Webcast: Q4 2004 Cablevision Systems Corp. Earnings Conference Call

[Peter Parker]

DirecTV has not turned a profit. That is not hypothetical that is fact. As for VOOM we have documentation that it has weighed down CVC. There is nothing hypothetrical about that either.


My point is that both scenarios are unprofitable. In either case the buisness entity survives or fails based on expectations of future returns. Again no right answer just an observation that neither business model seems to be perfooming as well as you might like.

 

[gutter]

DirecTV has not turned a profit. That is not hypothetical that is fact. As for VOOM we have documentation that it has weighed down CVC. There is nothing hypothetrical about that either.


My point is that both scenarios are unprofitable. In either case the buisness entity survives or fails based on expectations of future returns. Again no right answer just an observation that neither business model seems to be perfoorming as well as you might like.

Now that is the only statement that makes sense. Or is it cents$? I agree that VOOM has to show growth in the near term to have credibility not necessarily a profit. But 15 months isn't even long enough for a corner shoe shine stand to turn a profit.

 

[Bruce]

Now that is the only statement that makes sense. Or is it cents$? I agree that VOOM has to show growth in the near term to have credibility not necessarily a profit. But 15 months isn't even long enough for a corner shoe shine stand to turn a profit.

Turn a profit, no, show growth, yes I agree, but 15 months is enough time to show growth or go backwards, which to investors, does not look good.
Most investors know nothing about HD and SD, but they do believe showing subscriber growth means everything ( look at how they view D*, even with all the money losses).
E* ( and I know it was a different world back then ) had a million subs in its first year, 100,000 subs in its first month, and they were not in Best Buy and Circuit City.
If E* means nothing, Comcast has over 1,000,000 HD Subs, 300,000 of those using HD-DVRs, that's today, and investors will look at that ( and other info of course, just that other info better look good ).

 

[vurbano]

E* ( and I know it was a different world back then ) had a million subs in its first year, 100,000 subs in its first month, and they were not in Best Buy and Circuit City.

Yes but they werent trying to survive selling HD. They were providing SD satellite service to people that couldnt get cable. Thats the way D* and E* built their numbers. Try comparing apples to apples.

 

[Bruce]

Yes but they werent trying to survive selling HD. They were providing SD satellite service to people that couldnt get cable. Thats the way D* and E* built their numbers. Try comparing apples to apples.

Wow, talk about taking part of my post and try to turn it into a negative.
Are you trying to say that they only marketed themselves to the rural market only, please, then why was DirecTV in every Best Buy back in 97, not to many of those stores out in the country.
The main Satellite company that marketed themselves to that market was Primestar, and what happened to them.
I don't live in that market, and I had D* in 97, E* in 99.

 

[bryan27]

Turn a profit, no, show growth, yes I agree, but 15 months is enough time to show growth or go backwards, which to investors, does not look good.

Hum, I guess in 15 months going from 0 subscribers to 26,000 (or so) subscribers is 0 growth. Investors may not have liked the rate of growth, but none the less there was growth over the past 15 months.

In this, now, now, now, we can't wait we want it now society the investors wanted everything now. Some things take time and are well worth the wait.

 

[calikarim]

Just a lurker you are naive

Just a lurker , you are very naive. I am in the dry cleaning busines.. My first store in West Hollywood, i invested $1 million. My first year my revenue was $120,000. That is a 1000% loss. It is called investing in infrastructure. Now 10 years later i gross, $2.5 million, with little capital expenditure. I only have fixed expenses like variable labor, rent, workmans compensation. My profit is substantial.

If you had been on a bulletin board, you would have been calling me an idiot, for losing money year after year. I invested every dime i had. I lost over $1.6 million the first three years, but it was necessary for infratsture.

I am now one of the number one dry cleaning stores in California, with over 70 employees under one roof, running three shift.

I am since opening my second store, investment $750,000. 'Revenue zero. This is called business something you OBVIOUSLY know nothing about. Are you a trolling, kid, 17 years old on a skateboard. GIve me a break, i see you complaining about voom every day. Get a life.

Create something and then come on this bulletin board. This is how business is done.