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BREAKING NEWS: VOOM Gets a Reprieve
After the much talked about moves late Wednesday night involving the board of directors at Cablevision, the company announced this morning in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it will delay the shut down of the VOOM satellite TV service.
Cablevision said the closing of the Rainbow DBS business has been delayed to allow VOOM HD, controlled by Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, another opportunity to present to the board a transaction that will give him the assets and liabilities of the Rainbow DBS business. Dolan is expected to report to the board on this matter by March 7, Cablevision said.
VOOM HD wants to take over the Rainbow DBS assets that are not being purchased by EchoStar. In January, EchoStar agreed to acquire a satellite and uplink center from Cablevision for $200 million.
www.skyreport.com
After the much talked about moves late Wednesday night involving the board of directors at Cablevision, the company announced this morning in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it will delay the shut down of the VOOM satellite TV service.
Cablevision said the closing of the Rainbow DBS business has been delayed to allow VOOM HD, controlled by Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, another opportunity to present to the board a transaction that will give him the assets and liabilities of the Rainbow DBS business. Dolan is expected to report to the board on this matter by March 7, Cablevision said.
VOOM HD wants to take over the Rainbow DBS assets that are not being purchased by EchoStar. In January, EchoStar agreed to acquire a satellite and uplink center from Cablevision for $200 million.
www.skyreport.com
NewsDay article (bove source)
Cablevision's fuzzy picture
Two Dolans launch Web site to keep Voom satellite alive after James Dolan and board voted to close it
The Dolan family struggle over shutting down Cablevision's Voom satellite TV service has become a war of the Web sites.
Cablevision Systems Corp. chairman Charles Dolan and his son Tom, the Voom chief executive, launched a new renegade Web site yesterday at voomllc.com proclaiming "Voom Still Delivers" even though on Monday the Cablevision board, backed by corporate chief executive James Dolan, decided to shut Voom down rather than hand it over to Charles and Tom.
The feud has split James Dolan from his two brothers, Tom and Patrick, and father, Charles, who are also on the board and who want Voom kept alive. The Dolans control Cablevision, the nation's sixth-largest cable TV service.
Voom, which features high-definition channels, competes with DirecTV and Dish Network but has attracted only 46,000 subscribers and has posted huge losses.
The new Web site encouraged potential subscribers to contact the Voom call center, where customer service representatives were still taking new orders, including installation in up to three rooms for $1.
The old Web site, voom.com, ran a very different message authorized by Cablevision management for the second day: "Voom has ceased taking new customer orders and will shut down by the end of March."
Confusion reigned among employees of Jericho-based Voom, who were told that Cablevision chief operating officer Tom Rutledge wanted the call center closed. "Everyone looked really pale," a Voom insider said of the reaction of employees. "It's pretty glum."
Rutledge, who is based at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, sent a notice to some Voom employees that they will be laid off permanently, probably between Friday and March 31, as part of the shutdown of Voom. The service employs several dozen workers.
"I've been directed to close it down, which I'm in the process of doing," Rutledge, who was appointed by James Dolan to oversee the shutdown, said at a Bear Stearns investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
When asked about the conflicting signals, a Voom customer service representative said, "The various announcements have yet to be resolved" and encouraged a caller to sign up for the "Va Va Voom" programming package.
"There are still some people that will stick with Mr. Dolan to the very end because it's Mr. Dolan," a Voom insider said of the 78-year-old Cablevision chairman and founder.
Among those people are Tom, 52, and Patrick, 53, who along with Charles were among the four board members who voted in December not to abandon Voom, sources said yesterday. But they were outvoted by nine other board members, including James, 49.
Patrick, who is president of the company's News 12 Networks, is firmly in his "father's column," a source close to the board said.
This is not the first time Patrick and James have been at odds. In 2001, Patrick told News 12 employees not to wear American flag lapel pins during telecasts so as not to appear biased by patriotic emotions after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. James Dolan hinted that he opposed the ban but would not override it and said Cablevision would give all company employees a free flag.
Cablevision's fuzzy picture
Two Dolans launch Web site to keep Voom satellite alive after James Dolan and board voted to close it
The Dolan family struggle over shutting down Cablevision's Voom satellite TV service has become a war of the Web sites.
Cablevision Systems Corp. chairman Charles Dolan and his son Tom, the Voom chief executive, launched a new renegade Web site yesterday at voomllc.com proclaiming "Voom Still Delivers" even though on Monday the Cablevision board, backed by corporate chief executive James Dolan, decided to shut Voom down rather than hand it over to Charles and Tom.
