Rainbow Spin-off is dead
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- Nov 29, 2003
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He asked where, just answered, thats all, no rumors from me, just posted part of a new story ( Jan.5, 05 ), I thought this thread was the right one for it, no one wants to start a new one on this subject, do they ?
What would you expect VOOM to do?
Hi:
If a company was planning on being aquired or knew it was going to being selling off its assets the company would continue to produce "positive" press releases and press releases about future plans. They would have to - both to maximize the value of their assets and to protect their shareholders in case the first deal they are working on falls through.
What you rarely see - is a situation where every analyst and industry insider believes that the company is being sold when it is not. Or a case, which Bruce quoted above - where a major analyst quotes a CEO of another public company giving an exact price that he is going to pay for a company's asset if that asset is not being offered for sale.
The press release about VOOM adding SD channels in 6 months ("Spring" now - not March anymore) is of very little interest to anyone but VOOM subscribers and is having very little effect upon the Cablevision stock price while the press release that indicated that VOOM may be up for sale caused the stock price to jump. Cablevision is a public company and the managment ultimately has to answer to the shareholders. The shareholders want a higher stock price now and not later so which actions do you think management will take?
Hi:
If a company was planning on being aquired or knew it was going to being selling off its assets the company would continue to produce "positive" press releases and press releases about future plans. They would have to - both to maximize the value of their assets and to protect their shareholders in case the first deal they are working on falls through.
What you rarely see - is a situation where every analyst and industry insider believes that the company is being sold when it is not. Or a case, which Bruce quoted above - where a major analyst quotes a CEO of another public company giving an exact price that he is going to pay for a company's asset if that asset is not being offered for sale.
The press release about VOOM adding SD channels in 6 months ("Spring" now - not March anymore) is of very little interest to anyone but VOOM subscribers and is having very little effect upon the Cablevision stock price while the press release that indicated that VOOM may be up for sale caused the stock price to jump. Cablevision is a public company and the managment ultimately has to answer to the shareholders. The shareholders want a higher stock price now and not later so which actions do you think management will take?
this from a wall street pub
Voom Gloom Lifts Cablevision
By George Mannes
Senior Writer
1/6/2005 12:06 PM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/tech/georgemannes/10202136.html
A Voom-less Cablevision (CVC:NYSE) got a nod of approval from Wall Street Wednesday afternoon.
CIBC World Markets upgraded the Long Island-based cable operator from a rating of sector underperformer to sector performer, citing Cablevision's Dec. 21 disclosure that it is suspending the spinoff of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary and seeking "strategic alternatives" for Voom, its fledgling high-definition television satellite service.
The upgrade reflects Wall Street's ongoing skepticism about the prospects for Voom, as well as confidence in Cablevision's core businesses of operating New York area cable TV systems and various programming channels.
Shares in Cablevision -- which issued a press release Thursday trumpeting the expansion of Voom's programming lineup -- rose 30 cents Thursday to trade at $25.22.
With Cablevision shares up more than 14% from when the company announced the RME and Voom developments, CIBC analyst Cannon Carr says he believes the market has priced in "rational upside" from RME's programming assets and the sale or shutdown of Voom.
Carr says he believes a shutdown is most likely, adding about $2 per share of incremental value -- an opinion that exemplifies Wall Street's view that Voom is worth more dead than alive. Carr assigns a $28 price target to Cablevision.
As for the rest of Cablevision, Carr says he believes the company's strong performance in the third quarter of 2004 will continue into 2005. The company has benefited from the popularity of its "triple play" bundle of video, telephony and Internet access, says Carr, and the key question is whether the company can raise prices on its service bundles without suffering a meaningful increase in the percentage of subscribers who drop services.
Voom Gloom Lifts Cablevision
By George Mannes
Senior Writer
1/6/2005 12:06 PM EST
URL: http://www.thestreet.com/tech/georgemannes/10202136.html
A Voom-less Cablevision (CVC:NYSE) got a nod of approval from Wall Street Wednesday afternoon.
CIBC World Markets upgraded the Long Island-based cable operator from a rating of sector underperformer to sector performer, citing Cablevision's Dec. 21 disclosure that it is suspending the spinoff of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary and seeking "strategic alternatives" for Voom, its fledgling high-definition television satellite service.
The upgrade reflects Wall Street's ongoing skepticism about the prospects for Voom, as well as confidence in Cablevision's core businesses of operating New York area cable TV systems and various programming channels.
Shares in Cablevision -- which issued a press release Thursday trumpeting the expansion of Voom's programming lineup -- rose 30 cents Thursday to trade at $25.22.
With Cablevision shares up more than 14% from when the company announced the RME and Voom developments, CIBC analyst Cannon Carr says he believes the market has priced in "rational upside" from RME's programming assets and the sale or shutdown of Voom.
Carr says he believes a shutdown is most likely, adding about $2 per share of incremental value -- an opinion that exemplifies Wall Street's view that Voom is worth more dead than alive. Carr assigns a $28 price target to Cablevision.
