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After reading this article, please take the time to e-mail Mr. Swann and advise him of your personal feelings on this issue; I have.
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News Analysis: Is Voom Still Doomed?
Yes, but the sale of the satellite TV service finally gets Cablevision off the hook.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (Feb. 14) -- Chuck Dolan just can't give up the dream.
Dolan, the 78-year-old Cablevision chairman, announced last week that he was heading a group that will purchase the remaining assets of Voom, the struggling satellite TV service he cajoled his company to launch in October 2003. Earlier this month, many analysts concluded that Voom would soon be terminated after Cablevision announced it was selling a Voom satellite (and orbital location) to EchoStar, a satellite rival.
Despite spending more than $1 billion on Voom, the service has signed up only 26,000 subscribers after more than a year.
But Dolan, who fiercely opposed the EchoStar sale, still believes that Voom can survive as a High-Definition TV service (Voom has nearly 40 high-def channels). His group plans to seek funding to keep Voom alive. Tom Dolan, Chuck's son and a member of the new Voom team, says that funding will be secured before the sale transaction date of February 28. (It's also been speculated that Chuck Dolan, a billionaire, will use his own money to fund Voom indefinitely.)
After news of the Dolan sale was announced, Internet message boards were jammed with enthusiastic comments from Voom subscribers. They said that Voom would flourish because Dolan would no longer have to battle skeptical Cablevision officials, including his other son, Cablevision CEO James Dolan. The elderly Dolan, they said, could now run the company the way it's supposed to be run.
But the Voom owners are thinking with their hearts rather than their heads.
Despite the impressive HDTV lineup, Voom's service simply can not compete with satellite mainstays, EchoStar and DIRECTV. The two satcasters now have more than 25 million subscribers and a mountain of cash to spend on everything from marketing to satellite production.
DIRECTV, for instance, is launching four new satellites over the next two years so it can provide up to 150 national HDTV channels by 2007;and it will start offering local high-def channels in 12 markets sometime this summer. Why would anyone subscribe to an upstart satellite service when DIRECTV will soon provide an even better HDTV lineup to go along with its established satellite service?
In addition, despite Dolan's personal fortune, Voom will face even more difficulty because it won't have Cablevision's marketing team and infrastructure behind it. Dolan will soon learn that running a satellite TV service in today's economy is not as easy as it looks. (Unless, of course, he can persuade an existing media company to come in as a partner; it's not likely, but Dolan should be shopping around.)
No, Voom is still doomed. Dolan has just given it a reprieve.
He has also given Cablevision an opportunity to recoup some of its losses. The cable operator now doesn't have to spend more money on shutting down the service -- and it can get some money back from Dolan in the sale.
Who says Chuck Dolan doesn't have Cablevision's best interests at heart?
Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, has been quoted on TV technology in dozens of publications and by broadcast outlets, such as The Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News and CNN. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064 or at
swann@tvpredictions.com
The TV Predictions Newsletter now has more than 8,000 e-mail subscribers, including some of the nation's highest-ranking TV executives. Sign up today and get our daily news links and 'Swanni Sez,' the weekly commentary from Phillip Swann! It's...FREE!
© TVPredictions.com
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Mr. Swann,
I wish to point out your observations are simply that, observations.
You negate the fact, Mr. Swann, Mr. Charles Dolan was the same individual brought us HBO, later sold to Time-Warner. And, that the same nay sayer's such as your self, including Wall Street, predicted absolute failure on its inception as well. The exact same forecast was also stressed when Mr. Ted Turner enlightened us with the inception of CNN, also acquired by Time-Warner. Neither ventures brought profitability within, what analysts deemed, a reasonable period.
I was there at their birth's; were you?
How long have you been undermining potential success stories with your so-called crystal ball spewing worthless undermining fodder?
You have discredited yourself with your so called "absolute" analysis.
Never say never, Mr. Swann. For if you are mistaken you'll pay by subverting your very own credibility; being the self proclaimed demagogue who cried wolf.
Mr. Swann, my observations are simply that, observations. Yet, they do not pose the potential for undermining the viability and financial success for many, juxtaposed to the one, you.
