Monday's (3/7) Wall Street Journal Story

fredfa

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Jan 12, 2004
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Deal to Save Voom May Be in Works
By PETER GRANT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL March 7, 2005
Executives working for Voom, the satellite service owned by Cablevision Systems Corp., have assured Sears, Roebuck & Co., the largest retailer of the service, that they likely have a deal that will keep the service going, a Sears spokeswoman said last night. Those assurances are a sign that Charles Dolan, Cablevision's chairman, may succeed in his bid to save the Voom service, which has been at the center of a bitter boardroom and family battle at the nation's-sixth largest cable operator.

Cablevision's new board is scheduled to meet today to consider Mr. Dolan's last-minute effort to buy the service himself. Last week, Mr. Dolan ousted three board members who had voted two times with the majority of board members to shut down Voom, his pet project for 10 years.

Mr. Dolan has spoken about Voom's status with Tasso Koken, Sears's vice president of home electronics, according to Lauren Jiles-Johnson, a Sears spokeswoman. She says that Sears is continuing to sell the service because Mr. Dolan indicated to Mr. Koken as recently as last week that they will be able to keep the service going. "Tasso has been in very close communication with the Voom people, and it looks like it will work out," she said. A Cablevision spokesman said that Charles Dolan last spoke to Mr. Koken weeks ago, but the spokesman couldn't comment about more-recent conversations between Mr. Koken and Voom officials.

Despite these assurances, a number of Sears stores have decided to stop selling Voom. Salesman at stores in Nebraska, Florida, Idaho, California and North Dakota contacted by The Wall Street Journal yesterday said they had discontinued selling the service. Ms. Jiles-Johnson said Sears stores that decided to take Voom off their shelves did so independently, probably on the basis of news reports about uncertainty surrounding Voom. The stores didn't get direction from the corporate office to stop selling the service, she said.

A cloud of uncertainty has hung over Voom since Cablevision's board first voted in January, over the objections of Mr. Dolan, to stop funding Voom and sell its only operational satellite to EchoStar Communications Corp., another satellite- TV operator. Charles Dolan's son, James Dolan, who is Cablevision's chief executive, voted with the majority, sparking a public falling out with his father.

Since then, Charles Dolan, 78 years old, has launched an all-out campaign to save the service, going so far last week as to replace three of the board members who voted against it. He also sent Voom employees an optimistic note predicting the service would continue and put up his own Voom Web site after the company took down the official site. Spokesmen for Mr. Dolan, Cablevision and EchoStar declined to comment.

After a committee of independent board members objected late last week, Charles Dolan's Voom Web site also went dark. But last night, the Voom Web site was back up again, although it wasn't accepting orders. Still, that was another sign that a deal to keep the service running may be at hand.

The new board, which now has four new members recently appointed by Charles Dolan, is today scheduled to consider Mr. Dolan's plan to save Voom by buying its remaining assets himself through a company he recently formed with another son, Tom Dolan. According to a Cablevision filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charles Dolan has been holding talks with EchoStar to combine those assets with the Voom satellite that EchoStar just agreed to buy.
 
Wow! I'm not sure what to think.....that last paragraph especially. I just dumped E* and now what the hell does he mean by combining assets. I hope Chuck wants to stop the sale and not sell everything to E*. E* will not give it's customers anything near what Voom currently represents and that would effectly destroy it. Now I can't wait until tomorrow and I hope some informative news is forthcoming.
 
This is one reason why I like to stay with the source (CVC press releases and SEC filings) instead of press reports. Every time they rehash a story the meaning gets changed.

See the sticky thread on this topic (the one with Echostar and Merger in the title, even though a merger was NOT what was suggested - "working with" Echostar is what Mr Dolan suggested he could do when he allegedly promised the board to make the call).

JL
 
"have assured Sears, Roebuck & Co., the largest retailer of the service". Geez, this is all we need to assure the future of VOOM. Can't imagine any other marketing option that has done more to hurt VOOM than this infamous partnership! And they still want Sears to sell VOOM. Mr. Charles Dolan, what are you thinking?

However, still enjoying HDTV under mostly cloudy Seattle skies, Gill
 
I just love the idea of press releases as a trusted "source".
Or SEC filings, for that matter.
(The WorldCom and Enron press releases -- and SEC filings -- were really valuable.)
Give me a legitimate, no-axe-to-grind, knowledgable (and skeptical) reporter, any time.
 
Company press releases????? You've got to be kidding. Sticking with them as "trusted sources" while ignoring independent press reports is just plain dumb. Company press releases in and of themsleves do provide information, but only that information the company chooses to share and, even then, the wording is such that the so-called facts get spun as the company want's them spun.

