Letter from Inverstors to Chuck: (Voom/Echostar merge?)

"CVC wants to see profit after 16 months? "

No. CVC is a bit smarter than that. They have concluded that long-term this is not a business that will operate at the profit margin they want. Doesn't mean they were short-sighted, or that they expected to be making money this month...just means that in the long run, they don't think it will do what they want it to.
:)

Lob
 
I do think that if they are already wanting to give up after 16 months (when no one could have possibly expected to be breaking even already), they shouldn't have voted to do it in the first place. Maybe Chuck would have gotten the company off on the right foot with someone other than CVC. Of course CVC made it a lot easier to make things happen...
 
Alto101 said:
March 3, 2005

Mr. Charles F. Dolan
Cablevision Systems Corporation
1111 Stewart Avenue
Bethpage, New York 11748-3581

Dear Chuck:

As you know, on February 28th, after failing to reach an agreement with VOOM HD, LLC concerning an acquisition of the VOOM assets that are not under contract to be sold to EchoStar Satellite L.L.C., the Special Committee and the Board determined that negotiations should cease and that the VOOM business should be shut down.

In a call with you yesterday morning, you told us that you intend to approach EchoStar to negotiate an arrangement whereby, with EchoStar’s agreement, Rainbow-1 could be brought together with the VOOM business outside of Cablevision. You agreed that whether you were able to succeed in that effort or not, Cablevision would get out of the satellite business, and you told us explicitly that you would not take any action to override any decision that the Board took on or before February 28th. For our part, we agreed to support a delay in the shutdown of VOOM for a short period while you engage in those discussions and that if you are able to negotiate such an arrangement with EchoStar on terms satisfactory to us, we would be prepared to renew discussions with you for a sale of the VOOM business, so long as the totality of such arrangements puts Cablevision in a significantly better position than it would be in were it to close the pending transaction with EchoStar and engage in a shutdown of the VOOM business.

We now understand that the VOOM business continues to take on subscribers and that this is being done, at least in part, through a newly-created web site (voomllc.com) remarkably similar to VOOM’s existing web site (voom.com). These efforts -- likely to deceive new subscribers and the public into believing that VOOM is still an authorized going business of Cablevision -- are in direct contradiction to the action taken by the Board on February 28th because they are an expansion rather than a shutdown of the business, and they are being done with funds that have not been authorized by the Board. To be clear, Cablevision had authorized funding for VOOM through February 28th, and the Board did not extend that funding beyond that date. It is imperative that this expansion of the business stop immediately and that actions taken by the Board be respected and carried out by the company’s officers.

We are very concerned that the VOOM situation resolve itself promptly. In all events, you must ensure that your actions do not jeopardize our obligations to EchoStar or delay the company’s exit from the VOOM business. If you are unable to come to terms with EchoStar in the very near future, we expect that you will honor your commitment to us to do nothing to impede a

shutdown of the VOOM business. We look forward to a report from you by our March 7th Board Meeting.

Sincerely,

/s/ Victor Oristano
Victor Oristano
On Behalf of the Independent Committee and the
Class A Directors
How many shares do you own ( 1 ) or More, Same ole,Same Ole, get a life:eek:r don't buy Class a Stock?.
 
I think the letter validates what I posted before regarding the website stuff.
CVC realized that the lines were open and that every phone call/order was costing them money, so they wanted to shut it down immediately.

Lob
 
geekygizmo said:
JL, see this link on Rainbow I
http://www.skyrocket.de/space/doc_sdat/rainbow-1.htm

It has capability to supply all 36 transponders if needed, how be it not all @ double wattage. Right now it's loafing up there sharing it's dutys with E* bird. On the short term E* wants it for backup, longer term they most likely will move their bird to another slot.
Gunter either has it wrong or has posted his information in a way that is misleading you.

There are only 32 DBS transponders available at each DBS slot including 61.5 . That is for all the companies assigned to the slot. There is NO WAY that a satellite could have 36 transponders from a frequency standpoint. There are only 32 available.

According to filings with the ITU, Rainbow1 is capable of operating on 13 channels ConUS with up to 12 of those channels convertable to spot beams. (To use spotbeams one would have to turn off the related ConUS transponders.) In full spot beam mode Rainbow1 can send 130 spot transponders to 22 discrete beams. (That includes spots on TP 23, which V* is currently using under an STA. Rainbow1 can do 120 spots on their 11 licensed channels.)

BTW: Its "duties" are to deliver the RainbowDBS licenses and two STA transponders. It is doing its full duty, not "loafing". If any bird at that slot is "loafing" it is Echostar3 ... designed to do ConUS coverage on all 32 transponders it is only delivering 17 TPs with two even TPs aparently burned out with no replacements left. Kinda a "limping loaf". :D

JL
 
Lobstah said:
I think the letter validates what I posted before regarding the website stuff.
CVC realized that the lines were open and that every phone call/order was costing them money, so they wanted to shut it down immediately.
The question is WHY didn't they tell the call centers to stop taking orders?

