VOOM HITS MIDNIGHT - WEBSITE: "Cease 4/30/05" - Page 2  

Wouldn't you think either D* or E* would be interested in picking up those assets, and the subscribers? I don't subscribe to Voom, but I think it's a shame if it really dies. The more HD competition out there, the better.

There will be no other offers for the VOOM business, period. If it gets literally pulled out of the fire this time, it'll be by Charles Dolan's stock sale and no other means. No one else is interested in the money pit known as VOOM. There are no other white knights...it's either Mr. Dolan or death for VOOM.

But I do agree with you over the Cablevision sale...it's long been thought that the VOOM shedding was one move in making Cablevision more saleable. It'll be interesting to see if that plays into Dolan's continued attempt to save a service that is just a few weeks away from getting unplugged.

You read my mind. I just posted the same thing at Satguys. Doesnt Cablevision lose less money by selling to Chuck at whatever price he can come up with as opposed to nothing?

I just don't see anyone making an offer besides Dolan. The bulk of the valuable assets were (pending approval) sold to E* the only thing left of any value is the business model and existing customers - something only Dolan is likely to put money on.

And now I'm back to "I own my boxes and want money back." :(

I think the vision is OK. I think the execution of the vision was off. Here is where I believe they dropped the ball:

1. Poor programming options....Only 2 packages to choose from
2. Pricing - Way to high for VA-VA-VOOM
3. Content - Half of their exclusives were repetitive old movies - pre 1970...I'm not sure that's the target audience you should be shooting for with HD.
4. No regional sports networks
5. No HD-DVR or DVR period
6. No locals at all..except for OTA...
7. Charged 5 bucks for the first receiver??????

Aside from those flaws, I'm just not sure that current E* and D* subs like myself, saw enough substance to drop their current service. In the end, I think the giants didn't leave enough scraps laying around for the little guy...

Tomorrow is March and this is not what I was expecting. I was looking forward to a DVR and new channels.

They'll probably delay (yet again) the DVR and channels indefinitely until this fiasco is sorted out.

Seriously, we've seen the arguments about Voom's flaws a million times, please quit posting them.

I hope they survive, but there's not much I can do to change it.

The plot gets more interesting...

http://satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=54839

Both parties to the expired negotiation are singing completely different tunes. Not sure what CVC's intention is (force Sr. to sell CVC shares?).

Hong.

MEMORANDUM

TO: DISTRIBUTION
FROM: JAMES DOLAN
DATE: FEBRUARY 28, 2005
RE: VOOM TRANSITION

The Board of Directors of Cablevision has been unable to reach an agreement with certain Class B shareholders regarding the sale of the VOOM business and, therefore, the Board has directed us to close the VOOM DBS business including VOOM 21. Thus, we begin a transition and we wanted to outline our initial thoughts. While we do expect job reductions to occur, we will encourage VOOM employees to pursue the many open positions we have within divisions of Cablevision, such as Cable & Communications, Madison Square Garden and our various programming entities.

I have asked Tom Rutledge, our chief operating officer, to lead the transition team to manage this shutdown. He will be working closely with me and with VOOM’s executive leadership to accomplish this in the most productive manner possible.

As we sort through the various issues we will keep you informed and tell you what we have planned in this regard. Cablevision has a long history of strongly valuing our relationships with our employees and you should know that this heritage will continue to be in the forefront of our thinking as we proceed.

We are also committed to treating our subscribers in an organized and appropriate manner, and we ask that you help in this effort. We will provide more specifics on this front as they become available.

Our goal is that this transition will be conducted in the most sensitive and professional way possible for our employees, customers and business partners.
This change will help Cablevision to be in the best possible position to build upon the strong operating performance of our telecommunications, sports, programming and entertainment businesses.

Thank you and we will continue to keep you informed.



After the memo was sent out this one was sent


Quote:
TO: All Rainbow DBS & VOOM21 Employees
FROM: Charles & Tom Dolan
DATE: Feb. 28, 2005
SUBJECT: VOOM

VOOM is going through a period of uncertainty. What you need to know is that members of the Dolan Family remain committed to this bright and promising business. Financing for the purchase of VOOM operations is in place. We’re optimistic that we will be able to work out an arrangement that meets the needs of all the parties involved. Meanwhile, it’s important to note that VOOM will continue to provide service to its customers while these discussions continue.

You’ve all been through a lot in the past few weeks. We regret all the confusion and stress. Please know how much we appreciate your support, hard work and professionalism during these trying times. We hope that you will stay on and help us take this exciting project into the future.

