Rainbow Spin-off is dead

vurbano

On Double Secret Probation
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Apr 1, 2004
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I find this interesting as posted in the D* forum

"order voom, and you will see 40 or 39 channels (depends on what you read) or 7 channels is only as good as the provider and in 2 experiences with voom voom is horrible, pic qual is horrible"

-stevesmalls


Horrible PQ??? Ive had cable. Ive had D*. This kind of dribble just makes me wonder why the moderators allow it to be posted?
 

Threv

SatelliteGuys Family
Dec 3, 2004
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Actually he's a guy that (If I recall) wanted to get Voom but the Local installers in his area have Screwed him over big time. That seems to be VOOMS biggest issue....Local installers and local tech support. its really killing them in the forums here. I had some minor problems but I got straightened out pretty quickly. I feel real bad for Steve because from his posts he really wanted to give VOOM a shot. However why he keeps hanging around is a mystery to me.. It must be out sparkling converstion :D
 

Ilya

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Off-topic posts deleted.
Guys, let's discuss VOOM and the news, not attack each other!
 

HDFreud

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Feb 22, 2004
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I remember when there was rumor that one of the airlines (maybe United) was going down. It was around the holidays and people were not buying tickets with them because they were afraid to be left without travel for the holidays.

It is my understanding that this holiday year we will sell more HDTV's than ever before and that people may add corresponding programming.

I understand that Voom may be working with some "strategic" plan, but sales people are not going to push Voom if they think it's going down. I have been with Voom for over a year last week and I am an HDTV junkie like many of us, but most people follow the keep it simple rule. They stay with a product because it's familiar............

I still feel that Voom's success will be our success and I really want it to be.

So yes we can speculate all we want, but if it was your money, would you use it to buy Voom or keep it going with the current subscriber rate and missed add on's this holiday season?

Thanks for (listening) reading.

Good Luck Voom and may you have a prosperous new year!!!!
 

Ilya

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For what it's worth, I've heard that this week VOOM has set its new record on daily sales!
 

jame_g

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Dec 13, 2004
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mike123abc

...If they were to close up shop their assets would devalue by quite a bit...


In this case we're talking about such huge sums of money that it is very likely that the loss of continuing to operate vastly exceeds the devaluation of their assets and existing debt. This is what will drive such a decision.

I just think that there are other possibilities besides E* or D* that either have deep pockets, brand name, industry backing, or other motivations to get into this market and pull this off as long as Voom continues to work to improve their service offerings and competitive position.

And on a positive note, Voom is still sending out mass mailings. And the timing is perfect given all the people with their new HDTV's that are just now being disappointed by the picture from cable, E*, and D*. They just need to do more to get the Voom name and offerings known.

- jame
 

Bruce

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Ilya said:
For what it's worth, I've heard that this week VOOM has set its new record on daily sales!

Instead of two, they sold three.
bluescreen.gif



Sorry, too good of a opening, if they get their DVR and my local RSN up, I'll be there, until then Happy Holidays.
noel.gif
madnoel.gif
 

vurbano

On Double Secret Probation
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Newport News, VA
bruce said:
Instead of two, they sold three.
bluescreen.gif



Sorry, too good of a opening, if they get their DVR and my local RSN up, I'll be there, until then Happy Holidays.
noel.gif
madnoel.gif
If they get all that you want please just stay where you are. PLease?
 

Ilya

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bruce said:
Instead of two, they sold three.
I don't know what their actual daily record is, but if I remember correctly, they were selling more than 100 a day a few month ago...
 

satellite man

New Member
Dec 26, 2004
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CVC Cablevision suspends Rainbow Media spin-off (22.11 )

Whatever is going to happen I think the following needs to be considered.

In my opinion very few companies would be to quick to take on the cash drain of the VOOM system considering the lack of a potential suscriber base that VOOM has. If there were 30 million HD TV's out there it might be different but there aren"t.

Additionally, I really don"t think Mr. Dolan is going to let the cash cows ( IFC, AMC WE ) go without ample compensation.

Again, in my opinion, the most likely course it that the bird will be sold along with the licenses and customer list. This way Dolan can seperate the networks from the deal and get rid of the cash drain, recover some of the investment and keep the stockholders and wall street happy. He might also sell off the assets to further reduce the impact.

One must also remember the press release which stated the fact that Rainbow made the deal with a satellite manufacturer for the additional satellites. It is possible that contract penalties are involved that could also impact the " strategic" plan.

Whoever buys it, on the other hand, gets a satellite and associated licenses and now has the time to develope their HD programs and talior it to the subscriber demand and not the premise of " if we built it they will come".

In any case I really doubt that Mr.Dolan is interested in a merger or partnership of any form. When you do that you lose total control and thats one thing I do believe he will not allow.
 

riffjim4069

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satellite man said:
In any case I really doubt that Mr.Dolan is interested in a merger or partnership of any form. When you do that you lose total control and thats one thing I do believe he will not allow.
I'll agree with that statement.

Satman, I noticed you're a new member and this is your first post. May I ask what prompted your interest in this specific thread? I only ask because we have a number of VOOM Trolls who appear to be posting under different aliases in this Forum...and most new members generally post in order to discover information about VOOM, their upcoming installation, or to fix problems with a recent install; they are little concerned with VOOM politics.