"We're sorry, Voom is not taking orders at this time."
Put it on the welcome message. Get it done.

Cablevision/Voom left (and are still leaving) themselves open to loss by not refusing to accept orders. The least they can do is make an honest reply to callers - "Voom is going through a transition and we will not know until at least next Monday or Tuesday what direction the service will take. We can take your provisional order, but please note it is subject to cancellation."

The letter that is the subject of this thread is clear. Business is supposed to be winding down (or winding up works too - odd language this English). Business is not supposed to be cranking up.

So, if Charles Dolan doesn't get his way on Monday will he fire more board members? This is the problem with being a publicly held company. He has to answer to someone.

JL
 
compson said:
Reports Tuesday and Wednesday were that the stumbling block was CVC's potential legal exposure. The CVC/E* contract may require that CVC do nothing to interfere with the sale of Rainbow 1. Dolan may be trying to negotiate a cancellation of the contract.

Sounds very possible. Couldn't lease negotiations continue after the sale? A cancellation of the sale could require more time. (as in March 7 deadline :confused: )
 
I work on the phones and maybe my comments are not as important but everybody that works at VOOM believes in the product. Sales have been steady in the 1500 subs per week. Even yesterday march 03 I got a sale of a 15 year DirecTV cutomer. We never got a clear "stop" signal, we have never stop taking orders and it does not look like we are at least until monday. In my personal opinion the actions taken about the website were pure 14 year old kinda od reaction. You do not just close a website and leave all these customers that believe in your product just like that. Who ever did this does not want VOOM to exist because this action is not professional at all. And the few of us that are in the front lines and customers that like VOOM's HD should receive a better service.

I take this chance to say that the website is pathetic. I can do a better job than that. I spend 10 min every call trying to explain where everything is.

The bussiness has life there is no question about it. Now even more since Walt-Mart and big retail stores are jumping into the HD helping VOOM a lot more since the biggest problem is to educate people of the difference between HD and SD. The biggest problem of VOOM was in my opinion the link it had to CVC. You cannot praise two lords.

This service is not going to grow as fast as Dish since we are reaching another sector of the population,It is not as clear to people as DVD vs VHS. Taking into consideration that HD is still in baby steps if I was Chuck I will leave my son without a will and provide the US with the best HD programming.
 
fantix said:
I work on the phones and maybe my comments are not as important but everybody that works at VOOM believes in the product. Sales have been steady in the 1500 subs per week. Even yesterday march 03 I got a sale of a 15 year DirecTV cutomer. We never got a clear "stop" signal, we have never stop taking orders and it does not look like we are at least until monday. In my personal opinion the actions taken about the website were pure 14 year old kinda od reaction. You do not just close a website and leave all these customers that believe in your product just like that. Who ever did this does not want VOOM to exist because this action is not professional at all. And the few of us that are in the front lines and customers that like VOOM's HD should receive a better service.

I take this chance to say that the website is pathetic. I can do a better job than that. I spend 10 min every call trying to explain where everything is.

The bussiness has life there is no question about it. Now even more since Walt-Mart and big retail stores are jumping into the HD helping VOOM a lot more since the biggest problem is to educate people of the difference between HD and SD. The biggest problem of VOOM was in my opinion the link it had to CVC. You cannot praise two lords.

This service is not going to grow as fast as Dish since we are reaching another sector of the population,It is not as clear to people as DVD vs VHS. Taking into consideration that HD is still in baby steps if I was Chuck I will leave my son without a will and provide the US with the best HD programming.


Well, if you get a chance to talk to ol' Chuck - or someone who'll listen - tell him that some of us can't get his service because they're too hardcore on the NEC. I can't get it because I don't have proper grounding options (according to the NEC), meanwhile, I'm going to go with DISH, ground it to a light fixture, and use a surge protector.

After 2 days of back and forth with people who simply would do nothing to help me, I have to say I can't believe that kind of customer service exists with that small of a customer base. No one was outright mean, they just... didn't really care whether or not I had the service.

Sorry if it's off-topic, but... I hope Voom delivers content to E*, then maybe I can get some real HD finally without having to jump through 20 hoops!
 
justalurker said:
The question is WHY didn't they tell the call centers to stop taking orders?