The feud has split James Dolan from his two brothers, Tom and Patrick, and father, Charles, who are also on the board and who want Voom kept alive. The Dolans control Cablevision, the nation's sixth-largest cable TV service.
Voom, which features high-definition channels, competes with DirecTV and Dish Network but has attracted only 46,000 subscribers and has posted huge losses.
The new Web site encouraged potential subscribers to contact the Voom call center, where customer service representatives were still taking new orders, including installation in up to three rooms for $1.
The old Web site, voom.com, ran a very different message authorized by Cablevision management for the second day: "Voom has ceased taking new customer orders and will shut down by the end of March."
Confusion reigned among employees of Jericho-based Voom, who were told that Cablevision chief operating officer Tom Rutledge wanted the call center closed. "Everyone looked really pale," a Voom insider said of the reaction of employees. "It's pretty glum."
Rutledge, who is based at Cablevision headquarters in Bethpage, sent a notice to some Voom employees that they will be laid off permanently, probably between Friday and March 31, as part of the shutdown of Voom. The service employs several dozen workers.
"I've been directed to close it down, which I'm in the process of doing," Rutledge, who was appointed by James Dolan to oversee the shutdown, said at a Bear Stearns investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
When asked about the conflicting signals, a Voom customer service representative said, "The various announcements have yet to be resolved" and encouraged a caller to sign up for the "Va Va Voom" programming package.
"There are still some people that will stick with Mr. Dolan to the very end because it's Mr. Dolan," a Voom insider said of the 78-year-old Cablevision chairman and founder.
Among those people are Tom, 52, and Patrick, 53, who along with Charles were among the four board members who voted in December not to abandon Voom, sources said yesterday. But they were outvoted by nine other board members, including James, 49.
Patrick, who is president of the company's News 12 Networks, is firmly in his "father's column," a source close to the board said.
This is not the first time Patrick and James have been at odds. In 2001, Patrick told News 12 employees not to wear American flag lapel pins during telecasts so as not to appear biased by patriotic emotions after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. James Dolan hinted that he opposed the ban but would not override it and said Cablevision would give all company employees a free flag.
forbes.com
Source
Dolan: Cablevision Chairman Puts Media Heavyweights On Board
Chris Noon, 03.03.05, 7:38 AM ET
Fresh blood, or blood in the water? Cablevision (nyse: CVC - news - people ) Chairman Charles F. Dolan appointed four big guns to the company board on Wednesday. Rand Araskog, Frank J. Biondi Jr., John Malone and Leonard Tow will replace three directors who voted against Dolan's plan to keep his struggling satellite TV service, Voom, aloft. On the outs are William J. Bell, Sheila Mahony and Steven Rattner; the senior Dolan also filled the seat of the late John Tatta. The mini-coup may not be over: Cablevision watchers are speculating that Charles Dolan, who controls the majority of the cable company's class B shares, is clearing a path to name Brian Sweeney as a director. Sweeney is his son-in-law, and a possible bulwark against Dolan's son James, Cablevision's chief executive. The new recruits, meanwhile, are hardly rookies: Araskog is the former chairman, chief executive and president of ITT (nyse: ITT - news - people ), Biondi is former president and chief executive of Viacom (nyse: VIA.b - news - people ) and Malone is chairman of Liberty Media (nyse: L - news - people ). Tow, by the way, has ample experience dealing with family media empires-- he sold his Century Communications cable outfit Adelphia Communications (otc: ADELQ - news - people ) for $5.2 billion in 1999-- just before the latter's collapse landed the Rigas family in court. More
Source
Dolan: Cablevision Chairman Puts Media Heavyweights On Board
Chris Noon, 03.03.05, 7:38 AM ET
Fresh blood, or blood in the water? Cablevision (nyse: CVC - news - people ) Chairman Charles F. Dolan appointed four big guns to the company board on Wednesday. Rand Araskog, Frank J. Biondi Jr., John Malone and Leonard Tow will replace three directors who voted against Dolan's plan to keep his struggling satellite TV service, Voom, aloft. On the outs are William J. Bell, Sheila Mahony and Steven Rattner; the senior Dolan also filled the seat of the late John Tatta. The mini-coup may not be over: Cablevision watchers are speculating that Charles Dolan, who controls the majority of the cable company's class B shares, is clearing a path to name Brian Sweeney as a director. Sweeney is his son-in-law, and a possible bulwark against Dolan's son James, Cablevision's chief executive. The new recruits, meanwhile, are hardly rookies: Araskog is the former chairman, chief executive and president of ITT (nyse: ITT - news - people ), Biondi is former president and chief executive of Viacom (nyse: VIA.b - news - people ) and Malone is chairman of Liberty Media (nyse: L - news - people ). Tow, by the way, has ample experience dealing with family media empires-- he sold his Century Communications cable outfit Adelphia Communications (otc: ADELQ - news - people ) for $5.2 billion in 1999-- just before the latter's collapse landed the Rigas family in court. More
