The End of VOOM?
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Well, I predicted this about a year ago. Like others have said, VOOM will be sold off, piece by piece. Look for others to pick up remaining assets and even possibly take over new satellite order contracts.
VOOM is effectively dead. It will writhe a bit before the final bullet is administered.
Now I feel good about my VOOM experience - which lasted a total of 9 hours after installation. The installer, cut my cable lines coming into my house which killed my broadband, he installed the OTA backwards and positioned right next to my neighbor's two story wall. He reclined in my chair, made personal phone calls on my phone, then blasted my home theatre to the max without my permission which woke our sick baby at the time. Needless to say, the thrill of watching a guy surf in HD was not worth the $800. I got my refund, a cool de-installer took the stuff away and now I have an HD TiVo with DirecTV.
For those of you who will lose VOOM and possibly money you've spent on equipment, I am pouring some of my 40oz on the ground for ya.
HD
VOOM is effectively dead. It will writhe a bit before the final bullet is administered.
Now I feel good about my VOOM experience - which lasted a total of 9 hours after installation. The installer, cut my cable lines coming into my house which killed my broadband, he installed the OTA backwards and positioned right next to my neighbor's two story wall. He reclined in my chair, made personal phone calls on my phone, then blasted my home theatre to the max without my permission which woke our sick baby at the time. Needless to say, the thrill of watching a guy surf in HD was not worth the $800. I got my refund, a cool de-installer took the stuff away and now I have an HD TiVo with DirecTV.
For those of you who will lose VOOM and possibly money you've spent on equipment, I am pouring some of my 40oz on the ground for ya.
HD
gutter said:
I've seen this a bunch of times in this thread. This deal didn't happen in 24 hours.
Cablevision announced in a SEC filing on 12/21 that they were exploring options for the Rainbow DBS:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2004/12/21/1221automarketscan13.html?partner=yahoo&referrer=
That's plenty of time to work out a deal among Cablevision and EchoStar.
Public companies don't announce stuff to float out ideas. This is a done deal folks and the sooner you buy into that reality, the easier it will be to deal with
-Keith
cmslick3 said:
It can also mean that while E* waits for the FCC to approve Rainbow1 sale; Voom terminates transmission to the bird, leases the capacity to E* for say $1 and E* begins broadcast its signal off of it.
Therefore Cablevision does not have further expenses of programming and Call Center and customer issues for the 8 months that it takes the FCC to approve a deal.
CV can close up the VOOM shop and terminate employees and transition others. There is no further cash drain and the Board of Directors is happy.
20 Jan 2005 23:09 ET WSJ(1/21) UPDATE: Echostar Is Near Deal To Buy Voom
(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Peter Grant and andy Pasztor
Cablevision Systems Corp. will shut down its Voom satellite service and sell most of the assets of the money-losing business to EchoStar Communications Corp. for $200 million in cash.
The deal amounts to a major defeat for Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, who has championed the service for more than 10 years. It also marks the climax of a family and financial drama that pitted Mr. Dolan against his son James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive.
Yesterday's announcement follows a tumultuous month in which James Dolan sided with a majority of Cablevision board members in trying to sell Voom or shut down the service that had little hope of seeing a profit for years. Charles Dolan at one point threatened to use his controlling stake in the company to force directors off the board who opposed continued funding. Earlier this week, Charles Dolan indicated in a memo to Voom employees that family members might buy the service themselves to keep it operating.
"It closes the book on what has been a relatively unhappy chapter in Cablevision's history," says Craig Moffett, analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
EchoStar will purchase Voom's only satellite, launched by Cablevision in 2003, and other equipment. Cablevision will continue trying to sell Voom's other assets, including valuable slots for satellites to orbit, which could fetch tens of millions of additional dollars. But the cable operator is unlikely to come close to recovering its investment in the business, estimated at more than $500 million.
Cablevision said in a press release that it would continue to provide service to Voom's roughly 26,000 subscribers "during a transition period." A spokesman declined further comment. James and Charles Dolan couldn't be reached.
