

[GadgetRick]

Sunday Ticket

Honestly, I could care less what DTV is paying for Sunday Ticket. I don't understand why the NFL is keeping itself stuck in the corner they painted themselves into with the original deal. I don't care how many subs DTV has, there are still many people out there who would gladly pay for Sunday Ticket if they could get it through their current provider. These people aren't the kind of people who will switch providers for it though so, at the end of the day, the NFL is losing out.

The Rickster