From the Cleveland Plain Dealer
TiVo, Voom going through tough times, but I'm there for them
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Bill Lammers
Plain Dealer Columnist
Maybe you've been here before: Friends are going through a tough time raising their children, managing their marriage or dealing with another one of life's big challenges. You'd like to offer some wisdom to help them get through the rocky time, but you find yourself at a loss for words.
That's the way I feel right now with a couple of home-entertainment products that I have grown to appreciate over the last few years. Sure, the things that I'm worried about are just electronic gizmos and services. They're not human beings, so maybe I shouldn't get this worked up. And as for knowing what to say - well, I'm not allowed to be at a loss for words. So here are about 850 of them.
In November, I reviewed the Voom satellite television service that caters to the nation's unsated appetite for high-definition TV programming. In addition to offering almost every HDTV service commonly available, such as HBO, Showtime, Starz and ESPN, Voom has 21 of its own channels of movies, music, news and documentaries. While it had some quirks and a couple of gaps, I thought that it clearly outdistanced the two major satellite services, DirecTV and Dish, and the offerings of local cable companies for people who want a lot of HDTV.
Unfortunately, only 26,000 or so people agreed, compared to the more than 25 million subscribers to DISH and DirecTV combined. Voom is owned by Cablevision, which is owned by the Dolan family - controlling shareholder Charles, 79, and his son, James, 49, who is chief executive of the company. Charles Dolan is the brother of Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan.
Last week, CEO James convinced the Cablevision board of directors to put Voom up for sale against the wishes of founder Charles. The New York Times said that outside directors of the company had been concerned because Voom had lost $76 million in a little more than a year of operation. In an era where corporate directors at companies such as Enron and WorldCom have been faulted for not taking action to stop mismanagement, the directors were afraid of their own liability if more money were spent on a losing venture.
Within a day, Voom's most valuable asset, the Rainbow 1 satellite, and 11 of its direct broadcast satellite frequencies had been sold for $200 million to EchoStar, the company that owns the DISH Network satellite service. The Voom satellite is in an orbit close to the EchoStar satellites, so DISH can use the Voom satellite to boost its own offerings - most notably high-definition programming, the very thing that Voom specialized in.
Lack of satellite space has hampered direct-broadcast satellite expansion into the HDTV market. Glomming onto Voom's space could shoot DISH into the lead between the big two services, both of which have announced HDTV expansion plans for this year.
Cablevision said that it will continue to operate the Voom service for an unspecified transition period. I would like to suggest that Voom subscribers stay tuned for more details, but if your TV goes blank all of a sudden, there's not much point of staying tuned, is there?
The other electronic friend - can I call it a friend? - going through a rough spell is TiVo, the creator of a digital video recorder system and service that is included in other manufacturers' gear as well as in TiVo-branded machines. TiVo's product is so superior to other DVRs that it reminds me of trying to fit into bargain basement blue jeans when you know that Levi's fit just right. Why bother?
Two weeks ago, TiVo announced that its chief executive officer, Michael Ramsay, was stepping down but would remain as chairman of the board.
The company was seeking a new CEO who would be able to strike deals to have TiVo technology placed in cable system receivers, The New York Times reported. Since then, a potential deal to put TiVos into Comcast receivers has fallen through because TiVo was not going to get paid well enough for its technology.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas two weeks ago, DirecTV, which had been using TiVo technology in its DVRs, showcased a new DVR that carried only the DirecTV brand. It was developed by NDS, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also now owns DirecTV.
So things are not going well for TiVo and Voom. Voom was trying to be positive until the blowout last week. TiVo has been sending out upbeat messages, saying that if the company continues to offer a superior product, people will be drawn to it. I hope that is true.
I was thinking about selecting a greeting card to send to my friends Voom and TiVo. What category should I look under? Get well soon? Thinking of you? Sorry about your lousy business lately, but I still like you? There's gotta be something appropriate in "The Far Side" line. Something with cows, maybe.
Lammers is a Plain Dealer assistant news editor.
To reach this Plain Dealer columnist:
blammers@plaind.com, 216-999-4162
Copyright 2005 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.
