SkyFILES: What Killed VOOM?
by Michael Hopkins mhopkins@mediabiz.com
The service enrolled only 40,000 customers in a year and a half of operation. It bled lots of cash for its parent company. And Wall Street certainly was no fan of the satellite-based pay-TV platform coming from an established cable operator and entering a mature business that had two aggressive services already with tens of millions of customers.
But were those the only challenges that doomed VOOM?
Certainly, the idea behind Cablevision-backed VOOM - delivering a comprehensive lineup of high-def programming to consumers - was ahead of its time. There are bullish prospects floating around about how HD will capture the hearts of millions of TV viewers in the coming years. And more consumers everyday are checking out what's considered the future of television.
But was VOOM too way ahead of its time?
People are buying HD sets, but according to recent research from Ipsos-Insight overall consumer interest in high-def is flat.
The firm conducted a survey in October that found 72 percent of consumers labeled HD sets as "too expensive." The Ipsos-Insight survey also discovered that only one-third of respondents say they are somewhat likely or very likely to buy HD sets in the near future.
But consumer concerns about buying a TV set for the same price as a used compact car wasn't the only nail in VOOM's coffin. There also are questions about VOOM's programming strategy.
The 21 HD originals VOOM offered its customers were a hit. Whether it was "Monsters," which offered HD horror films, or news in high-def, the attempt to deliver original HD fare was a noble feat by VOOM and Cablevision's Rainbow programming unit.
But VOOM's programming lineup missed the one key ingredient: Local TV channels.
When VOOM launched in October 2003, DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network already had dozens of local TV markets locked up for its customers. Facing severe spectrum limitations, VOOM decided to go with an off-air antenna for reception of local channels, and that could've been a fatal misstep by the service.
Consumers flocked to the small dish by the hundreds of thousands after November 1999 when satellite TV gained the ability to deliver local TV channels. Those viewers proved they didn't want to receive local TV channels via rabbit-ears. They want their locals via satellite.
There's no doubt observers will debate for months - maybe even years - about what went wrong at VOOM. And there's no question some will ponder VOOM's decision not to go local, among the other gaffes that eventually will put VOOM to rest on April 30.
by Michael Hopkins mhopkins@mediabiz.com
The service enrolled only 40,000 customers in a year and a half of operation. It bled lots of cash for its parent company. And Wall Street certainly was no fan of the satellite-based pay-TV platform coming from an established cable operator and entering a mature business that had two aggressive services already with tens of millions of customers.
But were those the only challenges that doomed VOOM?
Certainly, the idea behind Cablevision-backed VOOM - delivering a comprehensive lineup of high-def programming to consumers - was ahead of its time. There are bullish prospects floating around about how HD will capture the hearts of millions of TV viewers in the coming years. And more consumers everyday are checking out what's considered the future of television.
But was VOOM too way ahead of its time?
People are buying HD sets, but according to recent research from Ipsos-Insight overall consumer interest in high-def is flat.
The firm conducted a survey in October that found 72 percent of consumers labeled HD sets as "too expensive." The Ipsos-Insight survey also discovered that only one-third of respondents say they are somewhat likely or very likely to buy HD sets in the near future.
But consumer concerns about buying a TV set for the same price as a used compact car wasn't the only nail in VOOM's coffin. There also are questions about VOOM's programming strategy.
The 21 HD originals VOOM offered its customers were a hit. Whether it was "Monsters," which offered HD horror films, or news in high-def, the attempt to deliver original HD fare was a noble feat by VOOM and Cablevision's Rainbow programming unit.
But VOOM's programming lineup missed the one key ingredient: Local TV channels.
When VOOM launched in October 2003, DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network already had dozens of local TV markets locked up for its customers. Facing severe spectrum limitations, VOOM decided to go with an off-air antenna for reception of local channels, and that could've been a fatal misstep by the service.
Consumers flocked to the small dish by the hundreds of thousands after November 1999 when satellite TV gained the ability to deliver local TV channels. Those viewers proved they didn't want to receive local TV channels via rabbit-ears. They want their locals via satellite.
There's no doubt observers will debate for months - maybe even years - about what went wrong at VOOM. And there's no question some will ponder VOOM's decision not to go local, among the other gaffes that eventually will put VOOM to rest on April 30.
