Renewed Strength Of Voom and Perceived Essentials For Survival (Analysis) 03.05.05
(Analysis) In order for Voom to take full advantage of the recent unprecedented press it must make rapid commitments to increase both HD and SD line-ups, drop redundant SD channels that are already presented in HD to recapture precious wasted bandwidth, **allocate more bandwidth to SD channels making them as pleasing to the eye as they were back in March of 2004 while pushing very, very hard to continue the 190% increase in subscriber momentum experienced in the last 60 days.
There is likely a negative impact as to the recent actions taken by the CVC board regarding the continued rapid development of Voom's subscriber base. Viability has been questioned as it was addressed through the actions of the CVC board a.) officially announcing the ceasing physical aspects to operations and fiscal funding, b.) the official announcement Voom service is terminated, c.) perceived Cablevision ability to withstand the storm that rages within, d.) the press resulting from such actions, e.) cessation of websites being of both Voom.com and VoomLLC.com during which countless individuals queried to see what Voom was and is all about and were instead greeted with fatal information, f.) and the release of other related memorandums and word-of-mouth by those in positions of authority.
Consider DirecTV's new ad campaign stressing 1,500 channels. This will indeed impact potential migration from NewsCorp to Voom. The seemingly untimely decision by the CVC board to pick this exact time to throw the baby out with the bath-water will present a challenge to Voom's continued success. Many mistakes have been made but I for one see the viability of Voom only if it proceeds aggressively in development of its ever-expanding line-up, introduction of the DVR and perhaps a more compact STB with options to SD lineage. Given what Voom has to offer there is no reason why Voom cannot attract SD viewers as well as HD given all that Voom has to offer with its impressive Voom Exclusives line-up. A full and expedient implementation of MPEG4 to achieve maximum efficiency and quality of bandwidth and imagery that end users will and can install themselves; although assistance could be facilitated if necessary. Containment of operational costs must be re examined and achieved through every method possible.
Essential assets spun off through actions taken by James Dolan as well as existing and former board members must be re-evaluated. Both Black-Hawk and Rainbow-1 are essential to a viable existence of Voom. Its sale at 71% of cost represents at least a loss in assets of $150M. Voom should seek legal relief from the existing agreement with Echostar to maintain complete control of those assets being it is ludicrous to think Voom can afford to reinvest another $350M to regain or replace assets it already had in its possession due to the lack of forward thinking by some board-members. Satellite slots are limited and the difference between Rainbow-1 and AMC-6 are substantial; Rainbow-1 produces a signal of 140w and AMC-6 maximum output is 110w. AMC-6 power output is less than 72% of Rainbow-1. A 28% loss in transmission power will impact subscribers in more than one way; 1.) those residing on the western portion of the continent will have much more difficulty acquiring the signal due to the lower power even though the position of the satellites are 61.5 and 72 respectively. 2.) The expense of larger parabolic antennas and the additional expense of installation is substantial and will have to be taken into account. 3.) Leasing a single source with no back-up that presents a dependancy as well as additional expenditures as Voom must have a viable back-up source other than AMC-6 in-case the unthinkable does occur.
Although the most recent press makes Voom almost a household name, the vast majority of information presented to the public was of a negative context. Voom must counter questionable consideration with a clear and concise campaign notifying the public that it is here, without question, to stay.
This is in no way a time to go to one's corner or hang on the ropes; one must continue to gain maximum market share and continue to achieve viable profitability. The DBS and cable markets are rapidly changing; six months of passive posturing could present entirely new challenges that beseeches survival but can and will present new costly and challenging obstacles.
**Voom could do much better with SD PQ by removing some of the excessive compression; more channels with inferior image isn't the answer. Majority of viewers are using HD monitors where overly compressed SD is quite obvious. A fix can be accomplished almost immediately through implementation of MPEG4 while allotting more bandwidth to SD; SD network feeds at 480 are prestine in origin.
(Analysis) In order for Voom to take full advantage of the recent unprecedented press it must make rapid commitments to increase both HD and SD line-ups, drop redundant SD channels that are already presented in HD to recapture precious wasted bandwidth, **allocate more bandwidth to SD channels making them as pleasing to the eye as they were back in March of 2004 while pushing very, very hard to continue the 190% increase in subscriber momentum experienced in the last 60 days.
There is likely a negative impact as to the recent actions taken by the CVC board regarding the continued rapid development of Voom's subscriber base. Viability has been questioned as it was addressed through the actions of the CVC board a.) officially announcing the ceasing physical aspects to operations and fiscal funding, b.) the official announcement Voom service is terminated, c.) perceived Cablevision ability to withstand the storm that rages within, d.) the press resulting from such actions, e.) cessation of websites being of both Voom.com and VoomLLC.com during which countless individuals queried to see what Voom was and is all about and were instead greeted with fatal information, f.) and the release of other related memorandums and word-of-mouth by those in positions of authority.
Consider DirecTV's new ad campaign stressing 1,500 channels. This will indeed impact potential migration from NewsCorp to Voom. The seemingly untimely decision by the CVC board to pick this exact time to throw the baby out with the bath-water will present a challenge to Voom's continued success. Many mistakes have been made but I for one see the viability of Voom only if it proceeds aggressively in development of its ever-expanding line-up, introduction of the DVR and perhaps a more compact STB with options to SD lineage. Given what Voom has to offer there is no reason why Voom cannot attract SD viewers as well as HD given all that Voom has to offer with its impressive Voom Exclusives line-up. A full and expedient implementation of MPEG4 to achieve maximum efficiency and quality of bandwidth and imagery that end users will and can install themselves; although assistance could be facilitated if necessary. Containment of operational costs must be re examined and achieved through every method possible.
Essential assets spun off through actions taken by James Dolan as well as existing and former board members must be re-evaluated. Both Black-Hawk and Rainbow-1 are essential to a viable existence of Voom. Its sale at 71% of cost represents at least a loss in assets of $150M. Voom should seek legal relief from the existing agreement with Echostar to maintain complete control of those assets being it is ludicrous to think Voom can afford to reinvest another $350M to regain or replace assets it already had in its possession due to the lack of forward thinking by some board-members. Satellite slots are limited and the difference between Rainbow-1 and AMC-6 are substantial; Rainbow-1 produces a signal of 140w and AMC-6 maximum output is 110w. AMC-6 power output is less than 72% of Rainbow-1. A 28% loss in transmission power will impact subscribers in more than one way; 1.) those residing on the western portion of the continent will have much more difficulty acquiring the signal due to the lower power even though the position of the satellites are 61.5 and 72 respectively. 2.) The expense of larger parabolic antennas and the additional expense of installation is substantial and will have to be taken into account. 3.) Leasing a single source with no back-up that presents a dependancy as well as additional expenditures as Voom must have a viable back-up source other than AMC-6 in-case the unthinkable does occur.
Although the most recent press makes Voom almost a household name, the vast majority of information presented to the public was of a negative context. Voom must counter questionable consideration with a clear and concise campaign notifying the public that it is here, without question, to stay.
This is in no way a time to go to one's corner or hang on the ropes; one must continue to gain maximum market share and continue to achieve viable profitability. The DBS and cable markets are rapidly changing; six months of passive posturing could present entirely new challenges that beseeches survival but can and will present new costly and challenging obstacles.
**Voom could do much better with SD PQ by removing some of the excessive compression; more channels with inferior image isn't the answer. Majority of viewers are using HD monitors where overly compressed SD is quite obvious. A fix can be accomplished almost immediately through implementation of MPEG4 while allotting more bandwidth to SD; SD network feeds at 480 are prestine in origin.
