E* is now part-owner of Voom 21HD channels

[John Kotches]

bratboy:

Actually all that was said was "by 2006". This means anytime between now and 12/31/2005. Historically E* has historically pushed their dates as close as possible to the deadline.

However, depending on how things work out with the new satellites and new receivers it is possible that this could happen in the August or September time frame as well.

Cheers,

 

[bratboy]

Well ANYTHING is possible, I just doubt its likely that you will see all 21 on E* before 2006 hehe. I was just pointing out that E* doesnt have a record of being early/ontime as you yourself just pointed out the really like to push things out as far as they can. Not to mention the fact that By 2006 could mean any time in 2006 as long as its before 12/31/06. I really personally dont care too much as far as what dish has, I'll wait n see if the service I prefeer, DTV, gets its stuff together. I have way too many neighbors with E* that have told me they wish they hadnt gotten stuck in a commitment to them over various issues. By too many neighbors I mean on my block alone I personally know of 4 ppl with the service and regret it. That to me is enough to stop me from blindly jumping to E* just because its the first company to offer a mere pitance of what Voom was.

 

[iceondsom]

A couple months? LOL. Supposedly the rest ,if I read correctly, wont show till 2006 and mpeg4. By my reckoning thats over 1/2 yr away at mnimum.

Bratboy,

Try reading my original post again. I said the "coming months", not "a couple months".

As for these neighbors of yours who you say are locked into E* commitments and now dislike the service, why are they in a commitment anyway? E* hasn't required commitments for new subs in well over a year. Requiring new subs to sign a commitment is a favorite of DTV, not E*.

 

[bratboy]

Fair enough. You did say coming months not couple months. Then again Dec 2006 is a "coming" month (wink). I just assumed, bad thing to do, that you meant in the next few months by your comment which we have no garuntee is gonna happen. Heck CV might screw something up and Voom completely die god forbid, we just dont know which is why I figure I'll wait approx 6 months before I decide if going back to ANY sat provider. Personally I feel DTV does the better job overall but thats just my personal experience/opinon.

In the grand scheme of things it really doesnt matter. Every dang provider, DTV Dish Cable, promise coming soon features & then they drag delivery of stuff out for an eternity with excuses as to why they havent done as promised. Its "We have to eliminate Analog first" or "We need to convert to Mpg4 1st" or some other excuse.

EDIT:
As for my neighbors its not my business to ask them why they have a commitment. Perhaps they did one to get an HDDVR or a better price on the service but I really don't know or care. I do care that they say they are not happy with the service as thats the more important issue, satisfaction. They have no reason or as far as I can tell get no benifit by telling me thier unhappy with it so I accept their comments as genuine.

 

[James Long]

PS If I see one more "This thread needs to be moved" comment from a certain someone Im gonna go postal

Which forum are you going to mail yourself to?

JL

 

[bratboy]

iceondsom,

For the record, in case you havent read it yet, over at AVS they have a post about the latest confrence call of E* Chat & QnA Some key phrases from it tho

We expect to expand that service with Voom around the first of the year 2006 as we deploy MPEG4 on a wider basis and expand to 21 channels of Voom.

Which kind of supports my earlier comment about E* wanting to wait till AFTER they get Mpeg4 implimented

We too will be looking into HD LILs. HDTV is not a 2005 event for E*, it's a 2006 event because realistically we're just not going to have any volumes of MPEG4 product available. We've got models we're showing and testing, but my experience has been by the time we get working samples, it's at least 6 months until we can get those into production - so you're really looking at a 2006 kind of timeframe.

Based on comments like that it does look like it will be 2006 before E* adds any more voom or other HD's, then again things change all the time so who really knows

 

[bryan27]

There has to be some public document with the SEC to give you more detail about this....

Since it is a small amount and doesn't make a significant change in ownership or control I don't think they would need to file.

I and many others have small holdings in companies and never see an SEC filing. In any of the reports I typically see the major holders or all small holders lumped into one like "other holders." Can you imagine the workload at the SEC if every exchange for every penny had to have a filing

 

[whitewolf8214]

Dish Network added Voom's 10 exclusive HD channels and are going to add the remaining 11 exclusive HD channels.What are the remaining 11 hd channels there going to add?

 

[bryan27]

There are 21 VOOM Original Channels:

HDNews*
Family Room
World Cinema
Ultra HD*
Lab HD
Gunslingers
Rave*
Equator*
Kung-Fu
Animania*
WorldSport
Auction
Majestic*
VICE*
Film Fest
Divine
Epics
Gallery*
Monsters*
Ha Ha
Rush*

*-Carried by E*

 

[Alto101]

Here is more info taking from a SEC filing from Cablevision:

In April 2005, subsidiaries of Cablevision and CSC Holdings entered into agreements with EchoStar Communications Corporation (“EchoStar”) relating to the launch and operation of the business of Rainbow HD Holdings, LLC, the Company’s VOOM 21 high-definition television programming service. Under those arrangements, EchoStar will initially distribute a portion of the Rainbow HD programming service and, beginning in 2006, if the contemplated transactions have been completed, will carry all 21 of the channels included in the Rainbow HD programming service. In connection with the arrangements, EchoStar would be issued a 20% interest in Rainbow HD Holdings, the Company’s subsidiary owning the 21 channels included in the Rainbow HD programming service, and that 20% interest would not be diluted until $500,000 in cash has been invested in Rainbow HD Holdings. The issuance of the 20% interest in Rainbow HD Holdings to EchoStar and EchoStar’s agreement to distribute all 21 of the channels included in the Rainbow HD programming service are subject to customary closing conditions, and the closing of the sale of the Company’s Rainbow 1 satellite to EchoStar.

Under the terms of our affiliation arrangements with EchoStar covering our VOOM 21 channels for a 15 year term, if we fail to invest $100,000 per year up to a maximum of $500,000 in the aggregate (which $100,000 amount may be reduced to no less than $38,000 if we decide in the future to reduce the number of channels) in the entity that owns and develops these channels, EchoStar may terminate the affiliation agreement. We have the right to terminate the affiliation agreement if the VOOM 21 service is discontinued in the future.