VOOM going under?

[NetGeek]

I know this is probably not the right forum but I just received an email from my satalite provider, VOOM, confirming my service call for tomorow to fix the antenna problem with local stations. Ten minutes later I get an email from them saying not only have the canceled my servie call but they are going to be discontinuing my service! Here is the email:

We're sorry to inform you that VOOM will discontinue providing service as of April 30, 2005. As a result, we have cancelled your scheduled service visit. You will not be billed for service beyond the date we received your service request. If you have any questions you may call 1-800-GET-VOOM. Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.

Thank you,
VOOM

I know they have had money problems but always thought that someone would buy them and service would continue. I just paid for two months of Service yesterday! They are not getting their disk & set top box back!

Where else am I going to get 32 HD channels? We have Charter Cable where I live and I cannot even get Dolby Digital from them!

Any other VOOM users out there that got this email?

 

[zumbo]

Sorry about your luck. This was discussed on here a month or two ago. Hate you missed the heads-up.

 

[JeffreyDJ]

Yeah, it's official. I wanted to go VOOM, but decided to hold off. Glad I did.

Even daddy Dolan concedes it's dead.

However, you shouldn't be TOO surprised. It's been in the works since last December.

 

[Reorx]

I just paid for two months of Service yesterday! They are not getting their disk & set top box back!

Call your CC or Bank and stop the payment. You should be able to get your money back.

lol I'd still keep their disk & set top box though...
Hope things work out.

Reorx

 

[NetGeek]

They will be missed!

I knew they were in trouble when I signed up but hey, where else are you going to get 40 HD channels? I checked my payment and I only paid up until the end of this month and they will turn it off then so I am good.

There is a VOOM forum at a Sat. website and many of the members and subscribers of VOOM were former DISH & Direct TV users and every one of them made comments about how much better VOOM's picture was not only for HD but SD also; they use less compression.

There customer service was top notch, you talked to one person who knew everything there was to know, no getting transfered all around for simple questions. The also did not charge for service calls, equipment upgrades and their programing & exclusive VOOM programs were great.

It's too bad as they had just worked all of the kinks out, I hate to see a customer service oriented company go under, all of the other providers care so little about their customers & HD in general. I had just switched over from Charter Cable because there equipment, service, and cost were horriable and they had no HD or even Dolby Digital service in sight! There will be a big gap in the market that is not likely to be filled soon.

I thought for sure that they would get bought out and continue on, I guess they were just to far ahead of the times.

 

[annunaki]

According to my local Satellite shop (Dish Network, Direct TV) Dish Network purchased VOOM a little while back. It was fairly hush hush. I am hoping that Dish Network will use the sattelites to offer all of VOOM's programming on their system.

 

[JeffreyDJ]

I've heard people saying this, but it isn't true unfortunately.

Dish network did not buy Voom. Instead, they bought Voom's one and only satellitte -- they didn't buy any programming whatsoever. In fact, when Charles Dolan was trying to keep Voom in bussiness he tried to first lease the satelitte back from Dish Network and then challenging the sale of the satelitte in the first place.

Cablevision is keeping the programming and will try and resell it.

And if being reported at every single news site is hush-hush, I guess it was.

None of this has been a secret. You can trace the stories all of the way back to December using google news search.

http://news.com.com/Cablevision+to+shut+its+Voom+satellite+service/2100-1023_3-5661165.html

 

[annunaki]

It seemed hush hush as I heard nothing of it otherwise.

 

[JeffreyDJ]

The fact Voom was a minor player in the cable/sat market probably had something to do with the fact you didn't hear much. It defintely wasn't hush-hush though. (Cablevision has been in the news alot, and many times the story itself was buried within another Cablevision story, so that could explain it too).

 

[annunaki]

Thanks Jefferey.