Cablevision Enters into Interim Agreement Regarding VOOM
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Cablevision: Voom Won't Die
http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/media/10212241.html
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - news - research) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq - news - research). Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/media/10212241.html
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - news - research) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq - news - research). Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
I don't see this as something to cheer about. The March 31st deadline is still there. It is just more waiting and more time to form wild speculations 
However, this does give Charles time to rent another uplink facility, simulcast to AMC-6, and start moving everyone there if he starts doing this tomorrow. I just hope he can tell Cablevision to go screw themselves on the 31st.
However, this does give Charles time to rent another uplink facility, simulcast to AMC-6, and start moving everyone there if he starts doing this tomorrow. I just hope he can tell Cablevision to go screw themselves on the 31st.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
Thats what they have been trying to do anyway!!!
Thats what they have been trying to do anyway!!!
This is good news. They hammered out the details and have an agreement as to how VOOM will continue with Charles Dolan. To those that don't think this is good news....This is more complicated than the board saying "OK here are the keys to VOOM". Now all the requirements agreed to in the agreement need to be met.
Anyone who does not think this announcement is significant missed this line:
Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
This is a complicated transaction that will probably take several weeks if not months to iron out all of the terms. I believe this is one of the biggest hang ups that the board has had. They could not justify keeping Voom operational and bleeding cash while they negotiate with Chuck. This agreement basically eliminates the liability that the board has by keeping it up and running, since Chuck has agreed to pick up any costs that CV will occur over and above what they would have seen had they simply pulled the plug. This eliminates the urgency that the board felt to shut things down as quickly as possible. With that out of the way, they are free to negotiate the finer points of the deal.
Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
This is a complicated transaction that will probably take several weeks if not months to iron out all of the terms. I believe this is one of the biggest hang ups that the board has had. They could not justify keeping Voom operational and bleeding cash while they negotiate with Chuck. This agreement basically eliminates the liability that the board has by keeping it up and running, since Chuck has agreed to pick up any costs that CV will occur over and above what they would have seen had they simply pulled the plug. This eliminates the urgency that the board felt to shut things down as quickly as possible. With that out of the way, they are free to negotiate the finer points of the deal.
Cablevision: Voom Won't Die
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/media/10212241.html
The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq) . Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/media/10212241.html
The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq) . Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
Cablevision in Voom deal with founder (CBS MatketWatch) 03.08.05
source: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/sto...-BC94-4551585238C7}&siteid=google&dist=google
Cablevision in Voom deal with founder (CBS MatketWatch) 03.08.05
By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:07 PM ET March 8, 2005**
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cablevision Systems said after the market closed Tuesday that has reached a deal with founder Charles Dolan to keep the Voom satellite business going at least for the rest of this month.
Meanwhile, Dolan and his son Thomas will look for "an alternate transaction" that would avoid a shutdown of the money-losing service, the company said.
The agreement was approved by Cablevision's (CVC: news, chart, profile) newly-constituted board and a special committee of independent directors. It terminates March 31.
Voom, a venture that was widely criticized by the investment community from its inception two years ago, lost more than $660 million in 2004, and its failure has created an alleged split between Charles Dolan and his son James, Cablevision's chief executive. James Dolan wants to shut the operation down, while Charles and another son, Thomas, the company's chief information officer, want to keep it going.
Most of the Voom assets were sold to satellite broadcaster EchoStar Communications (DISH: news, chart, profile) in January, in a move that was applauded by many.
However, Charles Dolan removed William Bell, Sheila Mahony and Steven Rattner from the board of directors last week. Analysts say Dolan wanted to remove board members who disagreed with his plans for the service.
Cablevision's shares declined 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $28.62 on Tuesday.
Cablevision had originally intended to spin Voom off, along with its Rainbow cable network assets networks -- American Movie Classics, Women's Entertainment and the Independent Film Channel. That spinoff, first announced in the fall of 2003, was postponed several times and then suspended indefinitely last Dec. 21.
Also Tuesday, a dispute over carriage fees involving Cablevision flared anew. The dispute is keeping Cablevision's MSG Network and FSN New York cable sports networks off Time Warner Cable systems, as of midnight Tuesday morning.
The two sides are quarreling just as baseball's New York Mets are about to begin a new season.
MSG Networks says Time Warner (TWX: news, chart, profile) decided to pull both networks from its systems, but Time Warner says MSG demanded that the channels be removed.