TiVo, Voom going through tough times, but I'm there for them
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Bill Lammers
Plain Dealer Columnist
Maybe you've been here before: Friends are going through a tough time raising their children, managing their marriage or dealing with another one of life's big challenges. You'd like to offer some wisdom to help them get through the rocky time, but you find yourself at a loss for words.
That's the way I feel right now with a couple of home-entertainment products that I have grown to appreciate over the last few years. Sure, the things that I'm worried about are just electronic gizmos and services. They're not human beings, so maybe I shouldn't get this worked up. And as for knowing what to say - well, I'm not allowed to be at a loss for words. So here are about 850 of them.
In November, I reviewed the Voom satellite television service that caters to the nation's unsated appetite for high-definition TV programming. In addition to offering almost every HDTV service commonly available, such as HBO, Showtime, Starz and ESPN, Voom has 21 of its own channels of movies, music, news and documentaries. While it had some quirks and a couple of gaps, I thought that it clearly outdistanced the two major satellite services, DirecTV and Dish, and the offerings of local cable companies for people who want a lot of HDTV.
Unfortunately, only 26,000 or so people agreed, compared to the more than 25 million subscribers to DISH and DirecTV combined. Voom is owned by Cablevision, which is owned by the Dolan family - controlling shareholder Charles, 79, and his son, James, 49, who is chief executive of the company. Charles Dolan is the brother of Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan.
Last week, CEO James convinced the Cablevision board of directors to put Voom up for sale against the wishes of founder Charles. The New York Times said that outside directors of the company had been concerned because Voom had lost $76 million in a little more than a year of operation. In an era where corporate directors at companies such as Enron and WorldCom have been faulted for not taking action to stop mismanagement, the directors were afraid of their own liability if more money were spent on a losing venture.
Within a day, Voom's most valuable asset, the Rainbow 1 satellite, and 11 of its direct broadcast satellite frequencies had been sold for $200 million to EchoStar, the company that owns the DISH Network satellite service. The Voom satellite is in an orbit close to the EchoStar satellites, so DISH can use the Voom satellite to boost its own offerings - most notably high-definition programming, the very thing that Voom specialized in.
Lack of satellite space has hampered direct-broadcast satellite expansion into the HDTV market. Glomming onto Voom's space could shoot DISH into the lead between the big two services, both of which have announced HDTV expansion plans for this year.
Cablevision said that it will continue to operate the Voom service for an unspecified transition period. I would like to suggest that Voom subscribers stay tuned for more details, but if your TV goes blank all of a sudden, there's not much point of staying tuned, is there?
The other electronic friend - can I call it a friend? - going through a rough spell is TiVo, the creator of a digital video recorder system and service that is included in other manufacturers' gear as well as in TiVo-branded machines. TiVo's product is so superior to other DVRs that it reminds me of trying to fit into bargain basement blue jeans when you know that Levi's fit just right. Why bother?
Two weeks ago, TiVo announced that its chief executive officer, Michael Ramsay, was stepping down but would remain as chairman of the board.
The company was seeking a new CEO who would be able to strike deals to have TiVo technology placed in cable system receivers, The New York Times reported. Since then, a potential deal to put TiVos into Comcast receivers has fallen through because TiVo was not going to get paid well enough for its technology.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas two weeks ago, DirecTV, which had been using TiVo technology in its DVRs, showcased a new DVR that carried only the DirecTV brand. It was developed by NDS, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also now owns DirecTV.
So things are not going well for TiVo and Voom. Voom was trying to be positive until the blowout last week. TiVo has been sending out upbeat messages, saying that if the company continues to offer a superior product, people will be drawn to it. I hope that is true.
I was thinking about selecting a greeting card to send to my friends Voom and TiVo. What category should I look under? Get well soon? Thinking of you? Sorry about your lousy business lately, but I still like you? There's gotta be something appropriate in "The Far Side" line. Something with cows, maybe.
Lammers is a Plain Dealer assistant news editor.
To reach this Plain Dealer columnist:
blammers@plaind.com, 216-999-4162
Copyright 2005 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.
