Cablevision Board To Debate Voom Fate

[Sean Mota]

that memo also says that they may dispose of it, I do not think that if they close up shop on voom that those channels would cease to broadcast as well.

Dispose of it? I only saw the word SALE unless I misunderstood the following paragrah:

It is our expectation that RDBS will be offered for sale as an operating business. To do otherwise risks minimizing the return to Cablevision. Sale of RDBS requires RDBS to continue to operate normally. Should RDBS, the business, be sold, RDBS staff will simply work under new ownership.

Potential bidders for RDBS include members of the Dolan family. We love working with a skilled group as dedicated as the RDBS staff, and we love the VOOM project.

 

[rgaines]

I have been following this thread now since it's inception and I have only one thing to say: I just signed up for Voom tonite online and the installation is set for next week. I have been wanting to do this for a while and after being a Dish customer since the beginning, I am really fed up with Charlie's constant "no compelling content" regarding HD.
Their PQ has been going downhill for several years now, slowly but surely, and now I have had HD home theater for over a year and still no "compelling content"! Enough allready.
I will give Voom a try and see if all I have read about their PQ and content is really what almost everyone says it is. I am looking forward to it. And if Voom should go dark or be sold then I will decide what to do next, probably based on what recommendations I find here in the forums.
Thanks to Scott and Sean (et. al.) for a job well done. You have spurred me into action.

I hear what you saying. I've had the samething with directv. GO VOOM!!

 

[jeslevine]

ty2083, I did exactly the same thing

I have been following this thread now since it's inception and I have only one thing to say: I just signed up for Voom tonite online and the installation is set for next week. I have been wanting to do this for a while and after being a Dish customer since the beginning, I am really fed up with Charlie's constant "no compelling content" regarding HD.
Their PQ has been going downhill for several years now, slowly but surely, and now I have had HD home theater for over a year and still no "compelling content"! Enough allready.
I will give Voom a try and see if all I have read about their PQ and content is really what almost everyone says it is. I am looking forward to it. And if Voom should go dark or be sold then I will decide what to do next, probably based on what recommendations I find here in the forums.
Thanks to Scott and Sean (et. al.) for a job well done. You have spurred me into action.

I have had voom for about a week and a half, and it is great. I haven't completely gotten rid of dish though just in case. Selling my 921 on ebay, and cancelled dish's HD, and duplication that I get through Voom

I believe you will be quite happy with your decision. Free hardware and installation, very little risk

 

[hbk409]

Dispose of it? I only saw the word SALE unless I misunderstood the following paragrah:

It is our expectation that RDBS will be offered for sale as an operating business. To do otherwise risks minimizing the return to Cablevision. Sale of RDBS requires RDBS to continue to operate normally. Should RDBS, the business, be sold, RDBS staff will simply work under new ownership.

Potential bidders for RDBS include members of the Dolan family. We love working with a skilled group as dedicated as the RDBS staff, and we love the VOOM project.

sean the first line

Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21

 

[rgaines]

Dispose of it? I only saw the word SALE unless I misunderstood the following paragrah:

It is our expectation that RDBS will be offered for sale as an operating business. To do otherwise risks minimizing the return to Cablevision. Sale of RDBS requires RDBS to continue to operate normally. Should RDBS, the business, be sold, RDBS staff will simply work under new ownership.

Potential bidders for RDBS include members of the Dolan family. We love working with a skilled group as dedicated as the RDBS staff, and we love the VOOM project.

"To do otherwise risks minimizing the return to Cablevision". That means: We (cablevision) want to get an much money as we can and sell it as fast as we can. Say isn't that Dolan Sr. I see with his check book out.

 

[joemama]

Dispose of it? I only saw the word SALE unless I misunderstood the following paragrah:

It was right there in the initial post of the memo:

Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21.


It's amazing how the cheerleaders here only see what they want to see.

 

[hbk409]

It was right there in the initial post of the memo:

Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21.


It's amazing how the cheerleaders here only see what they want to see.

minor oversight I guess, oops

 

[Sean Mota]

sean the first line

Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21

I see it now.

 

[gutter]

If you wish to voice your support to Charles Dolan in his efforts... you can write him at cdolan@voom.com. Doesn't sound imagionative but that is his real address.

Of course if you want to also express your feelings to son James, I can confirm he can be reached at jdolan@cablevision.com Also imagionative. Not sure either actually reads their own email but it will be delivered. I just did.

 

[Sean Mota]

It was right there in the initial post of the memo:

Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21.


It's amazing how the cheerleaders here only see what they want to see.

And the cheerhaters only want to see what they want to see...

 

[joemama]

Apparently, he doesn't give a rat's/ass about shareholders. Do the math. ZOOM looses 300 million a year (conservatively). Divide that by 26,000 subscribers and you'll discover that each subscriber is costing Cablevision a whopping $11,538.46 per year. Think of it this way, for Zoom just to break-even they would need to increase their monthly subscription rate to $962.