"We're sorry, Voom is not taking orders at this time."
Put it on the welcome message. Get it done.
JL

Duh :yes Maybe because they intend providing continuing service?
:clap :clap :clap

Mod Edit
 
fantix said:
The bussiness has life there is no question about it. Now even more since Walt-Mart and big retail stores are jumping into the HD helping VOOM a lot more since the biggest problem is to educate people of the difference between HD and SD. ... This service is not going to grow as fast as Dish since we are reaching another sector of the population,It is not as clear to people as DVD vs VHS.

Yes, you have an excellent point. In many ways VOOM was either launched a bit too early or abandonded by CVC a bit too quick. I do think this is about to change assuming they survive. It may never be as big as D*, but just as Apple stumbled with the Lisa and reinvented itself with the Macintosh, Voom has the same opportunity.

I am amused at the number of postings that state, "I will sign up as soon as a DVR comes out". I recall that when TIVO came out that they faced many of the same challenges that VOOM does now. Most people simply did not understand how TIV dramatically differed from VCR. It was a technology, like VOOM HD, that needed to reach its tipping point before really taking off.

I think that VOOM and HD are rapidly approaching their tipping point and Charles Dolan sees this. Consider that retailers like WalMart offering a 27" LCD HD set for about $750 which will eliminate this nonsense of EDTV. Voom has doubled its sub numbers in the past few months. Networks are taking HD seriously.

I would suggest that the class "A" day traders do something out of character and look at the long term picture rather than next quarter. The long term picture is clearly in HD.
 
"The question is WHY didn't they tell the call centers to stop taking orders?

"We're sorry, Voom is not taking orders at this time."
Put it on the welcome message. Get it done.
JL"

That's exactly what should have happened, and a clear indicator of the mismanagement of the company (CVC). When your kid is watching television way past his bedtime, you don't just call upstairs and tell him to turn it off...you GO CHECK. :)
Looks like nobody checked, and Chuck managed to add some MORE customers at CVCs expense.
Good for him, if they were dumb enough to let him get away with it.

Lob
 
Lobstah said:
"The question is WHY didn't they tell the call centers to stop taking orders?

"We're sorry, Voom is not taking orders at this time."
Put it on the welcome message. Get it done.
JL"

That's exactly what should have happened, and a clear indicator of the mismanagement of the company (CVC). When your kid is watching television way past his bedtime, you don't just call upstairs and tell him to turn it off...you GO CHECK. :)
Looks like nobody checked, and Chuck managed to add some MORE customers at CVCs expense.
Good for him, if they were dumb enough to let him get away with it.

Lob


You talk about Chuck Dolan and CVC like they are on different planets. He is the Chairman of the Board. I don't think James will be "going upstairs" to check on what Dad is doing. The fact that orders are still being taken should tell you who's wielding the bigger stick. Oristano and Co. -may- effectively get told to sit down and shut the hell up. I don't think Chuck put those people on the Board for 3 martini lunch partners come Monday.

Dumb enough? Any one of the board members has a net worth more than you could probably dream of. Chuck Sr. has a net worth of $1.8 B while you're killing time on a message board! You really think you're in a position to offer those people financial advice???

Talk about pissing into the wind.

Are you a CVC shareholder? If so, get on the horn and get a plane ticket for the May shareholders meeting so you can attempt to really make a difference. While satelliteguys.us is a fine resource, I sorta doubt the Dolan clan or the Board members tune in here for tidbits of wisdom from the peanut gallery on how to run a multi-billion dollar Corporation.
 
graphiteRT said:
You talk about Chuck Dolan and CVC like they are on different planets. He is the Chairman of the Board. I don't think James will be "going upstairs" to check on what Dad is doing. The fact that orders are still being taken should tell you who's wielding the bigger stick. Oristano and Co. -may- effectively get told to sit down and shut the hell up. I don't think Chuck put those people on the Board for 3 martini lunch partners come Monday.

Dumb enough? Any one of the board members has a net worth more than you could probably dream of. Chuck Sr. has a net worth of $1.8 B while you're killing time on a message board! You really think you're in a position to offer those people financial advice???

Talk about pissing into the wind.

Are you a CVC shareholder? If so, get on the horn and get a plane ticket for the May shareholders meeting so you can attempt to really make a difference. While satelliteguys.us is a fine resource, I sorta doubt the Dolan clan or the Board members tune in here for tidbits of wisdom from the peanut gallery on how to run a multi-billion dollar Corporation.


Wow finally another adult is posting. Refreshing!!
 
(Originally Posted by fantix
The bussiness has life there is no question about it. Now even more since Walt-Mart and big retail stores are jumping into the HD helping VOOM a lot more since the biggest problem is to educate people of the difference between HD and SD. ... This service is not going to grow as fast as Dish since we are reaching another sector of the population,It is not as clear to people as DVD vs VHS.)