EchoStar, the country's second-largest satellite-TV operator, has long been seen as the most logical buyer of Voom's assets. Charles Ergen, the company's chairman and chief executive, for months has been weighing alternatives to compete more effectively against the deeper pockets of DirecTV Group Inc., the largest satellite operator.
The deal with Cablevision could alleviate the concerns of investors worried about EchoStar's ability to keep up with DirecTV in providing additional high-definition programming.
Mr. Ergen negotiated what industry officials said was a surprisingly low price for a powerful, two-year-old satellite with no known defects and more than 16 years left in orbit. It cost about $250 million to build and put the satellite into orbit, while EchoStar has avoided the risk of a launch failure and early operational malfunctions.
Voom began selling its service in late 2003, but it got off to a bad start, burning through $75.3 million in cash in the third quarter of last year. Voom's strategy was to offer more high-definition channels than cable companies and other satellite operators. But this failed to attract much demand, especially as competitors added more high-definition offerings. Crutchfield Corp., a large retailer of television and audio equipment, recently stopped selling Voom.
Cablevision, the nation's sixth-largest cable network, also owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Its shares continued to rally yesterday on investor confidence that the company will soon stop funding Voom's deficits. In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares were up $1.10, or 4.5%, at $25.48.
The decision to sell Voom marks the first time that James Dolan has publicly stood up to his father after working for years in his shadow. Until now, James Dolan was primarily known for the ho-hum performance of Cablevision's sports teams and his high-profile battles with other prominent New Yorkers. Most recently he has fought New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over the city's efforts to build a new stadium on Manhattan's West Side that would compete with Madison Square Garden.
Charles Dolan, 78 years old, was one of the cable industry's pioneers. He founded Home Box Office as well as the first regional sports channel. He wired New York City for cable when many believed that cable was only a business that would survive in areas where TV reception was poor.
Charles Dolan clearly thought he would prove the skeptics wrong again with Voom. But investors and analysts were fiercely opposed to Cablevision trying to become a third entrant into the fiercely competitive satellite business.
In response to this criticism Cablevision in 2003 decided to spin off Voom, along with three of its cable networks. But that plan was shelved in December and the company announced plans to explore a possible sale and other options.
Charles Dolan, however, continued to press the board to keep funding Voom, leading to a showdown board meeting on Tuesday at which a majority of board members, including his son, voted to sell the business.
(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Peter Grant and andy Pasztor
Cablevision Systems Corp. will shut down its Voom satellite service and sell most of the assets of the money-losing business to EchoStar Communications Corp. for $200 million in cash.
The deal amounts to a major defeat for Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, who has championed the service for more than 10 years. It also marks the climax of a family and financial drama that pitted Mr. Dolan against his son James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive.
Yesterday's announcement follows a tumultuous month in which James Dolan sided with a majority of Cablevision board members in trying to sell Voom or shut down the service that had little hope of seeing a profit for years. Charles Dolan at one point threatened to use his controlling stake in the company to force directors off the board who opposed continued funding. Earlier this week, Charles Dolan indicated in a memo to Voom employees that family members might buy the service themselves to keep it operating.
"It closes the book on what has been a relatively unhappy chapter in Cablevision's history," says Craig Moffett, analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
EchoStar will purchase Voom's only satellite, launched by Cablevision in 2003, and other equipment. Cablevision will continue trying to sell Voom's other assets, including valuable slots for satellites to orbit, which could fetch tens of millions of additional dollars. But the cable operator is unlikely to come close to recovering its investment in the business, estimated at more than $500 million.
Cablevision said in a press release that it would continue to provide service to Voom's roughly 26,000 subscribers "during a transition period." A spokesman declined further comment. James and Charles Dolan couldn't be reached.
EchoStar, the country's second-largest satellite-TV operator, has long been seen as the most logical buyer of Voom's assets. Charles Ergen, the company's chairman and chief executive, for months has been weighing alternatives to compete more effectively against the deeper pockets of DirecTV Group Inc., the largest satellite operator.