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Bradley, my friend, my record of forecasting the future has been better of late than Mr. Dolan.
Swanni Sez.
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Mr. Swann,
I wish to say I have enjoyed past observations you have presented, although I have not always agreed nor disagreed with your analysis.
Yet, with your forecast of Voom's demise you do bring the following to the forefront…
You most willingly pose a conflict of interest as you are sponsored by HDNet and sing praises for them simultaneously.
You conjecture yourself with the seemingly independent stature you wish to present of yourself; yet is it not an oxymoron to behave in such a manner as to act a lobbyist for the right price, simply a mouthpiece for hire?
Those in the know do recognize this, Mr. Swann.
It is the rest of the ill informed public who are seemingly naive to your discourse.
Mr. Swann, as one who takes compensation for Mark Cuban's HDNet, you very much undermine your own credibility within the industry; stifling a direct competitor,undermining its potential success, forecasting "doom for Voom," although however seemingly insignificant in comparable size in its present stature, while discrediting its creator, are you not possibly libelous?
Oh, Swanni! Do tread carefully, my friend. The FCC and those who like to place you in the eye of the public may not take kindly to your apparent conflicts of interest.
==========
News Analysis: Is Voom Still Doomed?
Yes, but the sale of the satellite TV service finally gets Cablevision off the hook.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (Feb. 14) -- Chuck Dolan just can't give up the dream.
Dolan, the 78-year-old Cablevision chairman, announced last week that he was heading a group that will purchase the remaining assets of Voom, the struggling satellite TV service he cajoled his company to launch in October 2003. Earlier this month, many analysts concluded that Voom would soon be terminated after Cablevision announced it was selling a Voom satellite (and orbital location) to EchoStar, a satellite rival.
Despite spending more than $1 billion on Voom, the service has signed up only 26,000 subscribers after more than a year.
But Dolan, who fiercely opposed the EchoStar sale, still believes that Voom can survive as a High-Definition TV service (Voom has nearly 40 high-def channels). His group plans to seek funding to keep Voom alive. Tom Dolan, Chuck's son and a member of the new Voom team, says that funding will be secured before the sale transaction date of February 28. (It's also been speculated that Chuck Dolan, a billionaire, will use his own money to fund Voom indefinitely.)
After news of the Dolan sale was announced, Internet message boards were jammed with enthusiastic comments from Voom subscribers. They said that Voom would flourish because Dolan would no longer have to battle skeptical Cablevision officials, including his other son, Cablevision CEO James Dolan. The elderly Dolan, they said, could now run the company the way it's supposed to be run.
But the Voom owners are thinking with their hearts rather than their heads.
Despite the impressive HDTV lineup, Voom's service simply can not compete with satellite mainstays, EchoStar and DIRECTV. The two satcasters now have more than 25 million subscribers and a mountain of cash to spend on everything from marketing to satellite production.
DIRECTV, for instance, is launching four new satellites over the next two years so it can provide up to 150 national HDTV channels by 2007;and it will start offering local high-def channels in 12 markets sometime this summer. Why would anyone subscribe to an upstart satellite service when DIRECTV will soon provide an even better HDTV lineup to go along with its established satellite service?
In addition, despite Dolan's personal fortune, Voom will face even more difficulty because it won't have Cablevision's marketing team and infrastructure behind it. Dolan will soon learn that running a satellite TV service in today's economy is not as easy as it looks. (Unless, of course, he can persuade an existing media company to come in as a partner; it's not likely, but Dolan should be shopping around.)
No, Voom is still doomed. Dolan has just given it a reprieve.
He has also given Cablevision an opportunity to recoup some of its losses. The cable operator now doesn't have to spend more money on shutting down the service -- and it can get some money back from Dolan in the sale.
Who says Chuck Dolan doesn't have Cablevision's best interests at heart?
Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com, has been quoted on TV technology in dozens of publications and by broadcast outlets, such as The Chicago Tribune, The Hollywood Reporter, Fox News and CNN. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at 703-505-3064 or at
swann@tvpredictions.com
The TV Predictions Newsletter now has more than 8,000 e-mail subscribers, including some of the nation's highest-ranking TV executives. Sign up today and get our daily news links and 'Swanni Sez,' the weekly commentary from Phillip Swann! It's...FREE!
