Cablevision Board To Debate Voom Fate
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I just hope they get my install done before they become part of E* which I am desperate to get rid of. It should have been tomorrow but Installs Inc. screwed up scheduling with the installer. Now set for 01 Feb.
Riddle me this
How can the SEC allow Charles to buy Voom himself?? Something seems awful fishy about the head of a company starting a new venture with his company's assets, seeing it flounder, and them buying it with is own personal funds on the cheap. Seems a little under handed...
How can the SEC allow Charles to buy Voom himself?? Something seems awful fishy about the head of a company starting a new venture with his company's assets, seeing it flounder, and them buying it with is own personal funds on the cheap. Seems a little under handed...
Wow, 81 members and 94 guests on-line. I wonder how many of those "guests" are financial reporters or SEC officials 
monitoring what the heck is going on here.
monitoring what the heck is going on here.
energetik said:
$5.9 mil
@ avg $99/month/sub that is 59,595 subs.
@ avg $75/month/sub that is 78,667 subscribers.
It would actually be higher since they only had 26,000 in September.
[Edit: Damnit, I forgot about ad revenues!!!]
<B>THE FULL TEXT MEMO:</B>
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzmemo0121,0,2208433.story?coll=ny-business-leadheadlines
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzmemo0121,0,2208433.story?coll=ny-business-leadheadlines
Having been a subscriber to all three services (currently D*, 7 years) my two cents is only if I don't have to pay for it. Voom GAVE ME their service for 2 month free and I cancelled because it was so bad. I don't know if things have changed at all recently.FrankJo said:
The only way I see Voom ever having success, short of acquisition by D* or E* is to sell themselves as an ala carte service. If I were able to purchase a Voom receiver for less than $100 and subscribe to only ALL HD premium movie channels, that would be worth about 40/mo to me. Making it ala carte, keep it real. Like someone posted ... without standard cable channels ... the whole package looses value. Add in the PQ issues reported by many, it plain is not worth it unless you are bleeding cash
Charles Dolan could bid for Voom, memo hints
Long Island Business News
Jan. 20 2005 -- 4:25:16 PM EST
by KEN SCHACHTER
BETHPAGE - In the wake of a bruising boardroom battle at Cablevision, a memo has emerged that hints Charles Dolan and other family members could seek to buy the Voom satellite TV service.
On Wednesday, Cablevision directors sided with CEO James Dolan in deciding to sell or shut down 18-month-old Voom, which has failed to gain traction against rivals DirecTV and Dish Network.
Today, an internal memo was posted, and later removed, on the SatelliteGuys.US Web site. The purported internal Voom memo from Charles Dolan and his son Thomas said that potential bidders for Cablevision's Voom unit, Rainbow DBS, included the Dolan family. Should the business be sold, the memo said, Rainbow DBS staff "will simply work under new ownership."
The Dolan family owns a majority stake in Cablevision, but it was unclear whether family members would sell their shares in the firm founded by Charles Dolan to pursue Voom, seen by Wall Street as a high-risk venture.
In December, Cablevision aborted plans to spin off Rainbow DBS. Charles Dolan was to be chairman of the new company and Thomas Dolan was to be chief executive.
Long Island Business News
Jan. 20 2005 -- 4:25:16 PM EST
by KEN SCHACHTER
BETHPAGE - In the wake of a bruising boardroom battle at Cablevision, a memo has emerged that hints Charles Dolan and other family members could seek to buy the Voom satellite TV service.
On Wednesday, Cablevision directors sided with CEO James Dolan in deciding to sell or shut down 18-month-old Voom, which has failed to gain traction against rivals DirecTV and Dish Network.
Today, an internal memo was posted, and later removed, on the SatelliteGuys.US Web site. The purported internal Voom memo from Charles Dolan and his son Thomas said that potential bidders for Cablevision's Voom unit, Rainbow DBS, included the Dolan family. Should the business be sold, the memo said, Rainbow DBS staff "will simply work under new ownership."
The Dolan family owns a majority stake in Cablevision, but it was unclear whether family members would sell their shares in the firm founded by Charles Dolan to pursue Voom, seen by Wall Street as a high-risk venture.
In December, Cablevision aborted plans to spin off Rainbow DBS. Charles Dolan was to be chairman of the new company and Thomas Dolan was to be chief executive.
Bruce
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Walter L. said:Wow, 81 members and 94 guests on-line. I wonder how many of those "guests" are financial reporters or SEC officials
Well I started this thread, I have to see what it will mutate into.