As for the rest of Cablevision, Carr says he believes the company's strong performance in the third quarter of 2004 will continue into 2005. The company has benefited from the popularity of its "triple play" bundle of video, telephony and Internet access, says Carr, and the key question is whether the company can raise prices on its service bundles without suffering a meaningful increase in the percentage of subscribers who drop services.
bruce said:
The analyst didn't say it, and probably didn't think it, but NBC Universal may be a potential purchaser. It would do the deal to get the three cable networks, with VOOM thrown in. It could get VOOM for a lot less than Echostar and then proceed to put Echostar out of business. GE isn't in the habit of buying struggling businesses, but it would have a platform to launch new cable networks. It's a longshot, to say the least, but worth dreaming about.
From 'thestreet.com';
"A Voom-less Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - commentary - research) got a nod of approval from Wall Street Wednesday afternoon.
CIBC World Markets upgraded the Long Island-based cable operator from a rating of sector underperformer to sector performer, citing Cablevision's Dec. 21 disclosure that it is suspending the spinoff of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary and seeking "strategic alternatives" for Voom, its fledgling high-definition television satellite service.
The upgrade reflects Wall Street's ongoing skepticism about the prospects for Voom, as well as confidence in Cablevision's core businesses of operating New York area cable TV systems and various programming channels. "
There will be no re-launch of Voom by Cablevision, so unless a third party wants to take over the business and run with it, Voom is history. How would Voom be able to compete with DirecTV, with all the marketing cloud, customer base, deep pockets, programming etc.? DirecTV will be on the market with it's HDTV programming and technology (incl digital media center/whole house) just in time for next year's christmas season, when HDTV will take off for the masses. Brilliant timing on the part of DirecTV. Voom was both to late (in the DBS industry) and too early (HDTV).
My 2c's.
"A Voom-less Cablevision (CVC:NYSE - commentary - research) got a nod of approval from Wall Street Wednesday afternoon.
CIBC World Markets upgraded the Long Island-based cable operator from a rating of sector underperformer to sector performer, citing Cablevision's Dec. 21 disclosure that it is suspending the spinoff of its Rainbow Media Enterprises subsidiary and seeking "strategic alternatives" for Voom, its fledgling high-definition television satellite service.
The upgrade reflects Wall Street's ongoing skepticism about the prospects for Voom, as well as confidence in Cablevision's core businesses of operating New York area cable TV systems and various programming channels. "
There will be no re-launch of Voom by Cablevision, so unless a third party wants to take over the business and run with it, Voom is history. How would Voom be able to compete with DirecTV, with all the marketing cloud, customer base, deep pockets, programming etc.? DirecTV will be on the market with it's HDTV programming and technology (incl digital media center/whole house) just in time for next year's christmas season, when HDTV will take off for the masses. Brilliant timing on the part of DirecTV. Voom was both to late (in the DBS industry) and too early (HDTV).
My 2c's.
why do some people don't even check the other threads? This has been posted before in the "voom spin off is dead" and beaten to death. Please keep these post over there. This is a DVR thread. Nothing to do with all the press about the spin-off being dead. These will be removed in a while. So refrain from posting on the wrong threads. This is why we have them.
P.S. Makes our jobs a lot difficult in trying to keep threads clear and to the point.
P.S. Makes our jobs a lot difficult in trying to keep threads clear and to the point.
bbrukx said:
VOOM is all over the place here in Texas. You see it advertised on most of the television and satellite channels. There seems to be VOOM posters everywhere you go.
VOOM must be spending millions of dollars on advertising. If Cablevision has given up on VOOM as you say why are they dumping so much money on advertising? It seems to me that VOOM is going to be on the minds of all those that buy HDTV next Christmas, not DirecTV.
Cablevision would not have canceled the spinoff if it wasn't going to make some type of move as far as Voom is concerned. The reason people see advertising and booths at CES is that if your in business, you don't tip your hand concerning your intentions until your ready to make a move. WAKE UP FOLKS! Voom can't seem to get over 30,000 subs. Rainbow can't keep letting that money go down the drain. Voom as you know it will not be around in 6 months. Can someone explain how it's actually possible for them to remain in business? I liked Voom and they lost me as a sub.
I've read in other forums about this new DVR. There seems to be excitement about a product that was supposed to be available a year ago. And they still won't show it at CES, just a demo. This means that it isn't close to being ready.
I've read in other forums about this new DVR. There seems to be excitement about a product that was supposed to be available a year ago. And they still won't show it at CES, just a demo. This means that it isn't close to being ready.
FrankJo said:
Deja Vu!! I've been a VOOM sub since Nov. 2003 and a member of this form for almost as long. There has been guys like you in this form predicting the immediate demise of VOOM every since I joined. But you guys come and go, VOOM and I are still here.
The real fact is that VOOM had maybe 5,000 subs when I joined and now has over six times that many. VOOM is still small to be sure, but, how many companies do you know of increased their client base by 500% last year? The VOOM product is better than ever and STILL has the best HDTV content.
and if they made the same 600 % improvemnent between now and next december they would still have too few subscribers to sustain another dbs provider, thats just plain fact. Voom really needs to get on the ball if they are going to try and be around long term. 30.000 subs is way too small for 13 months of money flying out the window, I think the bigger number is how many subs they have lost in those same 13 months. In a real life situation it should be in the area of about 3 to 5 % VOOM's number is way above that.Dan Berndt said:
Dan Berndt said:
I have been a VOOM subscriber since December 2003 and I have been told the DVR was coming in 3 months since then.