Have you noticed, in the approx. last 6 months how much floor space the BBs, CCs and warehouse stores, and etc. are finally devoting to HDTV displays? HDTV is moving from the "rich" and into the "middle class".

I believe many in my circle of friends are like me. They recently starting to see/think/talk more about HDTV, discussing the recent dropping prices and their plans to buy one. I purchased my first HDTV last weekend and signed up for VOOM on Monday.
Most of my friends have cable and I am the only one to have ventured into satellite. I bought into Dish approx. 7-8 years ago during one of their early "free install" promotions and have been a customer ever since. However, as I came closer to making my HDTV purchase I realized that Dish HD didn't cut it and started to research alternatives that would offer more HD for me to watch. That lead me here to this forum and on to VOOM.
I'm sure that when my friends see my new Pioneer Plasma and VOOM they will want the same fantastic TV picture in their homes.
I think this is VOOM's year... if they can hold it together..
 
The satelliteGuys might find the information at this web site interesting, since this web site links directly to this Forum ... http://hdtvtechno.netfirms.com/

The EXACT wording on this site under the "VOOM" header is as follows...

"Breaking News: 3/3/2005 Voom is in discussions with Dishnetwork to try and let Dishnetwork to buy out all of the remaining Voom Business, or if no deal is reached then Voom will shutdown on April 1 2005 VOOM / Dishetwork Merger Buyout 1/23/2005: Breaking Major News: Its Offically and Confirmed EchoStar Corp: Dishnetwork aggress to buy Voom Assests and its Rainbow1 satellites, & EchoStar will acquire ground facilities and related assets in Black Hawk, S.D. included that the Voom service might be shut down in next 30 days
Breaking News: Some Freelancers Voom Employees are getting laid off
Breaking News: 3/1/2005 : Voom is unable to reach aggreement with its shareholders regarding it sale of Business and going out of business this time, in the the next 30 days. Voom to Cease operation News"


The link for VOOM/Dishnetwork Merger Buyout is a link direct to this forum..
Strange, I did not see anywhere in this forum anything about "let Dishnetwork buy out all of the remaining Voom Business, or if no deal is reached then Voom will shutdown on April 1 2005"....

Whoever has this web site "http://hdtvtechno.netfirms.com/" Should read these threads in this forum a little closer and not place what they call a "Breaking News" feature on their website that is not correct!, and then provide links to this forum!! I know the SatelliteGuys probably don't like these forums being mis-represented by other sites! :shocked

btw, I am a Voom Subscriber... and hope to remain one for many years!! :D
 
fantix said:
I work on the phones and maybe my comments are not as important but everybody that works at VOOM believes in the product. Sales have been steady in the 1500 subs per week. Even yesterday march 03 I got a sale of a 15 year DirecTV cutomer. We never got a clear "stop" signal, we have never stop taking orders and it does not look like we are at least until monday. In my personal opinion the actions taken about the website were pure 14 year old kinda od reaction. You do not just close a website and leave all these customers that believe in your product just like that. Who ever did this does not want VOOM to exist because this action is not professional at all. And the few of us that are in the front lines and customers that like VOOM's HD should receive a better service.

I take this chance to say that the website is pathetic. I can do a better job than that. I spend 10 min every call trying to explain where everything is.

The bussiness has life there is no question about it. Now even more since Walt-Mart and big retail stores are jumping into the HD helping VOOM a lot more since the biggest problem is to educate people of the difference between HD and SD. The biggest problem of VOOM was in my opinion the link it had to CVC. You cannot praise two lords.

This service is not going to grow as fast as Dish since we are reaching another sector of the population,It is not as clear to people as DVD vs VHS. Taking into consideration that HD is still in baby steps if I was Chuck I will leave my son without a will and provide the US with the best HD programming.
Thanks for posting. I share your thoughts, and just hope that you and all the others on the "inside" are aware of the level of support that does exist out here for you and the VoOm vision.

I also totally agree with what bobaphx stated, and feel he summed it up perfectly..."I think this is VOOM's year... if they can hold it together.."

I think VoOm can hold it together, and that most of us in the field will do everything within our power to help make that a fact.

Vicki
 
GreatMac said:
Duh :yes Maybe because they intend providing continuing service?
And that IS the point. The same Cablevision that announced that they are shutting down the Voom business and changed the Voom website to include a statement that no other orders were being taken ALLOWED their call centers to actually continue taking orders.

Not that it is in the announced SEC investigation, but it is worthy of investigation considering the resulting fluctuations in stock prices from each annoucement - including the ones named in the investigation notice.

Lobstah said:
Looks like nobody checked, and Chuck managed to add some MORE customers at CVCs expense.
Good for him, if they were dumb enough to let him get away with it.
Mismanagement reigns supreme.

JL
 
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