© TVPredictions.com
==========
Mr. Swann,
I wish to point out your observations are simply that, observations.
You negate the fact, Mr. Swann, Mr. Charles Dolan was the same individual brought us HBO, later sold to Time-Warner. And, that the same nay sayer's such as your self, including Wall Street, predicted absolute failure on its inception as well. The exact same forecast was also stressed when Mr. Ted Turner enlightened us with the inception of CNN, also acquired by Time-Warner. Neither ventures brought profitability within, what analysts deemed, a reasonable period.
I was there at their birth's; were you?
How long have you been undermining potential success stories with your so-called crystal ball spewing worthless undermining fodder?
You have discredited yourself with your so called "absolute" analysis.
Never say never, Mr. Swann. For if you are mistaken you'll pay by subverting your very own credibility; being the self proclaimed demagogue who cried wolf.
Mr. Swann, my observations are simply that, observations. Yet, they do not pose the potential for undermining the viability and financial success for many, juxtaposed to the one, you.
==========
Bradley, my friend, my record of forecasting the future has been better of late than Mr. Dolan.
Swanni Sez.
==========
Mr. Swann,
I wish to say I have enjoyed past observations you have presented, although I have not always agreed nor disagreed with your analysis.
Yet, with your forecast of Voom's demise you do bring the following to the forefront…
You most willingly pose a conflict of interest as you are sponsored by HDNet and sing praises for them simultaneously.
You conjecture yourself with the seemingly independent stature you wish to present of yourself; yet is it not an oxymoron to behave in such a manner as to act a lobbyist for the right price, simply a mouthpiece for hire?
Those in the know do recognize this, Mr. Swann.
It is the rest of the ill informed public who are seemingly naive to your discourse.
Mr. Swann, as one who takes compensation for Mark Cuban's HDNet, you very much undermine your own credibility within the industry; stifling a direct competitor,undermining its potential success, forecasting "doom for Voom," although however seemingly insignificant in comparable size in its present stature, while discrediting its creator, are you not possibly libelous?
Oh, Swanni! Do tread carefully, my friend. The FCC and those who like to place you in the eye of the public may not take kindly to your apparent conflicts of interest.
84 Replies
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11384 views
klen said:
Oh please, that's like saying since Voom puts ads at Sat.Guys, only good things will be said about Voom here and all the negative posts will be deleted ( and I don't believe that, they just like the money here as all businesses do
)Do you guys not understand what this thread has done, now his name is more known, more people are now checking out his website, people like him wants to make a scene, so he can get the attention he must so crave to futher whatever agenda he has, and this thread helped it along.
I do agree with some of his same views on the HD world, but I also think he is a smug jerk based on his posts at AVS, I also think everything he has ever posted about Voom has been said many, many times here and AVS, way before any of his stories about Voom was on his site.
jnardone said:
Wow, public school's math at its finest
Supporting Founder
Lifetime Supporter
Thanks to Fitch Ratings ( who gives the ratings on Credit and debt, as approved by the SEC, so they have accurate numbers) we have the totals.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
DIRECTV's video subscriber base is the third-largest traditional multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) in the U.S. with about 8.2 million subscribers at the end of 1Q26.
The last time it was reported, it was 8.8M at the end of 2Q25, so only a 600,000 loss for 3 quarters, which is a major improvement, since for many years before that, it was losing 500,000 a quarter, 2 Million a year.
It is now losing less than Dish/Sling combined, I believe the Genre Packs are helping to retain and get subscribers.
5 Replies
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347 views
Recently came back to DirectTV Satellite service and have two boxes, Gemini and a main HR54.
DirecTV is charging me two "TV access fees" of $10 each, but can only watch TV on the one without the server. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
DirecTV is charging me two "TV access fees" of $10 each, but can only watch TV on the one without the server. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
24 Replies
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938 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
67110 Replies
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2662366 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I feel like this was discussed in another thread, but I can't find it. I have T-Mobile and my last iPhone upgrade was in 2020. I want to get a new iPhone, but what is the best way to go about doing it? Should I order the iPhone from T-Mobile directly, or should I buy from the Apple Store? I feel like there are pros/cons to each option.