Regarding E* and a "merger", well, the talks could lead to virtually any kind of agreement -- from traditional merger to leasing of satellite space to whatever both E* and VOOM management think will benefit both companies.

When I got VOOM in November, I read rumors that E* might buy VOOM. These rumors turned out to be that sale of Rainbow orbiter and ground station. Regardless, at the time of installation I decided to keep both VOOM and E* for a few months until I could see how things "shook out". I'm glad I did.

These are exciting times. High-definition is the way of the future for both TV and DVDs. Charles Dolan can see this even as Wall Street types do their usual short term profit analysis of the situation. Few business people have any long term vision whatsoever (nothing matters but quarter-to-quarter profits). Those of us who love our HDTV are fortunate, indeed, to have businessman and visionary Charles Dolan in our corner.

Oh, and I'd love to see the Cablevision board also issue a vote of no confidence in CEO James Dolan. Once unemployed maybe he'll learn some humility and never again be in position to drive any more companies into the ground.
 
Amen, Gill!

SeattleVoomer1 said:
And they still want Sears to sell VOOM. Mr. Charles Dolan, what are you thinking?
Now, I may get worried again...Sears didn't know near as much about satellite services as I did back in November of 2003 when I bought my HDTV set and asked them about this new VoOm they were selling. They didn't know anything when I called in January of 2005 to see if they were still marketing VoOm, when all this hoopla started. Unfortunately, it's too late to contact my local store to determine their current understanding and see if they are one of the California stores that have stopped marketing.

But, if I had relied on them back in 2003, I'd be watching HDTV on cable...oh, wait, I am...but that's about to rectified, again, I hope!

Oh, well, never mind...you get my drift....Awaiting VoOm reinstallation, under some kind of skies...too dark to tell what kind...in California, Vicki :)
 
SeattleVoomer1 said:
" And they still want Sears to sell VOOM. Mr. Charles Dolan, what are you thinking?

Let's see...MCI used to be sold through Sears and their service never really took off. Then they cut a deal with Amway (now Quixtar) and they suddenly started getting over 100,000 new subs per week. Can you imagine over a million distributors out selling HD Satellite service person to person? First thing, of course, they would do is sign up themselves. I think VOOM could benefit from a million or so new subs over a month or two...
Ya never know...it might actually work!

Andrew
Enjoying my VOOM under crystal clear skies in the Sacramento foothills...
 
OMIGOD, Andrew B!!!

I never heard about Amway...is that true or are you joshing? I'm too tired tonight to search it out. :confused:

If it's true, there are lots of folks "doing variations of the door-to-door" thing for VoOm.

You and I are probably in close proximity...maybe we could work in tandem!? :D Vicki
 
CNN/Money WSJ News -- Cablevision satellite ops saved?

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/07/news/fortune500/cablevision_voom.dj/index.htm

Cablevision satellite ops saved?


WSJ: Sears, largest retailer of Voom, says it's assured of a deal to keep cable unit running.
March 7, 2005: 6:28 AM EST


Executives working for Voom, the satellite service owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC), have assured Sears, Roebuck & Co. (S), the largest retailer of the service, that they likely have a deal that will keep the service going, a Sears spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal.


Those assurances are a sign that Charles Dolan, Cablevision's chairman, may succeed in his bid to save the Voom service, which has been at the center of a bitter boardroom and family battle at the nation's-sixth largest cable operator.


Cablevision's new board is scheduled to meet today to consider Mr. Dolan's last-minute effort to buy the service himself. Last week, Mr. Dolan ousted three board members who had voted two times with the majority of board members to shut down Voom, his pet project for 10 years.


Mr. Dolan has spoken about Voom's status with Tasso Koken, Sears's vice president of home electronics, according to Lauren Jiles-Johnson, a Sears spokeswoman. She says that Sears is continuing to sell the service because Mr. Dolan indicated to Mr. Koken as recently as last week that they will be able to keep the service going. A Cablevision spokesman said that Charles Dolan last spoke to Mr. Koken weeks ago, but the spokesman couldn't comment about more- recent conversations between Mr. Koken and Voom officials.


Despite these assurances, a number of Sears stores have decided to stop selling Voom. Salesman at stores in Nebraska, Florida, Idaho, California and North Dakota contacted by The Wall Street Journal yesterday said they had discontinued selling the service. Ms. Jiles-Johnson said Sears stores that decided to take Voom off their shelves did so independently, probably on the basis of news reports about uncertainty surrounding Voom. The stores didn't get direction from the corporate office to stop selling the service, she said.


