Post by dkennedy on Mar 8, 2005 7:02:50 GMT -5
Voom fate may rest with EchoStar
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Cablevision's chairman wants to keep its high- definition service despite a pending satellite sale.
By Kimberly S. Johnson
Denver Post Staff Writer
EchoStar Communications Corp. chief executive Charlie Ergen may control the fate of a fledgling satellite-TV service owned by a major cable company.
EchoStar, based in Douglas County, agreed to purchase Cablevision System Corp.'s Rainbow 1 broadcast satellite for $200 million in January.
But Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan wants to buy the high-definition Voom service from Cablevision despite the pending satellite sale.
Dolan, to the dismay of Cablevision board members who successfully voted to shut down Voom, is said to be in talks with Ergen to either buy back the satellite or lease it to continue serving Voom's 46,000 subscribers.
Ergen "will exact every pound of flesh he can. It has to be worth his while," said Paul Maxwell, chairman of Golden- based Media Business Corp., which publishes newsletters about the cable and satellite industry.
Last week, Dolan ousted three board members who opposed Voom, replacing them with stronger allies, including John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp., based in Douglas County.
Cablevision's new board met Monday but reportedly took no action on Voom.
EchoStar bought the satellite to provide additional programming and services, such as local and high-definition programming, to its 11 million Dish Network subscribers.
EchoStar officials had no comment Monday when asked about the status of the Voom deal or talks with Dolan.
The satellite purchase still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
"It's hard to see how they can stay in operation and not experience a service disruption without some assistance from EchoStar," said Bob Scherman, editor and publisher of Satellite Business News.
James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision and son of Charles Dolan, opposes keeping Voom alive. Last year, Voom reported a loss of $661.4 million.
"Voom has really failed in the market. It's been an albatross on the (Cablevision) stock," said Matthew Harrigan, managing director for Janco Partners Inc. in Greenwood Village.
Cablevision, based on Long Island, N.Y., serves 2.9 million cable subscribers, primarily in the New York area.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Cablevision's chairman wants to keep its high- definition service despite a pending satellite sale.
By Kimberly S. Johnson
Denver Post Staff Writer
EchoStar Communications Corp. chief executive Charlie Ergen may control the fate of a fledgling satellite-TV service owned by a major cable company.
EchoStar, based in Douglas County, agreed to purchase Cablevision System Corp.'s Rainbow 1 broadcast satellite for $200 million in January.
But Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan wants to buy the high-definition Voom service from Cablevision despite the pending satellite sale.
Dolan, to the dismay of Cablevision board members who successfully voted to shut down Voom, is said to be in talks with Ergen to either buy back the satellite or lease it to continue serving Voom's 46,000 subscribers.
Ergen "will exact every pound of flesh he can. It has to be worth his while," said Paul Maxwell, chairman of Golden- based Media Business Corp., which publishes newsletters about the cable and satellite industry.
Last week, Dolan ousted three board members who opposed Voom, replacing them with stronger allies, including John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media Corp., based in Douglas County.
Cablevision's new board met Monday but reportedly took no action on Voom.
EchoStar bought the satellite to provide additional programming and services, such as local and high-definition programming, to its 11 million Dish Network subscribers.
EchoStar officials had no comment Monday when asked about the status of the Voom deal or talks with Dolan.
The satellite purchase still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
"It's hard to see how they can stay in operation and not experience a service disruption without some assistance from EchoStar," said Bob Scherman, editor and publisher of Satellite Business News.
James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision and son of Charles Dolan, opposes keeping Voom alive. Last year, Voom reported a loss of $661.4 million.
"Voom has really failed in the market. It's been an albatross on the (Cablevision) stock," said Matthew Harrigan, managing director for Janco Partners Inc. in Greenwood Village.
Cablevision, based on Long Island, N.Y., serves 2.9 million cable subscribers, primarily in the New York area.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.