2 Replies
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32 views
I have a Hopper with Sling. (Don't know exact model.) A couple nights ago, I went into the DVR screen, and noted that it was recording three programs. Yet I was able to view live TV (that was not one of the channels being recorded.) Did something change? In the past, it would only let me watch one of the channels being recorded, or any recording in the DVR menu. Maybe it was streaming, although there was no indication of that?
Apologies if this has been covered; I searched and didn't find anything.
Thanks.
Apologies if this has been covered; I searched and didn't find anything.
Thanks.
9 Replies
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351 views
iJustine
Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YJjxjYvmQ8s
Direct YouTube Link - Good Bye, Tim! Last WWDC
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YJjxjYvmQ8s
Direct YouTube Link - Good Bye, Tim! Last WWDC
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
0 Replies
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10 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
WANTED DirecTV LCC
Anyone have a DirecTV Local Channel Connector that you'd like to get rid of at a reasonable price? DirecTV is currently in a contract dispute with owner of my local ABC affiliate.
12 Replies
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298 views
I did that. The response was that the LCC is not available. Escalated the issue to a tech support person with the same results.
Could be out of them I guess ... I'd keep trying, every 3-4 days.I did that. The response was that the LCC is not available. Escalated the issue to a tech support person with the same results.
If they are not out of them as them WHY you can't get one, seeing Your in a Dispute. Thats what they are for.
I would make them give you a real answer, don't let them off the hook.
I had one, and it worked well, but I believe I gave it to another D* friend (also had a AM21), I know I gave them away ...
According to the tech support guy, they don't have any in stock. He said I should receive an email when and if they have them. I even told him I would accept a refurbished unit.
I'm not sure your going to find any Refurbished ones as D* doesn't ask for them back.According to the tech support guy, they don't have any in stock. He said I should receive an email when and if they have them. I even told him I would accept a refurbished unit.
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Did anyone have a price increase today on their equipment? I own my VIP211k's, and they have been $5.00. My bill that I received last week shows the "add-ons" as being $5.00. However, I just logged into my Dish account, and my "add-ons" are now $10.00. Did the additional receivers go up by $5.00 recently?
As I mentioned, my last bill shows $5.00 and under the notes, nothing is mentioned about a price increase.
As I mentioned, my last bill shows $5.00 and under the notes, nothing is mentioned about a price increase.
11 Replies
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197 views
Hello everyone, new guy here. I'm trying to solve problem I'm having with Dish bonus view channels. When I'm watching the bonus view channels then I switch back to regular dish channels, after few minutes the screen flips to black and after 30 seconds flips back to regular channels and continues to flip back and forth until I turn off TV. After I wait 30 minutes and turn back on , I can use regular channels again. So, its after I switch from bonus view channels to regular dish channels the problem starts. Been trying to fix this for a month, but no luck
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
Here what I've done.
i contacted Dish support and they sent me a new Joey3, but no help. Switched to a different HDMI input on TV, no help. Used different HDMI cable , no help. Used different electrical wall plug, no help.
Finally got a Dish tech to check it. He ran all systems check and was OK. Finally he brought in a small TV and plugged in the HDMI out from the Joey to the small TV. He could not get the problem to occur on his small TV, so the new Joey was working OK. So, then the problem must be myTV. He made some phone calls and came back with the answer that there must be a problem with the analog to digital switch in my TV. Has anyone ever heard of a problem like this, or is it time to be looking for a new TV? My tv LG OLED65C8PUA. TV has been trouble free til now. Thanks
6 Replies
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100 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, premieres on HBO Max on 8/21. I will be warching
www.syfy.com
View: https://youtu.be/fNwwt25mheo
S~
'Game of Thrones' spinoff 'House of the Dragon' fires up release date at HBO, drops new character pics
The wait’s felt a little like watching for a dragon egg to hatch, but HBO’s hugely anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series finally has a release date. House of the Dragon will debut the first of its initial 10-episode season this summer, the network revealed today in a series of tweets that...
View: https://youtu.be/fNwwt25mheo
S~
39 Replies
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5646 views