A cloud of uncertainty has hung over Voom since Cablevision's board first voted in January, over the objections of Mr. Dolan, to stop funding Voom and sell its only operational satellite to EchoStar Communications Corp., another satellite-TV operator. Charles Dolan's son, James Dolan , who is Cablevision's chief executive, voted with the majority, sparking a public falling out with his father.


Spokesmen for Mr. Dolan, Cablevision and EchoStar declined to comment.


Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter Peter Grant contributed to this report. Dow Jones Newswires 03-07-05 0015ET Copyright (C) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 
fredfa said:
I just love the idea of press releases as a trusted "source".
Or SEC filings, for that matter.
(The WorldCom and Enron press releases -- and SEC filings -- were really valuable.)
Give me a legitimate, no-axe-to-grind, knowledgable (and skeptical) reporter, any time.

LMAO, really? Dont tell that to the D* fanatics drooling over D* press releases. at AVS.
 
Andrew B said:
Let's see...MCI used to be sold through Sears and their service never really took off. Then they cut a deal with Amway (now Quixtar) and they suddenly started getting over 100,000 new subs per week. Can you imagine over a million distributors out selling HD Satellite service person to person? First thing, of course, they would do is sign up themselves. I think VOOM could benefit from a million or so new subs over a month or two...
Ya never know...it might actually work!

Andrew
Enjoying my VOOM under crystal clear skies in the Sacramento foothills...

LMAO The Amway pyramid scheme? You have to be kidding.
 
"Sounds like a very good sign that an agreement has been reached "

I think you're reading a lot in to what's said in the article. What else would you EXPECT Dolan to say to Sears? "Well...we're not really sure. Technically, we're out on our @ss, but there's a really slim chance I may be able to pull it off" ???

Dolan is going to tell them that everything's fine. He'd be an idiot if he said otherwise...and he's not an idiot.

Lob
 
Sears is a joke. I have yet to see any mention of Voom in a Sears store I have been in since October of last year. Out of curiosity I ask once in a while about Voom in the Sears at Castleton Square Mall here in Indy. Once the guy stood there scratching his head and asked what is "a" Voom. I told him.... He went to ask his manager and returned to say Voom went out of business months ago. This was in early January.

A month ago I asked another guy at Sears if they still sell Voom and he said yes, and referred me to Voom's web site. If this is selling Voom what does Voom need with Sears?
 
Despite these assurances, a number of Sears stores have decided to stop selling Voom. Salesman at stores in Nebraska, Florida, Idaho, California and North Dakota contacted by The Wall Street Journal yesterday said they had discontinued selling the service

I think the WSJ should have asked if they ever sold VOOM at their store. That was a more important question.
 
fredfa said:
Give me a legitimate, no-axe-to-grind, knowledgable (and skeptical) reporter, any time.
I agree. But we seem to have a shortage of those, so most of the stories we get are rehashes of press releases, speculation, misreading and Internet rumors. After a while the system feeds on itself and becomes practically unusable.

To leap from what was in the SEC filing to merger with no further sources is silly journalism. And when the sources become other people's stories it is worse.

It reminds me of the old joke where two White House reporters are speculating about the president's plans. They both go away and write their stories saying "a source inside The White House said ..."

Sean Mota said:
I think the WSJ should have asked if they ever sold VOOM at their store. That was a more important question.
A good example. "Sources" don't tell the full story. Neither do SEC filings and press releases, but at least with a solid release someone is held accountable. A "source" isn't held accountable.

JL
 
I just cannot understand why they need to make Sears happy of all places, has anyone from Voom been to a Sears store, the last time I was there they had it hooked up to one of those little 17" LCD set with the STB not turned on and running this DVD about Voom, and it was hooked up with the Composite ( yellow ) cable, not even S-Video.

But they had the 811 from E* up and running.
 
Sears is a major retailer. Just having the logo in there electronics department is HUGE advertising. Aside from that, anyone who wants knowledable information about ANYTHING should go to an expert or specialty retailer, not a general department store for that info I would hope.

Myself, I have been pushing VoOm to EVERYONE ONE I SEE! I go to Best Buy and see people looking at a HDTV. I say, "HEY!, once you get that TV, get VoOm. You wont regret it." I have probably convinced at least 10 people who have never even heard of VoOm before to go and look into it. I even have 2 employees from the local Fry's in the Audio/Visual department here that I have converted to VoOm. I heard one the otherday telling someone to forget D* and E* and go call VoOm. :)


I LOVE VOOM!!!!

When I am done, the entire Sacramento California region will be VoOming if I have my way.
 
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