Dear Mr. Dolan,
First, let me thank you for bringing Voom to the market. It is sad that CVC and the shareholders have just succeeded in what I believe history will show to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It is a scenario that I have seen many times in business, and speaks to a condition that is endemic in public companies. It is a combination of a lack of vision and lack of patience.
It must have been apparent from day#1 that the Voom venture would cost money for a number of years before it turned the corner. This should not have surprised the board or shareholders. On top of this were the teething pains and perhaps more start-up problems than Voom should have experienced on both technical and marketing fronts. After many months of problem solving, finally offering a complete channel line-up, and on the verge of introducing the best DVR solution the rug got pulled out! The irony of this is that, by all the signs, Voom was just about to “hook up” and get some traction in the market. It would surprise me greatly if the subscriptions were not beginning to show this. I sure wonder what the numbers are now. I know of at least four friends and associates who were about to take the plunge after nine months of skepticism in my little neighborhood. If this was happening elsewhere, you were just about to see the effects of the recent programming and marketing changes in a big way. Sure, Voom would still be losing money in the immediate future, but the changing tides indicating that there was a payout on the other end may have swayed some votes. Unfortunately we’ll never know.
Our family will miss the Voom 21 more than we expected before signing up. There is great content on so many of the channels that surprised me. We’ll miss Animania, RAVE and Worldsport the most around our house. My kids are heartbroken about Animania. At 6 and 9 years old, they’ve already become picky about picture quality and surround sound!
I’ve begun the search for an alternative supplier, and it’s depressing to realize that I will be paying more for less. While Voom has fewer channels, it has more that I care about than any of the other providers. It’s a case of quntity over quality, with the channel line ups padded by useless shopping channels and numerous stations I will never watch. Voom was a real value.
One thing is clear, there is a paradigm shift in the technology and HD quality that we will expect in the years to come. Voom was about to make its mark and become the leader that you know it could be. It is apparent by the fervent support of Voomers that you were offering something truly special. The general public didn’t understand it yet. Most still don’t know the difference between Digital and HD, but they were coming around. What amazes me is that a boardroom full of apparently smart, successful people could not see this. Besides, the big money was already spent launching Voom to begin with.
Thanks again to you and to all the hard working people behind the scenes who are the biggest losers in this unfortunate turn of events. Even though Voom as we know it appears to be at an end I certainly hope that that the great exclusive programming can find a new home. That the final kill vote was 15-0 gives me hope that you have something up your sleeve as plan B that will fill the void.
Bob H.