"If someone tells you they're going to take you to court and sue you, you have no choice but to take down those signals," said Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrad.
Mediating media?
MSG indicated that it's "proposing binding arbitration with a neutral mediator, which will ensure fairness to both sides and an immediate return of basketball and baseball to New York's sports fans."
Harrad declined to speculate about whether Time Warner Cable would accept binding arbitration, but said the company would be concerned about the precedent such an agreement would set.
"These are two private businesses negotiating in the private marketplace," Harrad added. "And none of these negotiations has ever, in the history of cable television, gone to binding arbitration except one -- and that was with Cablevision and the Yes Network."
Following an intervention by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Cablevision and George Steinbrenner's Yes Network agreed in 2003 to settle a carriage fee dispute that had kept Yankee games off Cablevision for a year.
Disagreements of this type have been frequent in recent years, as cable and satellite companies seek to control ever-rising programming costs, while programmers try to find ways to deal with their own rising costs and seek higher fees in exchange for the right to distribute their content
Both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision are major operators in the New York City area, the largest media market in the United States.
The two sides temporarily resolved the same dispute last August, after 11 days in which MSG and Fox Sports Network went dark on Time Warner systems.
Time Warner gave customers a $2 credit for the days that had been missed.
"We got a bunch of calls from people who said, 'I'd rather take the credit and get rid of the signals,'" said Harrad. "I'm not suggesting there isn't a Mets fan base. But there are a lot of people who don't really care, and I would say none of our viewers wants to get saddled with a large rate jump because of the very high prices sports networks are charging for their product."
David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
source: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/sto...-BC94-4551585238C7}&siteid=google&dist=google
Cablevision in Voom deal with founder (CBS MatketWatch) 03.08.05
By David B. Wilkerson, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:07 PM ET March 8, 2005**
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cablevision Systems said after the market closed Tuesday that has reached a deal with founder Charles Dolan to keep the Voom satellite business going at least for the rest of this month.
Meanwhile, Dolan and his son Thomas will look for "an alternate transaction" that would avoid a shutdown of the money-losing service, the company said.
The agreement was approved by Cablevision's (CVC: news, chart, profile) newly-constituted board and a special committee of independent directors. It terminates March 31.
Voom, a venture that was widely criticized by the investment community from its inception two years ago, lost more than $660 million in 2004, and its failure has created an alleged split between Charles Dolan and his son James, Cablevision's chief executive. James Dolan wants to shut the operation down, while Charles and another son, Thomas, the company's chief information officer, want to keep it going.
Most of the Voom assets were sold to satellite broadcaster EchoStar Communications (DISH: news, chart, profile) in January, in a move that was applauded by many.
However, Charles Dolan removed William Bell, Sheila Mahony and Steven Rattner from the board of directors last week. Analysts say Dolan wanted to remove board members who disagreed with his plans for the service.
Cablevision's shares declined 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $28.62 on Tuesday.
Cablevision had originally intended to spin Voom off, along with its Rainbow cable network assets networks -- American Movie Classics, Women's Entertainment and the Independent Film Channel. That spinoff, first announced in the fall of 2003, was postponed several times and then suspended indefinitely last Dec. 21.
Also Tuesday, a dispute over carriage fees involving Cablevision flared anew. The dispute is keeping Cablevision's MSG Network and FSN New York cable sports networks off Time Warner Cable systems, as of midnight Tuesday morning.
The two sides are quarreling just as baseball's New York Mets are about to begin a new season.
MSG Networks says Time Warner (TWX: news, chart, profile) decided to pull both networks from its systems, but Time Warner says MSG demanded that the channels be removed.
"If someone tells you they're going to take you to court and sue you, you have no choice but to take down those signals," said Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrad.
Mediating media?
MSG indicated that it's "proposing binding arbitration with a neutral mediator, which will ensure fairness to both sides and an immediate return of basketball and baseball to New York's sports fans."
Harrad declined to speculate about whether Time Warner Cable would accept binding arbitration, but said the company would be concerned about the precedent such an agreement would set.
"These are two private businesses negotiating in the private marketplace," Harrad added. "And none of these negotiations has ever, in the history of cable television, gone to binding arbitration except one -- and that was with Cablevision and the Yes Network."