forbes.com
Cablevision Board Shuffle May Undermine Independence
03.03.05, 11:52 AM ET
Tear Sheet | Chart | News
Goldman Sachs maintained an "in-line" rating for Cablevision Systems (nyse: CVC - news - people ) after Chairman Charles Dolan said Class B majority stockholders elected four new directors to its 14-member board. Dolan said a 15th board member will be added on March 7. "We have not received confirmation from Charles Dolan, but we believe that these unscheduled board seat elections are an effort to consolidate Charles Dolan's control of Cablevision which in recent months appears to have slipped away," said Goldman. "We believe the board seat shuffle will be viewed negatively by investors as it suggests the Dolan family does not embrace the notion of an independent board." The research firm said Cablevision's new-look board is "arguably more independent than it was previously" since the new directors have no direct ties to the company. According to Goldman the new members include Rand Araskog, former chairman of ITT (nyse: ITT - news - people ); Frank Biondi, former chief executive of Viacom (nyse: VIA.b - news - people ); John Malone, current chairman of Liberty Media (nyse: L - news - people ); and Leonard Tow, former chairman of Citizens Communications (nyse: CZN - news - people ). "Given the turmoil that has surrounded Cablevision in recent weeks, in particular surrounding a reported difference in opinion between Charles Dolan and his son James Dolan about the strategic direction of Cablevision's troubled VOOM DBS business, we believe that Charles Dolan believes that the four new board members will be more supportive of his vision than his son James," said Goldman.
Cablevision Board Shuffle May Undermine Independence
03.03.05, 11:52 AM ET
Tear Sheet | Chart | News
Goldman Sachs maintained an "in-line" rating for Cablevision Systems (nyse: CVC - news - people ) after Chairman Charles Dolan said Class B majority stockholders elected four new directors to its 14-member board. Dolan said a 15th board member will be added on March 7. "We have not received confirmation from Charles Dolan, but we believe that these unscheduled board seat elections are an effort to consolidate Charles Dolan's control of Cablevision which in recent months appears to have slipped away," said Goldman. "We believe the board seat shuffle will be viewed negatively by investors as it suggests the Dolan family does not embrace the notion of an independent board." The research firm said Cablevision's new-look board is "arguably more independent than it was previously" since the new directors have no direct ties to the company. According to Goldman the new members include Rand Araskog, former chairman of ITT (nyse: ITT - news - people ); Frank Biondi, former chief executive of Viacom (nyse: VIA.b - news - people ); John Malone, current chairman of Liberty Media (nyse: L - news - people ); and Leonard Tow, former chairman of Citizens Communications (nyse: CZN - news - people ). "Given the turmoil that has surrounded Cablevision in recent weeks, in particular surrounding a reported difference in opinion between Charles Dolan and his son James Dolan about the strategic direction of Cablevision's troubled VOOM DBS business, we believe that Charles Dolan believes that the four new board members will be more supportive of his vision than his son James," said Goldman.
If Voom HD LLC offers public stocks, after everything settles down, I may have to pick up some. This is based on the strength of Mr. C. Dolan's way of playing hardball.
A positive side-effect of all of this news coverage is that the brand VOOM is getting a lot of exposure. When the dust settles, everybody will know what VOOM is (of course, assuming that it survives)
Dolan Move Rates Wall Street Asterisk
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/3/2005 10:23:00 PM
Abstract: Only two days after Wall Street analyst Alan Bezoza of Friedman Billings Ramsey praised the planned shuttering of Cablevision's money-bleeding satellite service, Voom, he had to qualify, if not curb, his enthusiasm.
NOTE: The complete text of this article is available only to subscribers.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508126.html?display=Breaking+News
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/3/2005 10:23:00 PM
Abstract: Only two days after Wall Street analyst Alan Bezoza of Friedman Billings Ramsey praised the planned shuttering of Cablevision's money-bleeding satellite service, Voom, he had to qualify, if not curb, his enthusiasm.