Wow, had to wade back through a lot to find this again. What Ben Dover left out and may or may not have been commented on since is that with the $1 install, Voom's short term losses increase with every new subscriber. Hardware, installation, additional CSR's etc... = Subscriber Aquisition Cost. It's not cheap, and will only gets worse when new installs are multi-receiver installs and DVR if one is ever available. They won't actually start making money on a subscriber for over a year.

You all may love the service, but be realistic. Would you invest your money in Voom to keep it afloat?

 

[fredfa]

Begging to differ with Sean Mota, (who usually is right on with his VOOM thoughts).

The entire RDBS is up for sale. Not pieces. Read the memo. This is the same spin-off company that is up for sale. The whole package.

As even the Dolan memo specifically notes, the potential sale does not include any Rainbow property but VOOM, also known as Rainbow DBS. First off, as Cablevision announced to the SEC last month, the spinoff is dead. And to quote the memo:

"...Yesterday, Cablevision's Board of Directors in a split vote passed a resolution to sell or dispose of Rainbow DBS, i.e., VOOM and VOOM 21...."

So, according to no less authorities than the Dolans themselves, the sale or disposal does not include "all of RME" which would include News 12 Long Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Westchester and the Bronx, FSNs in Chicago, Florida, New England, Ohio and the San Francisco Bay Area, RME's 50% ownership in the national Fox Sports Net service and RME's (very profitable) National Networks: AMC, WE, IFC or Fuse.

The inclusion of such money-making properties in the sale would cause members of the Cablevision Board to face serious legal governance problems.

Thus, as even the memo makes crystal clear, the potential sale will be of VOOM and VOOM only.

Despite the superb quality of the VOOM service, this is a company which has run up a half a billion dollars in expenses ($477 million in the past year alone) and has contracted for hundreds of millions of future spending.

It obviously has great value to it viewers, but very, very little to potential investors.

And despite the internal memo, shouldn’t Cablevision be making some public comment?

 

[rgaines]

Please pardon my stupidity but what is VOOM 21?

 

[BFG]

their 21 channels

 

[Sean Mota]

Fredfa,

the spinoff company did include the national networks, rainbow media, the uplink facility and on and on... Cablevision was willing to spin off all of this and even more with the On Demand material which RM owns. When they talk about RMDBS they are not talking Rainbow 1 and 21 channels. They are talking about the whole enchilada... which means everything. Read the SEC reports. I can not see Dolan sr. getting short handed in acquistions of RM. The only reason that CV wants RM out is to have their money secure and their business not questioned by the Wall Street Analyst.

P.S. CV even threw in the Theaters at the last minute which are another losing business.

 

[rgaines]

Thanks "puss n boots"

 

[fredfa]

Sean Mota:
You are right, CVC WAS willing to spin off all those subsidiaries, but the Board forced CVC to drop the sale of all but RDBS (VOOM) back in December.
Sell all the money makers and CVC loses most of its value.
If the networks and the rest are thrown in the business will be questioned big time by Wall Street.
The Board only forced the sale or disposal of VOOM.

 

[hbk409]

Fredfa,

the spinoff company did include the national networks, rainbow media, the uplink facility and on and on... Cablevision was willing to spin off all of this and even more with the On Demand material which RM owns. When they talk about RMDBS they are not talking Rainbow 1 and 21 channels. They are talking about the whole enchilada... which means everything. Read the SEC reports. I can not see Dolan sr. getting short handed in acquistions of RM. The only reason that CV wants RM out is to have their money secure and their business not questioned by the Wall Street Analyst.

P.S. CV even threw in the Theaters at the last minute which are another losing business.

but since the spinoff did not take place like it was supposed to then they can come up with a new plan to just sell off or close voom. the reason they were going to include all the other things in the intial spinoff was to support the funding they needed to get voom into positive cash flow. Now that they are possible dropping voom or selling it, I dont think that the cablevision board would be happy selling off those companies as they are a viable revenue stream.

 

[hbk409]

Sean Mota:
You are right, CVC WAS willing to spin off all those subsidiaries, but the Board forced CVC to drop the sale of all but RDBS (VOOM) back in December.
Sell all the money makers and CVC loses most of its value.
If the networks and the rest are thrown in the business will be questioned big time by Wall Street.
The Board only forced the sale or disposal of VOOM.

damn you beat me to it, as i was typing once i post you saw you posted ahead of me

 

[SeattleVoomer1]

I wonder what the VOOM subscriber numbers are right now.

Still watching HDTV under warm Seattle skies, Gill

P.S.: Does anyone have the hard numbers-not just rumors?