NEW OFFER: VOOM installed in 3 rooms for $1

[Skaggs]

I received the following in the mail on 12/20/04:

---

NOW YOU CAN HAVE VOOM INSTALLED IN UP TO 3 ROOMS FOR JUST $1.*

VOOM has changed a lot since you last inquired about us.

If your digital cable or conventional satellite service hasn’t changed — if you’re still waiting for more than just a handful of high-definition channels — it’s time you took another look at VOOM.

Switch today, and you can take advantage of a great, limited-time offer: three rooms of VOOM installed for just $1 (and yes, you can enjoy all of VOOM’s high-definition and standard-definition channels on all the regular TVs in your home too).

The reviews are in: While you’ve been thinking about VOOM, we’ve become the undisputed choice for HD buffs.

• In June 2004, CNET gave us their Editors’ Choice Award, calling VOOM “head and shoulders above” anyone else.

• Just this month, we picked up the coveted Sound & Vision Reviewers Choice Award. They said, “When it comes to sitting down for an evening of HDTV, VOOM is the complete feast.’

• And in November 2004 Home Theater Magazine named us one of their Must-Have Products. “The selection of HD channels is unbeatable,” they said,” and the picture quality is stunning.”

The most HD.The best TV.
And a world-class home entertainment experience.

VOOM is a complete satellite service that carries all the channels you want to watch. We’ve got your favorite premium channels in both standard and high definition. In fact, VOOM has more HD versions of your favorite premium movie channels than anyone else, including two HBO® HDTV channels, three SHOWTIME® HD channels, three STARZ!® HD channels and two Cinemax® HDTV channels.

Our 21 VOOM HD Original channels are broadcast with uncompromising resolution and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. They’re an unprecedented collection of widescreen HD channels with 24/7 HD movie premieres, sports and great entertainment you can’t get from anyone else.

Of course, we’ve also got the cable favorites you expect, from ESPN to C-SPAN — and new additions like HGTV and the Food Network, with more on the way. Plus VOOM delivers your local channels in digital and HD via an off-air antenna, where available, with the highest-quality, uncompressed signal at no extra charge.

Your HDTV is only as good as the signal going into it.
Get over 4,000 hours a week of the HD programming it was built for.

Sign up for six months of VOOM programming, and you can get three rooms hooked up for just $1.*

Once you’ve invested in an HDTV set, your next decision is a no-brainer. Get VOOM. Feed your TV. You know you want to.

Call us at 1 -800-927-0659 or go to voom.com/readyforvoom for complete details on our new
programming lineup, packages and pricing. And do it now, because the 3-rooms-for-a-buck offer is only good for a limited time. We’re here 24/7 — and we look forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely,
Tom French
Vice President, Marketing

P.S. Remember, it’s a limited-time offer: Call 1-800-927-0659 now to find out about getting VOOM installed in up to three rooms for $1.

* Offer expires 3/1/05. Service installations and activations must occur by 3/15/05. Requires 6-month VOOM programming and equipment commitment (minimum $49.90 programming fees per month). $250 early cancellation fee applies. Limit one offer per residence. Valid for new customers only. May not be combined with any other offers. Installation is Standard Professional HO installation of up to 3 VOOM receivers.

Price, programming, terms and conditions subject to change without notice. Image resolution and sound quality dependent on equipment. Subjectto terms and conditions oftheVOOM customer agreement, available at www.voom.com. The ‘VOOM” name and logo is a service mark of Rainbow DBS company Lic. Other trademark and service marks shown are the property of their respective owners. C2004 Rainbow DBS company LLc. All rights reserved.

200 Jericho Quadrangle, Jericho, NY 11753 • 1-800-927-0659• voom.com/readyforvoom

[TimS]

I can't get Sattelite service where I am anyhow (live in an apt, no point in installing a dish), but was curious whether Voom has any kind of DVR they offer with their service?

[Skaggs]

TimS said:

I was curious whether Voom has any kind of DVR they offer with their service?

They don't at this time, but has been rumored to be "coming soon" for a while now.

Recent news reports peg Voom as "doomed". They have only 26,000 subscribers (as of 9/30/04) and one of every three subscribers who signed up eventually dropped the service within the first year.

Cablevision's Rainbow DBS unit, which operates Voom, posted sales of $5.9 million, and an operating loss of $75.3 million, in the third quarter. That's a huge red number. They can't continue to operate for long at that pace.

More info from Newsday.com:
Cablevision Systems Corp. annouced on 12/21/04 it will suspend plans to spin off its troubled nationwide satellite television service, increasing the chances the venture will be sold.

Industry experts said that Echo Star, which runs Dish Network, might be a likely buyer of Voom. Steve Caulk, a company spokesman, declined to comment. 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. Echo Star has about 10.4 million customers.

If a buyer cannot be found, analysts said, Cablevision may wind up selling just Voom's assets, which include its customer list, one satellite that was launched last year, and federal licenses to operate.

"Getting rid of Voom would probably be the most significant thing Cablevision could do," said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Fulcrum Global Partners in Manhattan.

Cablevision's announcement came after the company had twice delayed the spinoff.

If the spinoff had occurred, Charles Dolan would have become chairman of a new company to be called Rainbow Media Enterprises. His son, Thomas, would have been the chief executive of the company, which would have owned the several cable channels and 21 high-definition networks.

[TimS]

Yeesh... thanks for the info. Not that I'd be signing up anytime soon anyway, but now I really don't think I'll be signing up

[MasterFX1]

I sure wouldn't declare VOOM dead yet, the members of the VOOM forum are having a good laugh at all the "Analyst's" under-informed assumptions about VOOM.

Having had TWC, E*, D*, TWC again (at work) and finally V*. I am so addicted, VOOM will have to pry my lousy STB from my cold dead hands. It's the sheer volume of programming that's so addictive. Yeah the DVR rollout is delayed, yeah the STB is quirky, yeah installation can be frustrating... but once your there, it' s pure HD Crack.

Due to a price increase for existing customers, however, I am making the painful decision to drop Playboy Hot HD.

Anyway, as far as VOOM's death knell being played across Wall Street, When's the last time street investors got it right with a new technology? I believe the worst case scenario is another company like Microsoft or Echostar will swoop in to steal it, but continue to operate.