That means that you're liable. Be prepare to spend big $$$ on lawyers, the SEC officials may call you first for testimonybruce said:Well I started this thread, I have to see what it will mutate into.
:shocked The Lessons of Voom
What can the industry learn from the mistakes made by
Cablevision's satellite TV service? By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 19) -- Voom is getting closer to doom.
Cablevision's board of directors this week decided that it would attempt to sell its
struggling satellite TV service. If the service can not be sold soon, the odds are good
that Cablevision will simply pull the plug. Voom, which launched more than a year
ago, has less than 30,000 subscribers despite an ambitious lineup of nearly 40
High-Definition TV channels. And The Wall Street Journal reported today that
Cablevision's board ordered management to immediately reduce spending on the
service, a likely signal that it will be closed if it's not sold.
What happened to Voom? Any why did Cablevision spend hundreds of millions of
dollars to launch the service?
As Cablevision proceeds to wind down the venture, it's a good time to look at the
lessons that can be learned from its failure.
Lesson #1:
Think Twice -- No, Three Times -- Before You Challenge the Establishment
Chuck Dolan, Cablevision's founder and chief Voom supporter, should have known
better than anyone that existing cable and satellite companies have a virtual lock on
the market. In the case of the satellite industry, which Voom dared to conquer,
DIRECTV and EchoStar now have nearly 25 million subscribers and a decade's
worth of experience and consumer recognition. There just isn't room for a third
player; Voom was a long shot from the beginning. The only way it could have
succeeded was to offer something that DIRECTV and EchoStar could not.
Lesson #2:
If You Want to Be Niche, Don't Spend Money Like You're Rich
Dolan must have understood lesson #1, which would explain his decision to market
Voom as a High-Definition TV service. DIRECTV and EchoStar now offer less than
10 high-def channels so Dolan concluded that Voom's heavy HDTV lineup would be
a magnet for the growing audience of HDTV owners. The problem, however, is that HDTV is not growing at the pace that Dolan and others had anticipated. There are
roughly 11 million HDTV homes in the United States, hardly an audience large
enough to justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars. If Dolan wanted to market
Voom as a niche service, he should have started with a conservative budget and then increased spending when more people bought HDTVs. However, he spent money on Voom as if the entire country was on the verge of buying a new set. (And
he's asked Cablevision's board for even more money!) In football, it's said that
you "outkick your coverage" when you punt the ball too far downfield, which permits the return team to set up a big run. Similarly, Dolan outspent his audience, leaving
Cablevision vulnerable to charges that the company has built a service whose supply may never meet demand.
Lesson #3:
Be Careful When Traveling In Foreign Territory
Cablevision -- and Dolan -- knows cable. There's no question about that. However,
the company seems to have underestimated the market forces that make the
satellite TV industry a trickier proposition. Unlike cable, which has a virtual
monopoly in most cities (many people subscribe because it's the only way to get
their local stations without a snowy picture), the satellite industry doesn't have the benefit of being partners with local governments who promote their service at every opportunity. Consequently, they have to work overtime to attract subscribers,
building massive retail units and spending millions of dollars on national advertising
campaigns. But, today, Cablevision's top executives and board members seem
surprised that the Voom venture is so costly.
Of course, this development is not uncommon in the business world. Many
companies, flush with success and profits, suddenly believe they can conquer a
different category or industry. For instance, the telephone companies are preparing
to launch TV services of their own. However, history shows that success in one industry does not often transfer to another. Just ask the fellow who persuaded Harley Davidson to make a wine cooler in the 1990s. What's that? You can't find a Harley Davidson wine cooler at your local supermarket?
Lesson #4
Be Wary of Those With Cloudy Vision
Many great leaders are visionaries. They see trends before anyone else, enabling
them to move their companies in the right direction at just the right time. However,
vision can be arrogance in disguise. In Voom's case, Chuck Dolan persuaded
his company that his vision was clear when it was actually clouded with arrogance.
He ignored all the warning signals and he believed his view was unassailable. Unlike wise visionaries, he did not heed the advice of others and alter his course when necessary.
And now, it's too late.
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.
What can the industry learn from the mistakes made by
Cablevision's satellite TV service? By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (January 19) -- Voom is getting closer to doom.
