VOOM Goes BOOM - update Dish Drops all 15 VOOM Channels

[mike123abc]

It pains me to think this but it's beginning to look like Voom is more interested in getting a modest size payoff from EchoStar then getting back on air with Dishnet, or any Programming Provider for that matter.

More likely CVC probably wants 100% ownership of VOOM. I am beginning to wonder if they are trying to "settle" with Dish where they get the Dish 20% for free or low cost in exchange for settling the carriage dispute. Then they could come back with new channels and market them to other carriers.

The content owned by VOOM is probably locked up nice and tight by contract. CVC probably would love to get the complete ownership to market elsewhere.

 

[airphotos]

It pains me to think this but it's beginning to look like Voom is more interested in getting a modest size payoff from EchoStar then getting back on air with Dishnet, or any Programming Provider for that matter.

I agree...I think Rainbow would rather dump the Voom product, since there is probably no hope for any other provider to pick it up; take the money and invest in their other channels. If Rainbow wanted to keep Voom alive, they would not be handling the issue in this matter (unless they're under incompetent management). Still, the trial should be fun - incompetent management I vs. incompetent management II.

Oh well, RIP Voom - I'm over you.

 

[riffjim4069]

More likely CVC probably wants 100% ownership of VOOM. I am beginning to wonder if they are trying to "settle" with Dish where they get the Dish 20% for free or low cost in exchange for settling the carriage dispute. Then they could come back with new channels and market them to other carriers.

The content owned by VOOM is probably locked up nice and tight by contract. CVC probably would love to get the complete ownership to market elsewhere.

Although the odds of a settlement are quite slim, if E* could get better terms (tier requirements and price), and VOOM could get E*'s 20% equity and not be required to offer E* matching terms should they break-up their 15-channel lineup, then perhaps a new agreement could be reached...but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for this to happen.

 

[Dr. Cool]

Since most potential Voom subscribers are not coincidentally current Dish subscribers, it'll be almost impossible for Voom to find another carrier interested in developing a subscriber base from scratch for a Voom-alike package. That's why Voom has probably decided to shutdown and run with the bounty.

 

[Spatch]

I agree...I think Rainbow would rather dump the Voom product, since there is probably no hope for any other provider to pick it up; take the money and invest in their other channels. If Rainbow wanted to keep Voom alive, they would not be handling the issue in this matter (unless they're under incompetent management). Still, the trial should be fun - incompetent management I vs. incompetent management II.

Oh well, RIP Voom - I'm over you.

I think you hit the nail on the head voom has incompetent management. Dish on the other hand still runs at a profit. I wouldn't call that incompetent.

 

[ekilgus]

Dish reports a subscriber loss in the last quarter. No doubt dropping VOOM had something to do with this and with the ongoing disputes with various other channels due to pricing disputes this sub loss may continue. I should add that most of the pricing disputes are in areas where D* and cable companies provide those channels. Apparently E* wants a better deal than D* to broadcast those same channels.

 

[riffjim4069]

Dish reports a subscriber loss in the last quarter. No doubt dropping VOOM had something to do with this and with the ongoing disputes with various other channels due to pricing disputes this sub loss may continue. I should add that most of the pricing disputes are in areas where D* and cable companies provide those channels. Apparently E* wants a better deal than D* to broadcast those same channels.

I'm sure some of their loss was attributable to the VOOM situation, but Dish Network has larger problems...getting spanked by the DirecTV marketing machine, and getting eaten alive by the Cable Triple Play (to include FiOS/U-Verse). Offhand, DirecTV is largely shieled to the affects of the Triple Play due to Sunday Ticket.

 

[KAB]

Dish reports a subscriber loss in the last quarter. No doubt dropping VOOM had something to do with this and with the ongoing disputes with various other channels due to pricing disputes this sub loss may continue. I should add that most of the pricing disputes are in areas where D* and cable companies provide those channels. Apparently E* wants a better deal than D* to broadcast those same channels.

As posted in another thread. They lost 25,000 subs, but ADDED 752,000.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/144264-dish-q2-profits-up-50-a.html

 

[FitzAusTex]

I'm a Voom fan, and even I think the 25k loss in subs for E* in 2Q is not due to Voom removal. I think it is due to the success of the D*marketing campaign. Hopefully E* will get serious with an advertising campaign like D* has. They need to advertise as much as D* does, with a great series of commercials. They need to be in the consumer consciousness as much as D* is. Consumers need to know that there are two very viable choices if they're wanting HD. It doesnt even matter if E* is behind D*. D* did very well promising 100 channels 2 years ago. E* should do the same exact thing now.

 

[ekilgus]

As posted in another thread. They lost 25,000 subs, but ADDED 752,000.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/144264-dish-q2-profits-up-50-a.html

Do the math. This means that Dish added 752,000 subscribers but lost 777,000 subscribers for a net loss of 25,000 subs.

I find these numbers somewhat incredible. Is there that much churn?

 

[8bitbytes]

I'm a Voom fan, and even I think the 25k loss in subs for E* in 2Q is not due to Voom removal.

Don't be too sure. Voom had a large customer base when it went down and E* picked up a large number of them just for those channels. When Dish killed Voom, I'm sure many of them hit the doors. Maybe not 700K, but a substantial number nonetheless. DirecTV has definitely made some impact and when they lite up more locals on their newest bird, we will see more numbers headed their way, at least for the length of a contract. Dish will have to provide incentives for capturing the steady flow of churning customers looking for the next deal to save money. This is the main reason service providers in several industries have gone from 12 month contracts to 18 months, and then to two years.

