An article at Smartmoney.com has an interesting piece on voom:
http://www.smartmoney.com/stockwatch/index.cfm?story=20050328
First time I have seen discussion of the other satelites and the costs of exiting the deals with them
http://www.smartmoney.com/stockwatch/index.cfm?story=20050328
But behind the united front against the stadium, there is family squabble. Earlier this month, with the support of the board, James Dolan, the chief executive officer and son of Chairman Charles Dolan, defied his father and attempted to shut down the company's satellite TV service, Voom. That in turn prompted the elder Dolan's dismissal of three board members and appointment of five new board members. The board recently reached an interim agreement with Charles Dolan in which he would deposit $10 million in a combination of cash, ordinary stock and some of his super voting shares with the company to keep the service running until Thursday.
EchoStar Communications (DISH), the country's second-largest satellite television services provider, agreed last December to buy Rainbow 1, the satellite used for Voom for $200 million. But the company had already agreed to purchase five satellites from Lockheed Martin (LMT) for $740 million — and inked service contracts that cost a minimum of $48 million for one year. Canceling all of those deals, says Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, could cost Cablevision a total of $108 million to $168 million. And that's just for hardware — it doesn't include programming-contract cancellations. (Cohen or a member of her team owns shares of Cablevision; Merrill does investment-banking business with the company.)
EchoStar Communications (DISH), the country's second-largest satellite television services provider, agreed last December to buy Rainbow 1, the satellite used for Voom for $200 million. But the company had already agreed to purchase five satellites from Lockheed Martin (LMT) for $740 million — and inked service contracts that cost a minimum of $48 million for one year. Canceling all of those deals, says Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, could cost Cablevision a total of $108 million to $168 million. And that's just for hardware — it doesn't include programming-contract cancellations. (Cohen or a member of her team owns shares of Cablevision; Merrill does investment-banking business with the company.)
First time I have seen discussion of the other satelites and the costs of exiting the deals with them
