Malone Voices Skepticism About Voom's Chances

[niceprophet]

:shocked :shocked :shocked

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

LONDON (Reuters) - Cable industry pioneer John Malone on Monday voiced skepticism about whether a third stand-alone satellite television service could succeed in the United States.



His opinions on the subject are of interest because Malone recently joined the board of Cablevision Systems Corp., the cable company facing a corporate and family imbroglio over the fate of its struggling satellite service Voom.


"I wouldn't do it with my money," Malone said on a conference call with analysts from around the world to discuss the results of Liberty Media International, the global cable company he runs.


"We were offered on a number of occasions an opportunity to participate in a third satellite competitor and we declined because we didn't think the risks were warranted by the potential returns," Malone said. The approaches were to his U.S. business Liberty Media Corp.


Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan is tapping into his personal fortune to keep Voom, a high-definition television satellite service, running beyond its original shutdown date.


His son, James, who is CEO of Cablevision, and other board members opposed spending any more money on the business.


Charles Dolan dismissed three members of Cablevision's board over the Voom fight, and brought on Malone as one of the replacements.


Malone said in response to a question that he agreed to join Cablevision's board because Dolan asked and because the two men have been friends for 40 years.


"It seemed like I might be helpful in terms of settling things down for him," he said.


Still, Malone suggested time may be running short for his old friend to make a success of Voom.


The idea may have been a good one when originally conceived, Malone said, because it was thought among industry watchers that high-definition TV would reach the market more quickly and that existing cable and satellite operators would be unable to provide the service. HDTV was slow to develop, however.


"I believe that the window is closing for them," Malone said. "They may be able to squeak through it. They may find an existence as a subset of one of the two major distribution systems."


EchoStar's DISH network and Rupert Murdoch's DirecTV are the two competing U.S. satellite services.

 

[MasterFX1]

That last quote by Malone in the article combined with recent articles/news about Echostar talks seems to indicate to me that DISH network offering a VOOM package or tier may be highly likely.

 

[nanaberry]

just copied and pasted from http://www.hometheaterblog.com/
March 13, 2005
Voom purchase takes shape
I know the Voom articles have taken up a lot of space here, but hey I’d rather write about what interests me. If you’ll indulge me yet again, I promise that this time there’s more than empty promises and false hopes in the Voom drama.

Last week as some of you may know, Charles Dolan in essence said “I’ll fund Voom this month” and he laid down 10 million dollars to back it up, ensuring Voom lasts at least until the end of the month. Now that in of itself may not be that impressive, as Voom’s monthly costs could easily exceed that, but how would 5 billion dollars in potential financing sound to you? I say that sounds like someone is deadly serious about becoming more than a by-line in the DBS wars.

Enter John Malone; Malone, one of Cablevision’s new board members, has the clout in the industry to put his money where his mouth is. And in a rumored partnership with Charles Dolan, the two could easily acquire the financial backing to make the Voom purchase from Cablevision a reality rather than a pipedream.

Gleaning a little more from the NY Post article, I get the impression that once this deal is a reality, Cablevision as many know it, would cease to exist. With the sale of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall assets, Voom’s future would be shored up, and in my opinion what’s left of Cablevision would be better off as well. With the company now able to focus on what they do best, deliver in home media and not manage multi -million dollar sports arenas and live entertainment venues.

___________________________________________________________________
Who knows what will happen? I place my bet's on Charles and Voom surviving. It's been said before he's been through this he knows what he's doing. Most news is like asking a CSR...for every bad report there is a good one.

 

[B.Greenway]

Yeah, but this: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...7_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-VOOM-MALONE-DC.XML

Makes me Seriously wonder if the NY Post writer had a clue about what he was writing.

 

[niceprophet]

Hmmm... Speculation vs. direct quotes... I wonder which is more credible?

 

[vurbano]

Looks like its over as far as Malone goes. Next investor to speculate about? We have 17 days.

 

[jeslevine]

All I know is if voom goes under I will be going to comcast. screw dish and direct tv, expense receivers, and no HD content

 

[Sean Mota]

It sounds like Malone may not be interested in putting the money like the NY Post suggested. Interested it brings more information to the table where things are going.

 

[Sean Mota]

This is the battle of the "stickies". One goes up and one goes down...

 

[rang1995]

trouble in river city...or a head fake with disinformation??happens all the time with these things...will have to see

 

[Lucky]

I have said this before and I will say it again. Do not believe any rumors you read in the NY Post. The paper is one step above the National Enquirer when it comes to news reliability. Believe me, I have read that paper on and off for years here in the NYC area, and it is a waste of time. 95% of their rumors or predictions never come true.

 

[bradley]

At first I wondered about the authenticity of the article... Located, I read once again...

(http://today.reuters.com/news/newsA...7_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-VOOM-MALONE-DC.XML).

We can read into this all we want BUT let's clarify a couple of things; realize what was said is a "piece-meal" process, fed to us... sound bites. You don't get the full context of the statement without being part of the whole...

====================================

Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:03 PM ET (Reuters) "Malone Voices Skepticism About Voom's Chances" By Jeffrey Goldfarb

>>> LONDON (Reuters) - Cable industry pioneer John Malone on Monday voiced skepticism about whether a third stand-alone satellite television service could succeed in the United States.