The deal with Cablevision could alleviate the concerns of investors worried about EchoStar's ability to keep up with DirecTV in providing additional high-definition programming.
Mr. Ergen negotiated what industry officials said was a surprisingly low price for a powerful, two-year-old satellite with no known defects and more than 16 years left in orbit. It cost about $250 million to build and put the satellite into orbit, while EchoStar has avoided the risk of a launch failure and early operational malfunctions.
Voom began selling its service in late 2003, but it got off to a bad start, burning through $75.3 million in cash in the third quarter of last year. Voom's strategy was to offer more high-definition channels than cable companies and other satellite operators. But this failed to attract much demand, especially as competitors added more high-definition offerings. Crutchfield Corp., a large retailer of television and audio equipment, recently stopped selling Voom.
Cablevision, the nation's sixth-largest cable network, also owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Its shares continued to rally yesterday on investor confidence that the company will soon stop funding Voom's deficits. In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares were up $1.10, or 4.5%, at $25.48.
The decision to sell Voom marks the first time that James Dolan has publicly stood up to his father after working for years in his shadow. Until now, James Dolan was primarily known for the ho-hum performance of Cablevision's sports teams and his high-profile battles with other prominent New Yorkers. Most recently he has fought New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over the city's efforts to build a new stadium on Manhattan's West Side that would compete with Madison Square Garden.
Charles Dolan, 78 years old, was one of the cable industry's pioneers. He founded Home Box Office as well as the first regional sports channel. He wired New York City for cable when many believed that cable was only a business that would survive in areas where TV reception was poor.
Charles Dolan clearly thought he would prove the skeptics wrong again with Voom. But investors and analysts were fiercely opposed to Cablevision trying to become a third entrant into the fiercely competitive satellite business.
In response to this criticism Cablevision in 2003 decided to spin off Voom, along with three of its cable networks. But that plan was shelved in December and the company announced plans to explore a possible sale and other options.
Charles Dolan, however, continued to press the board to keep funding Voom, leading to a showdown board meeting on Tuesday at which a majority of board members, including his son, voted to sell the business.
Wow, big news. Let the "I told you so's" begin. I agree with a lot of the posts: Get over it. 
Life's not fair. It's not the end of the world, it's TV!
There are a lot of you that are taking this personally. Voom was not broadcasting to make you happy. They were trying to make money. They realized that it was never gonna happen and got out while the getting was marginally good. Maybe E* will offer you a deal maybe not. But as 0.2% of their current subscriber base, it made no sense to include the current Voomers.
I sure am gonna miss all the Voom talk around here though. It's actually been pretty entertaining.
Life's not fair. It's not the end of the world, it's TV!There are a lot of you that are taking this personally. Voom was not broadcasting to make you happy. They were trying to make money. They realized that it was never gonna happen and got out while the getting was marginally good. Maybe E* will offer you a deal maybe not. But as 0.2% of their current subscriber base, it made no sense to include the current Voomers.
I sure am gonna miss all the Voom talk around here though. It's actually been pretty entertaining.
Damn it! I was so close. My install was set for 1/22/2005. I'll have to call VOOM in the morning. Maybe they'll have a meeting in the morning and explain the possible sale ( if the FCC approves it). My TV has an HD decoder built in but I only get 6 HD channels. If they shut off the feed which of the two D* or E* have the better SD and HD PQ?
They just couldn't wait 3 more weeks for the Superbowl.
They just couldn't wait 3 more weeks for the Superbowl.
Time for bed
Man, if Charlie wants compelling content, this was the place to be and today was the time to be here. Funny thing is, there were so many people glued to this message board today, that very little HD was being watched at their homes anyways.
I'm going to watch a little HD tonight and then go to bed. I am going to try not to check in here tomorrow, because everything is speculation, and I don't want to be discouraged or encouraged by any of it. I'll just hope for the best.
Later dudes.
Man, if Charlie wants compelling content, this was the place to be and today was the time to be here. Funny thing is, there were so many people glued to this message board today, that very little HD was being watched at their homes anyways.