Following an intervention by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Cablevision and George Steinbrenner's Yes Network agreed in 2003 to settle a carriage fee dispute that had kept Yankee games off Cablevision for a year.
Disagreements of this type have been frequent in recent years, as cable and satellite companies seek to control ever-rising programming costs, while programmers try to find ways to deal with their own rising costs and seek higher fees in exchange for the right to distribute their content
Both Time Warner Cable and Cablevision are major operators in the New York City area, the largest media market in the United States.
The two sides temporarily resolved the same dispute last August, after 11 days in which MSG and Fox Sports Network went dark on Time Warner systems.
Time Warner gave customers a $2 credit for the days that had been missed.
"We got a bunch of calls from people who said, 'I'd rather take the credit and get rid of the signals,'" said Harrad. "I'm not suggesting there isn't a Mets fan base. But there are a lot of people who don't really care, and I would say none of our viewers wants to get saddled with a large rate jump because of the very high prices sports networks are charging for their product."
David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
Cablevision: Voom Won't Die (TheStreet.com) 03.08.05
source: http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/stocks/media/10212241.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
Cablevision: Voom Won't Die (TheStreet.com) 03.08.05
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
*
(TheStreet.com) The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - news - research) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq - news - research). Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
source: http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/stocks/media/10212241.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
Cablevision: Voom Won't Die (TheStreet.com) 03.08.05
By TSC Staff
3/8/2005 6:27 PM EST
*
(TheStreet.com) The boardroom coup threatned at Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - news - research) last week by Chairman Charles Dolan paid its first dividend Tuesday when the company agreed to keep the troubled Voom satellite television venture alive.
Cablevision said it entered an agreement with Dolan, its chairman, and Thomas Dolan, his son, under which Voom will stay in service while the two try to arrange a transaction that would prevent its closure. Charles Dolan agreed to fund costs incurred by the service above any that would have been expensed "under a shutdown scenario."
The pact reverses Cablevision's previously stated intention of closing Voom, which has been losing money and recently sold its only working satellite to EchoStar (DISH:Nasdaq - news - research). Since Cablevision announced that plan, Charles Dolan said he planned to replace three Cablevision directors and one board vacancy with four new board members of his choosing.
Dolan, who controls a special supervoting class of stock that enables him to elect a majority of the board if he wants, indicated last Wednesday that he would exercise that right when the company holds its annual meeting in May.
The agreement, which was approved by the Cablevision board and a special committee of independent directors, terminates on March 31.
Cablevision: Chairman Makes Voom Deal (AP/Forbes)
source: http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2005/03/08/ap1871393.html
Cablevision: Chairman Makes Voom Deal (AP/Forbes) 03.08.05
Associated Press / Forbes
03.08.2005, 06:23 PM
(AP/Forbes) Cablevision Systems Corp. on Tuesday said it agreed to continue operating its satellite-television service while its chairman and his son seek an alternate transaction for the business that would avoid shutting it down completely.
The cable operator said it reached a deal with Chairman Charles F. Dolan and his son, Thomas C. Dolan, under which Rainbow will continue its Voom satellite service as the Dolans arrange its separation from Cablevision without terminating the business.
Cablevision said Charles Dolan agreed to pay for any costs incurred by Rainbow beyond those that would have been incurred if the service had been shut down, Cablevision said.
The deal was approved by Cablevision's directors and will end on March 31, the company said.
Previously, the Dolans agreed to buy the remaining Voom assets after Cablevision sold the service's satellite to Dish Network operator EchoStar Communications Corp. for $200 million, but the parties failed to strike a deal by Feb. 28.
Cablevision shares climbed 33 cents to $28.95 in extended trading after falling 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $28.62 on the regular New York Stock Exchange session.
source: http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2005/03/08/ap1871393.html
Cablevision: Chairman Makes Voom Deal (AP/Forbes) 03.08.05
Associated Press / Forbes
03.08.2005, 06:23 PM
(AP/Forbes) Cablevision Systems Corp. on Tuesday said it agreed to continue operating its satellite-television service while its chairman and his son seek an alternate transaction for the business that would avoid shutting it down completely.
The cable operator said it reached a deal with Chairman Charles F. Dolan and his son, Thomas C. Dolan, under which Rainbow will continue its Voom satellite service as the Dolans arrange its separation from Cablevision without terminating the business.