Anyway, welcome to the Forum. :)
 

stevesmall

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Apr 17, 2004
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Ilya said:
I don't know what their actual daily record is, but if I remember correctly, they were selling more than 100 a day a few month ago...
If thats true, it is way too small a number for voom to last. as for value to another provider it wouldnt be extremely valuable at that figure either. especially considering what some have reported here, that half of the sign ups are cancelling. so 50 to 60 a day customers even at the vavavoom rate is not enough
 

z71tahoe193

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Jun 10, 2004
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A problem with there last plan was that new sign ups could come and go as the please. Now there is a 6 month contract that keeps them around or they incur a penalty. Next quarters number would be interesting to see, especially if they break them down into subscribers in contracts and out of them.
 

andrzej

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stevesmall said:
If thats true, it is way too small a number for voom to last. ...

What number? More than 100 can be 101 or it can be 1000 or 100k or anything, well, more than 100. :D
 

riffjim4069

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VOOM is still testing their market and marketing strategy...however, the latest offer seems to be a big improvement over the free/no obligation offer. Plus, they appear to have a much better handle on installation and equipment issues. If the subscriber numbers and churn have taken a significant turn for the better, then perhaps VOOM may be viewed as a profitable venture in the distant future. On the flip side of the coin, perhaps better numbers will make VOOM more valuable and lead to a faster sale of Rainbow DBS assets. I guess it all depends on what Dolan wishes to do with VOOM...and none of us have a clue. :confused:

VOOM may eventually be sold, but they have already spent big $$$ on marketing, advertising and product development (HD DVR). Much akin to the story of the First Little Piggy, as long as VOOM's HD DVR is ready then they are certainly going to the market. In this case, I doubt they will sell until they see, and measure, the fruits of their collective labor.

However, if VOOM's DVR is buggy and/or largely vaporware then I have little doubt This Little Piggy will take the money and run whee, whee, whee all the home to the bank and cash the check. :mad:

Anyway, like I said...they very well may sell, but all the wheels are in motion and I feel the HD DVR is ready go to market with a big marketing blitz after the current promotion offer expires on 1 March. Is is possible for VOOM to post 60K active subscribers as of 12/31? Yep, it is possible, but who knows! If so, it should be very interesting to see what happens over the next few months: up to 70 HD channels, HD DVR, PPV, RSNs, Super DMA Map, Elliptical Dish, etc. VOOM may lose, but we win in the short-term! We shall see...
 

Bruce

Bender and Chloe, the real Members of the Year
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riffjim4069 said:
VOOM is still testing their market and marketing strategy...however, the latest offer seems to be a big improvement over the free/no obligation offer. Plus, they appear to have a much better handle on installation and equipment issues. If the subscriber numbers and churn have taken a significant turn for the better, then perhaps VOOM may be viewed as a profitable venture in the distant future. On the flip side of the coin, perhaps better numbers will make VOOM more valuable and lead to a faster sale of Rainbow DBS assets. I guess it all depends on what Dolan wishes to do with VOOM...and none of us have a clue. :confused:

VOOM may eventually be sold, but they have already spent big $$$ on marketing, advertising and product development (HD DVR). Much akin to the story of the First Little Piggy, as long as VOOM's HD DVR is ready then they are certainly going to the market. In this case, I doubt they will sell until they see, and measure, the fruits of their collective labor.

However, if VOOM's DVR is buggy and/or largely vaporware then I have little doubt This Little Piggy will take the money and run whee, whee, whee all the home to the bank and cash the check. :mad:

Anyway, like I said...they very well may sell, but all the wheels are in motion and I feel the HD DVR is ready go to market with a big marketing blitz after the current promotion offer expires on 1 March. Is is possible for VOOM to post 60K active subscribers as of 12/31? Yep, it is possible, but who knows! If so, it should be very interesting to see what happens over the next few months: up to 70 HD channels, HD DVR, PPV, RSNs, Super DMA Map, Elliptical Dish, etc. VOOM may lose, but we win in the short-term! We shall see...



I wonder about the DVR also, if it is coming but based on this, I wonder if they will spend any more money or time on it and the other things you brought up:

From The Wall Street Journal (Dec 21)
In a conference call last month to discuss third-quarter earnings, Cablevision Chief Executive Jim Dolan said the company didn't plan any further near-term investment in Voom.

And it looks like D* is out of the Voom action:

From Newsday: (Dec 22)
“…Dolan has made efforts to persuade media baron Rupert Murdoch to become a partner with the Dolans in Voom, but has had little success. Murdoch's News Corp. has a 34 percent stake of DirecTV, which has 13.5 million satellite subscribers.”

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4859764#post4859764
 

riffjim4069

SatelliteGuys Master
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Apr 7, 2004
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bruce said:
From The Wall Street Journal (Dec 21)
In a conference call last month to discuss third-quarter earnings, Cablevision Chief Executive Jim Dolan said the company didn't plan any further near-term investment in Voom.
Yes, but that was based on Cablevision proceding with the Spin-Off of Rainbow/VOOM - things have changed. I don't see how it's possible to keep VOOM and not provide operational funds. Of course, the above statement is also vague and you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone at Cablevision willing to define 'near-term', 'plan' or 'is' for that matter. :D

And it looks like D* is out of the Voom action:

From Newsday: (Dec 22)
“…Dolan has made efforts to persuade media baron Rupert Murdoch to become a partner with the Dolans in Voom, but has had little success. Murdoch's News Corp. has a 34 percent stake of DirecTV, which has 13.5 million satellite subscribers.”

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4859764#post4859764
Interesting, very interesting...
 

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