Cablevision's board of directors this week decided that it would attempt to sell its
struggling satellite TV service. If the service can not be sold soon, the odds are good
that Cablevision will simply pull the plug. Voom, which launched more than a year
ago, has less than 30,000 subscribers despite an ambitious lineup of nearly 40
High-Definition TV channels. And The Wall Street Journal reported today that
Cablevision's board ordered management to immediately reduce spending on the
service, a likely signal that it will be closed if it's not sold.
What happened to Voom? Any why did Cablevision spend hundreds of millions of
dollars to launch the service?
As Cablevision proceeds to wind down the venture, it's a good time to look at the
lessons that can be learned from its failure.
Lesson #1:
Think Twice -- No, Three Times -- Before You Challenge the Establishment
Chuck Dolan, Cablevision's founder and chief Voom supporter, should have known
better than anyone that existing cable and satellite companies have a virtual lock on
the market. In the case of the satellite industry, which Voom dared to conquer,
DIRECTV and EchoStar now have nearly 25 million subscribers and a decade's
worth of experience and consumer recognition. There just isn't room for a third
player; Voom was a long shot from the beginning. The only way it could have
succeeded was to offer something that DIRECTV and EchoStar could not.
Lesson #2:
If You Want to Be Niche, Don't Spend Money Like You're Rich
Dolan must have understood lesson #1, which would explain his decision to market
Voom as a High-Definition TV service. DIRECTV and EchoStar now offer less than
10 high-def channels so Dolan concluded that Voom's heavy HDTV lineup would be
a magnet for the growing audience of HDTV owners. The problem, however, is that HDTV is not growing at the pace that Dolan and others had anticipated. There are
roughly 11 million HDTV homes in the United States, hardly an audience large
enough to justify spending hundreds of millions of dollars. If Dolan wanted to market
Voom as a niche service, he should have started with a conservative budget and then increased spending when more people bought HDTVs. However, he spent money on Voom as if the entire country was on the verge of buying a new set. (And
he's asked Cablevision's board for even more money!) In football, it's said that
you "outkick your coverage" when you punt the ball too far downfield, which permits the return team to set up a big run. Similarly, Dolan outspent his audience, leaving
Cablevision vulnerable to charges that the company has built a service whose supply may never meet demand.
Lesson #3:
Be Careful When Traveling In Foreign Territory
Cablevision -- and Dolan -- knows cable. There's no question about that. However,
the company seems to have underestimated the market forces that make the
satellite TV industry a trickier proposition. Unlike cable, which has a virtual
monopoly in most cities (many people subscribe because it's the only way to get
their local stations without a snowy picture), the satellite industry doesn't have the benefit of being partners with local governments who promote their service at every opportunity. Consequently, they have to work overtime to attract subscribers,
building massive retail units and spending millions of dollars on national advertising
campaigns. But, today, Cablevision's top executives and board members seem
surprised that the Voom venture is so costly.
Of course, this development is not uncommon in the business world. Many
companies, flush with success and profits, suddenly believe they can conquer a
different category or industry. For instance, the telephone companies are preparing
to launch TV services of their own. However, history shows that success in one industry does not often transfer to another. Just ask the fellow who persuaded Harley Davidson to make a wine cooler in the 1990s. What's that? You can't find a Harley Davidson wine cooler at your local supermarket?
Lesson #4
Be Wary of Those With Cloudy Vision
Many great leaders are visionaries. They see trends before anyone else, enabling
them to move their companies in the right direction at just the right time. However,
vision can be arrogance in disguise. In Voom's case, Chuck Dolan persuaded
his company that his vision was clear when it was actually clouded with arrogance.
He ignored all the warning signals and he believed his view was unassailable. Unlike wise visionaries, he did not heed the advice of others and alter his course when necessary.
And now, it's too late.
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.
rang1995 said:
That article was already posted on this thread (here). I'll repost my response again: IMO, Phillip Swann doesn't have any credibility. He does predictions and later change based on what he see happen. I've confronted him directly before at AVSForum about that. Checkout this post.
Of course, he never answer.
Ronald_Jeremy said:
That $5.9M figure for revenues was for the third QUARTER which makes it three months.
$5.9M / (26K subs * 3 Months) = $75.64 per sub per month.
The current sub numbers is unknown to the general public.
It is possible to view the posts without being a member isnt it? I know some forums are like that.Scott Greczkowski said:And any posting here is NOT under public domain, when you signed up you agreed that all posts here become property of SatelliteGuys, its like that on most every forum I know of.
Now, yes I agree, it doesn't matter because it is publically available at Newsweek website. But at the time that I made that post it wasn't available anywhere else.vurbano said:
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