Cablevision said Charles Dolan agreed to pay for any costs incurred by Rainbow beyond those that would have been incurred if the service had been shut down, Cablevision said.
The deal was approved by Cablevision's directors and will end on March 31, the company said.
Previously, the Dolans agreed to buy the remaining Voom assets after Cablevision sold the service's satellite to Dish Network operator EchoStar Communications Corp. for $200 million, but the parties failed to strike a deal by Feb. 28.
Cablevision shares climbed 33 cents to $28.95 in extended trading after falling 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $28.62 on the regular New York Stock Exchange session.
That would be sweet!! I don't have any money in the cookie jar, but if that were the the case...Hmmmmmm....I wonder if I'm too old to embark on a new profession to drum up some cash?!riipit said:
There's a busy streetcorner not far away...maybe if I get some botox... 
That's the BINGO for me!riipit said:
I think that takes the heat off everone until cooler heads can prevail to dedicate their time and efforts to formulating a plan that will work for all involved. Unfortunately, these types of things, of necessity, must usually be closely guarded, which doesn't provide for a lot of comfort to those concerned about their service. 
Everyone will just have to do whatever is best for their own peace of mind. Hang if you've got the nerves...or bail if it's getting to you. Neither choice is attractive, but life isn't always fair.
I'm hanging.
Vickivurbano said:
I don't think maintaining the existing customer base has anything to do with it. The goal is millions of subscribers and other than maintaining good relations with the insignificant number of current subscribers just for the purpose of goodwill and positive word of mouth, this can only mean he is trying to make arrangements to continue the business and ultimately turn this mess around. It is all so strange but he may have a vision that is very hard for anybody else to understand. If he is successful and makes a legitimate business out of VOOM, he will have really accomplished something. I am dumbfounded by all of it.
Chris
No news here
Your fate lies in the hands of E*.
Voom still doesn't have a satellite to broadcast from after the sale of the satellite and uplink facility are complete. That sale will proceed. Cablevision is not about to get into costly litigation with E*.
E* bought that satellite for its own purposes. I don't see how CVC or C. Dolan could make a sweeter deal than what E* got for 200 million. Why would they lease it back to C. Dolan? They would be basically be stealing money from C. Dolan, because that satellite IS going to be used by E*, they need it, so it would only be temporary. That would mean C. Dolan would basically have to start from scratch to get the signal in the sky. I just don't see it happening.
You should look at this as a possible reprieve, but in reality, nothing has changed except the website is back up. This "work together" stuff sounds like PR to me.
You Voomers were put in a bad spot when that satellite got sold.
Your fate lies in the hands of E*.
Voom still doesn't have a satellite to broadcast from after the sale of the satellite and uplink facility are complete. That sale will proceed. Cablevision is not about to get into costly litigation with E*.
E* bought that satellite for its own purposes. I don't see how CVC or C. Dolan could make a sweeter deal than what E* got for 200 million. Why would they lease it back to C. Dolan? They would be basically be stealing money from C. Dolan, because that satellite IS going to be used by E*, they need it, so it would only be temporary. That would mean C. Dolan would basically have to start from scratch to get the signal in the sky. I just don't see it happening.
You should look at this as a possible reprieve, but in reality, nothing has changed except the website is back up. This "work together" stuff sounds like PR to me.
You Voomers were put in a bad spot when that satellite got sold.
Voom Gets A Repreive!
Dolan and son get a repreive to get things together until the end of the month. It will cost him though. Source for news is here:
http://homeentertainment.engadget.com/entry/1234000593035073
Looks like everything is not in place as Mr Dolan has stated previously. And now the operating costs is coming out of his personal pocket and not CVC's. We shall see how long this goes on.
Dolan and son get a repreive to get things together until the end of the month. It will cost him though. Source for news is here:
http://homeentertainment.engadget.com/entry/1234000593035073
Looks like everything is not in place as Mr Dolan has stated previously. And now the operating costs is coming out of his personal pocket and not CVC's. We shall see how long this goes on.
And in January, we were worried about a shut-down before the Super Bowl...dlm10541 said:March 31 is a month later than Feb 28 whem the last agreement expired. Thats a good thing. Any news that isn't shutting down Voom is a good thing. Can you guys try to be a little more positive
adidadi said:
Exactly. We've gone from "Close it down" to "Show me the money."
This is all working out nicely. March 31 will come and go without incident.
