ESPN coming soon?

[pOiNTBLaNK]

I sure hope your theory becomes reality rang.

 

[adtoolco]

Whoooooo-Hoooooooo!

-Chris

 

[rang1995]

USB paine webber in a report today said CVC signed a favorable deal and it opens the way for VOOM to fill a big HOLE and they need this for the "spin-off" which CVC wants.

remember a spin-off is not bankruptcy they have to make the company(new) viable to succeed by itself hence ESPN ,rainbow programming (amc,we etc) so the new company can raise cash with stock offerings..spin off a piece of S---t and it won't fly or be allowed

 

[tattootearz]

Hey Guys...

I just contacted someone in "the know" at Cablevision.

Cablevision reached this agreement to carry ABC & ESPN in HD. This DOES NOT apply to VOOM. My contact wouldnt speculate on whether or not it was possible for VOOM to reach a similar agreement, but he made it very clear that Cablevision's deal with ESPN has nothing to do with VOOM currently.

I was curious about this so I had to get on the phone. I hope I havent offended anyone.

 

[squicken]

Who's your friend? Deep throat?

 

[rang1995]

it's not a done deal but same thing happened before..this is the way it plays out first CVC-io then VOOM..i wont promise 100% but i'll wager it will..see post #23

 

[rang1995]

it dosnt make sense not to have it now that CVC does..will make for a large switch to IO ,so VOOM has to keep the HD lead..They have had good reasons before as HDnet and INHD vis a vis CVC deals or exclusive to cable and ESPN was understood..now that CVC has it,it wont wash with those demanding it

 

[tattootearz]

it's not a done deal but same thing happened before..this is the way it plays out first CVC-io then VOOM..i wont promise 100% but i'll wager it will..see post #23

I will remain hopeful. More than likely VOOM will jump on this like a rabbit wolf... They have been rather proactive about HD opportunities thus far.

but remember....

I am a also Cablevision HDTV subscriber.... if this thing doesnt go through for VOOM... im gonna tease you guys everyday. LOL.. im joking.

 

[Ken F]

range1995,

Cablevision always had ESPN. It was just an extension / renewal of their contract. It might or might not mean ESPN-HD is being added to iO.

 

[rang1995]

Ken this is true,,i have CVC, but wall street analysts seem to have jumped on the HD part of it..maybe they are wrong..but we hope they are right!!

 

[squicken]

Rang, don't quite know what all those abbreviations are for. IO? I am not from the NE, so I don't know. Isn't cablevision a cable company? So what today's deal means is that cablevision will start carrying, on its cable service, ESPN and ABC in HD? I assume they were already carrying abc and espn as SD. So, if cablevision the cable company now has espn, hdnet, inhd, dhdt, hbohd, showhd, isn't cablevision the cable company outpacing voom in terms of hd content? I mean, they don't have the quantity, but they do have quality. Where I live, nothing except NBC (which did it for the olympics, and I don't watch nbc) is in HD, and won't be for awhile. CableVisionCable seems to be better than Voom, especiaaly if they have all the networks in hd (except fox, of course).

 

[rang1995]

Rang, don't quite know what all those abbreviations are for. IO? I am not from the NE, so I don't know. Isn't cablevision a cable company? So what today's deal means is that cablevision will start carrying, on its cable service, ESPN and ABC in HD? I assume they were already carrying abc and espn as SD. So, if cablevision the cable company now has espn, hdnet, inhd, dhdt, hbohd, showhd, isn't cablevision the cable company outpacing voom in terms of hd content? I mean, they don't have the quantity, but they do have quality. Where I live, nothing except NBC (which did it for the olympics, and I don't watch nbc) is in HD, and won't be for awhile. CableVisionCable seems to be better than Voom, especiaaly if they have all the networks in hd (except fox, of course).

sorry..Cablevision is the parent (still) company for Voom..same offices personal etc..IO is their digital service i think the ESPN deal was due to expire and this was a renewal that other cable co's had balked at.USUALLY but not always you must carry the package espn 1-2-classics and if you can HD so with cablevision doibg this it would be prudent if they attatched (more or less)Voom in the negotiations

 

[rang1995]

from a Wall street research paper today

CVC: Cuts Favorable Deal with ESPN

 According to Cable Fax Daily, a Cablevision spokesperson acknowledged
the company had reached an agreement with ESPN on Tuesday and it was
signed within a day of that. Speculation is that CVC came to an agreement
virtually identical to the agreement ESPN signed with Cox, Charter, and the
NCTC. In addition, the agreement may also provide the opportunity for
VOOM, the Rainbow DBS business expected to be spun off from
Cablevision in the third quarter of 2004, to negotiate with ESPN for its HD
channel, which represents a noticeable hole in the HD line-up offered by
VOOM.

 

[squicken]

Thanks Rang. I know ESPN likes carriers to carry ESPN 1,2,News, and Classic. I have read on these forums that Voom has bandwidth problems. Maybe Voom wants ESPNHD, but not ESPN in SD. Maybe Voom also might not want to carry all the other channeels. ESPN probably wants Voom to carry them all, because they get paid more. I'm just kind of thinking out loud as to why Voom would have a different set of problems with ESPN than Cablevision. It also seems to methat it would have been prudent on Cablevision's part to include Voom in the discussions. Voom is relatively small potatoes now, though, and maybe Cablevision didn't want to sour any deal by including Voom in the disussions.

 

[Ken F]

Thanks Rang. I know ESPN likes carriers to carry ESPN 1,2,News, and Classic. I have read on these forums that Voom has bandwidth problems. Maybe Voom wants ESPNHD, but not ESPN in SD. Maybe Voom also might not want to carry all the other channeels. ESPN probably wants Voom to carry them all, because they get paid more.

Voom is in the process of some encoder upgrades that will help them reach more of their spec'd capacity (39 HD and 88 SD). According to Wilt H, these upgrades consist of hardware and software that must be received and then put into service. Wilt previously said there was no specific ETA for all the upgrades from their vendor, though he did mention a few days ago that they had received something.

If Voom doesn't have capacity for ESPN-HD, ESPN, ESPN News, ESPN2, and possibly ESPN Classic right now (Disney likes to bundle - all or nothing), they will in a month or two when these upgrades are completed. It's been implied in the past that these upgrades would be completed this spring.

 

[vurbano]

Cablevision owns voom. voom is not a seperate company yet. I guess I can sell my D* recievers on ebay after espnhd goes on. Just hope voom survives. I feel there biggest problem is every customer that buys a tv in best buy or circuit city doesnt find out about voom and gets locked into a year with d*

Just can the moov and ultra channel. that will free up bandwidth for one HD and 10 sd channels. they are worthless anyway. Voom needs subscribers immediately and espn will draw them in.

 

[squicken]

Yeah, Voom partnering with sears was such a tactical error. When I think sears, I don't think bleeding edge technology. I think Voom is going to start up with tweeter soon, which is a good move.

 

[vurbano]

tweeter is a good move I hear its popular. but thats the problem! I hear its popular. Its not as mainstream as BB or CC!!! I dont know what their marketing people are thinking (ive heard they recently got new ones). But D* floods my email and the commercials on tv. Why not voom?

 

[rang1995]

is tweeter more high end??don't have any near me..HDTV-VOOM is not a $69 dvd player

 

[Ken F]

Tweeter is a more upscale retailer, yes. Their focus right now seems to be DVD players, high-definition televisions, and surround sound systems, so they are a perfect fit for Voom. Right now, most of the televisions in my local Tweeter are hooked up to a DirecTV HDTV feed; if stores start to use VOOM as the default box, that will definitely help to promote the service.