You can look at the sub numbers a lot of ways - I think what has people alarmed is that VOOM lost about 30% of their subscribers from quarter two to quarter three. The quarter four numbers will tell a lot.
At this time it appears that people would rather have a HD-DVR and wait for more HD content (Dish, DirecTV, and cable) than have a lot of HD content but no DVR.
From a practical business decison, it makes no sense to spend millions of dollars if you are only expecting pennies on the dollar in a sale. I will admit the Dolan's have something big up their sleeve but it isn't the disappearance of VOOm or their committement to HDTV. You nay sayers should read the story of HBO. You know that network that was a 3rd attempt and everybody including Wallstreet thought that old man Dolan was nuts then. Nuts all the way to the bank.
- Nov 29, 2003
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- 20,146
NBC Universal was expected to be a big deal-maker in 2004, but was hung up due to integration issues. This year, in addition to Lions Gate, look for it to bid for Cablevision Systems' (nyse: CVC - news - people ) Rainbow Media or Discovery Networks. Cablevision's flagging Voom satellite outfit may also end up on the block this year, with EchoStar Communications (nasdaq: DISH - news - people ) as its most likely suitor.
http://www.forbes.com/services/2005/01/11/cx_pp_0110media.html?partner=rss
I posted this not because of the little thing about Voom which of course is a repeat of E* buying V*, but NBC looking at Cablevision is just from left field, maybe this is where the money is?
http://www.forbes.com/services/2005/01/11/cx_pp_0110media.html?partner=rss
I posted this not because of the little thing about Voom which of course is a repeat of E* buying V*, but NBC looking at Cablevision is just from left field, maybe this is where the money is?
Cablevision may abandon VOOM
found this story thought it may be of interest to some of you....
Cablevision May Abandon Satellite TV Plan
By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - Cablevision Systems Corp., a Long Island-based cable TV provider, said Tuesday it is suspending plans for a spinoff of its money-losing satellite broadcasting business and will consider other alternatives for the unit.
The high-definition satellite venture, which is marketed under the brand name VOOM, has had a tough start since being launched more than a year ago and has been a source of major concern among Cablevision's investors.
The spinoff of VOOM would have been bundled with several other, more stable Cablevision businesses, including three profitable cable networks — AMC, The Independent Film Channel and WE: Women's Entertainment — as well as the Clearview Cinemas chain of movie theaters.
VOOM has struggled since being launched in the fall of 2003. In its third quarter earnings report last month, Cablevision said the VOOM service had just 26,000 customers and had posted an operating loss of $75.3 million on revenues of $5.9 million.
Investors have long been skeptical of VOOM's prospects, noting the high set-up costs for launching a satellite TV service as well as the stiff competition from the two deep-pocketed players that dominate the field, EchoStar Communications Corp.'s DISH network and DirecTV Group Inc., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Katherine Styponias, a media industry analyst with Prudential, told investors in a research note Tuesday that the "best case scenario" was for the VOOM unit to be shut down immediately and its satellite assets sold off.
found this story thought it may be of interest to some of you....
Cablevision May Abandon Satellite TV Plan
By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK - Cablevision Systems Corp., a Long Island-based cable TV provider, said Tuesday it is suspending plans for a spinoff of its money-losing satellite broadcasting business and will consider other alternatives for the unit.
The high-definition satellite venture, which is marketed under the brand name VOOM, has had a tough start since being launched more than a year ago and has been a source of major concern among Cablevision's investors.
The spinoff of VOOM would have been bundled with several other, more stable Cablevision businesses, including three profitable cable networks — AMC, The Independent Film Channel and WE: Women's Entertainment — as well as the Clearview Cinemas chain of movie theaters.
VOOM has struggled since being launched in the fall of 2003. In its third quarter earnings report last month, Cablevision said the VOOM service had just 26,000 customers and had posted an operating loss of $75.3 million on revenues of $5.9 million.
Investors have long been skeptical of VOOM's prospects, noting the high set-up costs for launching a satellite TV service as well as the stiff competition from the two deep-pocketed players that dominate the field, EchoStar Communications Corp.'s DISH network and DirecTV Group Inc., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Katherine Styponias, a media industry analyst with Prudential, told investors in a research note Tuesday that the "best case scenario" was for the VOOM unit to be shut down immediately and its satellite assets sold off.
- Nov 29, 2003
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- 20,146
That story was on the AP wire-Tuesday, December 21, 2004-old news, which I don't even believe.
Business - AP. Cablevision May Abandon Satellite TV Plan. Tue Dec 21, 5:15 PM ET. Business - AP. By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
Business - AP. Cablevision May Abandon Satellite TV Plan. Tue Dec 21, 5:15 PM ET. Business - AP. By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
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