NOTE: The complete text of this article is available only to subscribers.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA508126.html?display=Breaking+News
Cablevision delays Voom shutdown
From Crain's New York Business
March 03, 2005
Cablevision delays Voom shutdown
Cablevision Systems Corp. said it would delay shutting down its money-losing Voom satellite service to allow Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan more time to come up with an acceptable offer for the business.
On Monday, the company said that a letter of intent between Cablevision and Voom HD, a private company created by Charles Dolan, had expired, and that it planned to shutdown the service over the next 30 days. According to a regulatory filing made on Thursday, he now has until March 7 to come up with a plan.
Shares of the Bethpage, L.I.-based cable and entertainment company fell as much as 7.4%, to $28, in morning trading on Thursday. The stock decline comes one day after Charles Dolan, replaced three directors.
In addition, Cablevision revealed in its regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an "informal inquiry" into trading in the companies securities. The SEC is seeking information related to Cablevision's December announcement that it had cancelled plans to spin off its satellite business and that it would sell some assets to EchoStar.
Late Wednesday, Mr. Dolan, who controls a majority of Class B Cablevision stock, said he had replaced three directors and named a fourth to replace the late John Tatta. The new directors are Rand Araskog, the former chairman and chief executive of ITT Corp.; Frank Biondi, former president and CEO of Viacom Inc.; John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp.; and Leonard Tow, former chairman and CEO of Century Communications Corp.
Departing from the board are William Bell and Sheila Mahony, both of whom recently retired as officers of Cablevision, and investment banker Steven Rattner. In addition, Mr. Dolan said he plans to ask the board to increase its size so he could get his son-in-law, Brian Sweeney, elected.
Source
From Crain's New York Business
March 03, 2005
Cablevision delays Voom shutdown
Cablevision Systems Corp. said it would delay shutting down its money-losing Voom satellite service to allow Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan more time to come up with an acceptable offer for the business.
On Monday, the company said that a letter of intent between Cablevision and Voom HD, a private company created by Charles Dolan, had expired, and that it planned to shutdown the service over the next 30 days. According to a regulatory filing made on Thursday, he now has until March 7 to come up with a plan.
Shares of the Bethpage, L.I.-based cable and entertainment company fell as much as 7.4%, to $28, in morning trading on Thursday. The stock decline comes one day after Charles Dolan, replaced three directors.
In addition, Cablevision revealed in its regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an "informal inquiry" into trading in the companies securities. The SEC is seeking information related to Cablevision's December announcement that it had cancelled plans to spin off its satellite business and that it would sell some assets to EchoStar.
Late Wednesday, Mr. Dolan, who controls a majority of Class B Cablevision stock, said he had replaced three directors and named a fourth to replace the late John Tatta. The new directors are Rand Araskog, the former chairman and chief executive of ITT Corp.; Frank Biondi, former president and CEO of Viacom Inc.; John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp.; and Leonard Tow, former chairman and CEO of Century Communications Corp.
Departing from the board are William Bell and Sheila Mahony, both of whom recently retired as officers of Cablevision, and investment banker Steven Rattner. In addition, Mr. Dolan said he plans to ask the board to increase its size so he could get his son-in-law, Brian Sweeney, elected.
Source
Here's one at Reuters that predicts the impending ouster of James Dolan.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7801974
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7801974
Still Signing Subscribers
My son asked me about VOOM about a week ago and said he was thinking about signing up with them. I told him I thought they were going out to business based on what I had read on this forum. Today, he calls them and talks to the CSR for about 15 minutes. The CSR says there's no truth to the rumor that VOOM is closing shop. They are still pushing the $1 install for 3 rooms. My son is scheduling an installation.
I've been interested in VOOM for several months but never got around to actually pursuing an installation, so I'm really wondering what the hell is going on here. The CSR is either lying, doesn't know what he's talking about or there may be something going on here that I'm unaware of.
My son asked me about VOOM about a week ago and said he was thinking about signing up with them. I told him I thought they were going out to business based on what I had read on this forum. Today, he calls them and talks to the CSR for about 15 minutes. The CSR says there's no truth to the rumor that VOOM is closing shop. They are still pushing the $1 install for 3 rooms. My son is scheduling an installation.
I've been interested in VOOM for several months but never got around to actually pursuing an installation, so I'm really wondering what the hell is going on here. The CSR is either lying, doesn't know what he's talking about or there may be something going on here that I'm unaware of.
Dolan is also "intending to talk to" EchoStar in a possible deal to combine the remaining assets of Voom, including 21 high definition programming channels and 26,000 subscribers, with the satellite that EchoStar agreed to purchase in January.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=549257
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=549257
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