I'm going to watch a little HD tonight and then go to bed. I am going to try not to check in here tomorrow, because everything is speculation, and I don't want to be discouraged or encouraged by any of it. I'll just hope for the best.
Later dudes.
I have a couple of questions all hypothetical
1)Would it have been possible before the sale of voom, for charles to take cablevision private? cox did this a few months back, then he could have done whatever he would like with both companies and really would only have to answer to himself.
2)is it possible that charles will go to dish to try and get their HD up to where voom's was?
3)All the stock journalist and analyst be wrong and that most of cablevisions stock value is from what people saw the stock could be if and when voom was successful? Is it now possible that the stock instead of jumping like most will assume will actually take a hit?
4)What if the FCC or the SEC does not approve the deal for whatever reason, and says they can not sell the satellite business to another dbs company? then what happens
1)Would it have been possible before the sale of voom, for charles to take cablevision private? cox did this a few months back, then he could have done whatever he would like with both companies and really would only have to answer to himself.
2)is it possible that charles will go to dish to try and get their HD up to where voom's was?
3)All the stock journalist and analyst be wrong and that most of cablevisions stock value is from what people saw the stock could be if and when voom was successful? Is it now possible that the stock instead of jumping like most will assume will actually take a hit?
4)What if the FCC or the SEC does not approve the deal for whatever reason, and says they can not sell the satellite business to another dbs company? then what happens
To all of you Boom! subscribers, I've got just one thing to say......
Welcome to the dark side!
D* and E* doesn't want their customers to actually be happy, they just try to find the point where they keep paying and don't get quite ticked off enough to leave.
Welcome to the dark side!
D* and E* doesn't want their customers to actually be happy, they just try to find the point where they keep paying and don't get quite ticked off enough to leave.
I felt compelled to cross-post my reaction to all of this:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=286219&postcount=23
After the dust settles I am going to write Dolan sr and thank him for the noble experiment.
And unless Voom (or something like it) comes back to life, this IS my final post in this forum.
Best wishes to all.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=286219&postcount=23
After the dust settles I am going to write Dolan sr and thank him for the noble experiment.
And unless Voom (or something like it) comes back to life, this IS my final post in this forum.
Best wishes to all.
Just read another article from Colorado:
"This satellite could be used for a wide range of purposes," EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk said. "Among other things, it would give us more capacity and more flexibility."
Several analysts said it is unlikely EchoStar will continue to provide the Voom service through any kind of partnership with the company.
Instead, it likely will use the new satellite to offer local channels in more markets, provide its own high-definition programming or develop high-speed Internet service, they said."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3486563,00.html
"This satellite could be used for a wide range of purposes," EchoStar spokesman Steve Caulk said. "Among other things, it would give us more capacity and more flexibility."
Several analysts said it is unlikely EchoStar will continue to provide the Voom service through any kind of partnership with the company.
Instead, it likely will use the new satellite to offer local channels in more markets, provide its own high-definition programming or develop high-speed Internet service, they said."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3486563,00.html
This stinks! I just now ran across this news.I just had Voom installed last sat. And this morning, I called and cancelled E*. Told them I was disapointed with their lack of HD programming. I have a bunch of sat toys, 4DTV, HD200, StarChoice, DVB...
I also just got off the phone with Voom, the lady said that my 6 mos contract would be honored, we shall see, but I doubt it. They are still taking orders for installs as of 4am 1/21/05. The worst part is that I actually found stuff to watch on Voom! I liked the old movies, ecspecially in HD. I guess it is just a wait and see deal frome here.
Mike
Dissapointed in Michigan
I also just got off the phone with Voom, the lady said that my 6 mos contract would be honored, we shall see, but I doubt it. They are still taking orders for installs as of 4am 1/21/05. The worst part is that I actually found stuff to watch on Voom! I liked the old movies, ecspecially in HD. I guess it is just a wait and see deal frome here.
Mike
Dissapointed in Michigan
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