 

[rocatman]

Don't be too sure. Voom had a large customer base when it went down and E* picked up a large number of them just for those channels. When Dish killed Voom, I'm sure many of them hit the doors. Maybe not 700K, but a substantial number nonetheless. DirecTV has definitely made some impact and when they lite up more locals on their newest bird, we will see more numbers headed their way, at least for the length of a contract. Dish will have to provide incentives for capturing the steady flow of churning customers looking for the next deal to save money. This is the main reason service providers in several industries have gone from 12 month contracts to 18 months, and then to two years.

If Voom had a "large customer base when it went down" Cablevision would not have shut it down. If I recall correctly, I believe the number of subscribers to Voom was no more than 50,000 if that perhaps as few as 12,000. Former Voom subscribers leaving Dish did not a significantly impact these latest numbers.

 

[8bitbytes]

If Voom had a "large customer base when it went down" Cablevision would not have shut it down. If I recall correctly, I believe the number of subscribers to Voom was no more than 50,000 if that perhaps as few as 12,000. Former Voom subscribers leaving Dish did not a significantly impact these latest numbers.

Looks like it was supposed to 46,000 in Feb 2005. If half of those came over that is still a significant number. If Dish had a net loss of 25,000 and those 25,000 were Voom subs, there's your increase in the churn rate that pushed them into the red for the first time.

 

[Apologist]

I'm a Voom fan, and even I think the 25k loss in subs for E* in 2Q is not due to Voom removal. I think it is due to the success of the D*marketing campaign. Hopefully E* will get serious with an advertising campaign like D* has. They need to advertise as much as D* does, with a great series of commercials. They need to be in the consumer consciousness as much as D* is. Consumers need to know that there are two very viable choices if they're wanting HD. It doesnt even matter if E* is behind D*. D* did very well promising 100 channels 2 years ago. E* should do the same exact thing now.

D* has been marketing their product very well for the last year or more. The bad #s IMO is from the removal of Voom. At least a majority of those #s can be can be attributed to Voom. The voices of subscribers were heard.

 

[psychicmind]

Dish Network is restoring my faith again.

I said in the beginning, if they added 15 Premium HDs, I'd be OK with the lose of Voom.

But with that said, there are HD versions of movies commonly played on Voom, now airing on premiums. NONE are in their OAR like Voom though. Halloween 2 and 3 on premium HDs were cropped to fit a 16:9 screen and I do not see the original in HD anywhere. Occasionally premiums will air films in their OAR, but usually they crop. I have yet to see the remake of "The Thing" in HD as was to air on Monsters HD the day before it was cut.

I've also noticed that new HD channels are releasing without 5.1 DD. Only in recent months have I seen new HD channels without 5.1 DD. I suspect this saves bandwidth, allowing Dish to add so many more channels without the new birds active.

Also, DirecTV DVRs will NOT transfer programming to portable media devices like Iphone (as a DirecTV CSR suggested). This is a problem for me since I am totally addicted to my PocketDish. I cannot imagine working out on those cardio machines without it and my six-pack thanks Dish for inventing (with Archos) the PocketDish.

I see how addictive these DVRs are. People with active USB storage are addicted too. The Archos media devises are top of the line and highest rated for portable media devices. There resolution is awesome compared to an dark screen Iphone.

Now I have to figure out how to install 3 dishes in Hawaii so I can have full San Francisco service there. (Or maybe Dish's new birds will service Hawaii now too.)

 

[ekilgus]

I'm a Voom fan, and even I think the 25k loss in subs for E* in 2Q is not due to Voom removal.

Hell of a coincidence then, don’t you think?

 

[Apologist]

It only makes sense to come to the conclusion that removing Voom cost E* many subs. Yet there will be people that deny this and state that the decline in subs is do to the economy, weather, ... Removing 15 channels of anything would piss people off.

 

[Weezknight]

It only makes sense to come to the conclusion that removing Voom cost E* many subs. Yet there will be people that deny this and state that the decline in subs is do to the economy, weather, ... Removing 15 channels of anything would piss people off.

Voom obviously had something to do with the loss of subscribers. However, the loss of those subscribers didn't have the effect many thought it would. In the end the company posted a profit and for a lot of people that's all that matters.

 

[FitzAusTex]

I've missed Voom every stinking day since May 13th when the final 5 were removed, and I havent switched yet. I have looked into other alternatives like getting Equator, Rush and Treasure from Bell ExpressVu in Canada, but I havent churned yet. And if the irrational Voom zealot (me) hasnt switched yet, many others haven't either.

My point is that other than in Cablevision territory, we don't have a provider to switch to to get Voom. I would think that if D* was now carrying Voom, E*'s churn could be partially attributable to E* dropping Voom, but I dont think that a sizeable enough group of people have already defected, particularly since there is no where to defect to to get Voom. I dout people protesting with their wallets amounted to any discernable impact to churn.

That being said, if D* picked up Voom, I'd be scheduling my install within seconds.

 

[mlb]

It only makes sense to come to the conclusion that removing Voom cost E* many subs. Yet there will be people that deny this and state that the decline in subs is do to the economy, weather, ... Removing 15 channels of anything would piss people off.

I find it hard to believe that any significant number of people left Dish due to Voom being removed.

I'd say it is more likely due to DirecTV's HD and advertising push.