__________________

So what does all this mean ? Is VOOM gone or not ?

Wow! And I thought my family was f****d up!

So how much credibility should we give to a press release from an entity, VOOM HD LLC, that does not as of yet own any assets except an expired letter of intent when it issues a press release that says VOOM will go on because they are still interested in pursuing something?

Am I missing something here?

All you can do is hold out hope that at least someone is out there agressively trying to keep it going. As long as the signal is on, who knows what may happen. If Charles Dolan actually believes there is a future in Voom, he'll put up his Cablevision stock to do what's necessary.

Enjoy it while you can.

Yes, the entitity VOOM HD, LLC is owned by the owner of Cablevision ;)

There may be some reason he can't finance the deal with Cablevision stock. I'm thinking a huge sell-off by a major stockholder won't be too good for the stock price, and could be more damaging than simply writing off the losses associated with the Voom business?

Maybe you nailed it right there, maybe the board does not want Mr.Dolan to put up his stock like that, and they turned him down.

Yes, but if he owns Cablevision then he should have been able to get the deal done right?;)

I think this is just a game, part of the negotiations. We'll know more in the next few days. In the meantime, let the speculation and trolling continue :D

from Sean at satguys:

Here's how everything happened. This is coming from a good source that is near the events.

1) James Dolan issued the "VOOM is going to be dismantled" email after the board meeting was over. The email was sent to VOOM employees but not all Cablevision employees. Within minutes he puts a Press Release to put pressure on father to buy at his price.

2) Within minutes of the email, ****** (Remove name) Cablevision board member called the GM of HDNews to alert him that he, Chuck, and Tom were definitely NOT done trying to work out a deal. He added that the financing IS in place for both the purchase and operation of VOOM. The hang-up has something to do with removing Cablevision's legal and financial liability.

3) There was a meeting with the HDNews staff. NO timetables were given for layoffs. It was emphasized that layoffs were possible, if not probable... But they certainly weren't definite.

4) Chuck and Tom sent out an email to their employees to that end, saying that they are still trying to work a deal.

Exactly! But here's the problem for cablevision, there is nothing to stop him selling it anyway! This is highstakes poker! Sell me VOOM for this price or else!

Chuck should sell Cablevision so that son of his can go from Prez of cablevision to gopher boy at TWC. James Dolan is where he is for one reason. Chuck Dolan. And now he is playing a dangerous game.

Wow, whoever made the point about the messed up family had it right. There's a lot going on here behind the scenes.

While I think Dolan Sr will somehow figure out a way to wrest VOOM from Cablevision, let's be clear about the "dangerous game" being played.
If CVC's directors don't make the best possible deal, if they were to do a low-ball contract that somehow left CVC stockholders (and especially, Directors) liable, they would not only be foolish, they would face SEC sanctions and worse.
Despite the fact Dolan has enough shares to control CVC, he cannot use stockholder equity to, in effect, enrich himself.
Does anyone remember the dysfunctional Rigas (Adelphia) family? That is what can happen when a Board blindly acquiesces to a powerful controlling leader.
I suspect Dolan now will simply have to sweeten the offer to get the CVC Board approval.
And I would bet (though not too much) that he will do just that.

What company was it that a couple of years ago made that gamble on selling, and ended up losing? Was it the sat. phone company MOT was invested in?

E* has already bought Ranbow 1 and the uplink facility. The only thing left is the programming and the name and a lease for part of another satellite that was to be renamed Rainbow 2, but Voom LLC doesnt' own that bird.

Wrong they still own another uplink center in NY. And AMC6 has 3 times the capacity of Rainbow1. Under Mpeg4 that bird would be like having 6 mpeg2 Rainbow1 satellites in the air and Much better coverage of the US.

Ok, they own an uplink facility. They don't own the bird. News Corp owns an uplink facility in Colorado that was built in 1996 and never used also. In the big picture, it doesn't mean too much.

Judging from what were posted above, Charles Dolan is not selling his CVC stocks to finance VOOM, nor has intention to do so, otherwise CVC would not have issued the 30-day notice.

There is nothing for Dolans to buy, the letter of intent is to give them all the remaining VOOM assets, and relieve CVC any VOOM liabilities. It is the liability issue that Mr. Dolan still can't satisfy CVC.

Looks to me even Mr. Dolan does not want VOOM as much as he says he wants it. See if he will prove me wrong.

you are so wrong its not even funny. The letter of intent was to consider a deal. No one was "giving" anything to anyone. The items to buy are the Voom21, the uplink facilities, and the leases on AMC6.