... Opening is not Malone's words, simply a paraphrased observation.

>>> "I wouldn't do it with my money," Malone said on a conference call with analysts from around the world to discuss the results of Liberty Media International, the global cable company he runs.


... He is having a conference call with top global financial analysts pertaining to Liberty Media International. Given Voom and CVC's present perception in the financial markets the announcement is made, a.) to fend off the market's nay sayer's, b.) define "my money?", and c.) my God, what would you say in his shoes?-!!

>>> "We were offered on a number of occasions an opportunity to participate in a third satellite competitor and we declined because we didn't think the risks were warranted by the potential returns," Malone said. The approaches were to his U.S. business Liberty Media Corp.

... He didn't say Voom... perhaps inferring to past ventures such as PrimeStar or (an)other start-up ventures.

>>> "I believe that the window is closing for them," Malone said. "They may be able to squeak through it. They may find an existence as a subset of one of the two major distribution systems."

... Who, what when and where... again, directly linked to what?

I find it doubtful Malone was invited to join the board simply to shoot down Dolan's dream. I believe Malone is posturing to keep the speculative market calm.

We've all seen quite a bit... just wait and see... that's just about all we can do.

 

[Bruce]

Dow Jones:

Liberty's Malone: Wouldn't Invest In 3rd Satellite TV Company
By JANET WHITMAN Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES March 14, 2005 3:53 p.m.
NEW YORK -- Cable television pioneer John Malone, who recently joined Cablevision System Corp.'s (CVC) board, raised doubts about the ability to keep alive the Voom satellite television service that has been at the center of a boardroom and family tussle. "I believe that window is closing for them," he said. "But they may be able to squeak through it."

Malone said he wouldn't bet his own money on a third satellite operator in the U.S. to compete with Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH) and DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV). He added that his company, Liberty Media Corp (L), has turned down a number of opportunities over the past year to invest in such a service. "We didn't think the risks were warranted by potential," Malone said in response to a question during a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results at Liberty Media International Inc.

Malone said he joined Cablevision's board because Chairman Charles Dolan has been a friend for 40 years and asked him to. "It seemed like I might be able to help him out in terms of settling things down," he said. Cablevision's board, including Dolan's son James who is chief executive, voted in January to pull the plug on its unprofitable satellite TV service.

That prompted Chairman Dolan, who is seeking to buy the remaining assets of Voom, earlier this month to replace three of the board members who voted against him. He has recently agreed to sell stock in Cablevision to raise cash to keep Voom afloat.

 

[vurbano]

Congrats Bruce, you found an article that says the exact same thing as the last one before you. Please tell me you wont post the next 8 over the next 2 days that say the same thing.

 

[tvrobert]

According to the fine, upstanding, self-serving, arrogant HDTV pundit quoted below, you're all wrong.

Quote: "Some Voom enthusiasts have said recently that new management and funding could change that scenario. However, it's an absurd argument."

(The whole wonderfully un-biased, well-thought out "article" can be found here: http://www.tvpredictions.com/voomreality031405.html )

I am a previous Voom customer who would like to see it stick around. I fully intend to return once my one-year cheap cable deal runs out.

 

[riffjim4069]

In his article, T. Dick Swann states, "Malone is suggesting that EchoStar or DIRECTV could buy Voom and make the service part of its overall operation. I agree with Malone that is the only way that Voom can survive."

Wow, apparently any buck toothed yAhoo with a bad haircut can make satellite biz predictions: http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=317251&postcount=4

 

[AxE]

We on the retail side of all of this are seeing a lot of things that you guys as customers do not.

What is interesting is that Dolan hired Malone onto the board in the hopes that he would back Dolan both financially, and professionally. However, the statements made by Malone are going to hurt Dolans chances of getting the funding he needs to keep VOOM afloat, which is understandable because of the fact that he is such a well known and influential man in this industry. Just like E.F.Hutton...when he talks, people listen.

The only thing we can do now is wait and see what happens.....and as far as us retailers go, we can only hope we get the commissions due to us, God knows that they haven't been timeley with them yet.

17 days till judgement day.

 

[The Stone Man]

Wow, apparently any buck toothed yAhoo with a bad haircut can make satellite biz predictions:

Yeah, but you are an informed buck toothed yahoo and your haircut isn't all that bad. At least you still have hair.

 

[rang1995]

According to the fine, upstanding, self-serving, arrogant HDTV pundit quoted below, you're all wrong.

Quote: "Some Voom enthusiasts have said recently that new management and funding could change that scenario. However, it's an absurd argument."

(The whole wonderfully un-biased, well-thought out "article" can be found here: http://www.tvpredictions.com/voomreality031405.html )

I am a previous Voom customer who would like to see it stick around. I fully intend to return once my one-year cheap cable deal runs out.

Amazing how Swann has wanted Voom to fail so bad--In the stock market if you own BP and other oils are doing great then BP does well also..If voom goes under and Malone is right about HDTV taking too long to be the mainstream then SWANN goes down too and whatever he is publishing

 

[riffjim4069]

Yeah, but you are an informed buck toothed yahoo and your haircut isn't all that bad. At least you still have hair.

That's a pretty decent thing of you to say Mr. Stone Man. I must say that I am going completely mental and I am most certainly ready to jam on my triangle this evening.