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Upstart VOOM satellite TV may be just what the dish network HDTV junkie is looking for

The newest kid on the dish satellite block is VOOM satellite TV. Touted

as "the most in HDTV", VOOM has more than double the HD channels of other satellite dishes.

VOOM is an infant compared to "The Big Two" dish satellite providers, Dish Network and Direct TV. VOOM was launched in October 2003, by Cablevision and Rainbow DBS, which also own 3 cable channels (WE: Women's Entertainment, AMC, and The Independent Film Channel), and a movie theater business.

VOOM is finding out the satellite dish networks business is hard to break into

Even with it's high-powered HDTV lineup the VOOM satellite service is having a difficult time carving out a niche in the satellite tv scene. VOOM had only managed to pickup just over 1600 subscribers after it's first five months of operation.

To make matters worse there are reports that 1 out of 5 customers that did subscribe had dropped the service, a number that probably won't improve after the change, from the current 20'' satellite dishes, to larger 35'' satellite dishes goes in effect later this year.

And that's all satellite dishes, even the ones current customers are using. The shift to larger satellite dishes is required for VOOM to expand it's current channel lineup in order to compete with The Big Two.

And those are just some of the reasons, here are several other factors that have contributed to VOOM's startup woes:

A recent SEC filing reports that VOOM is operating with a loss of 54.8 million after first quarter earnings of only $1 million net, hard to get investors with numbers like that

With just about 8 million people owning HDTV sets and only 2 million of those HDTV ready, although growing, VOOM's niche audience is small 

With a 10 year head start, Dish Network and Direct TV have already snatched up 20 million dish satellite customers, just how many are even left for VOOM?

More HDTV may not be enough for VOOM to jump DISH and Direct TV in popular option as both are adding more HD channels as well

HDTV loaded packages are now available from The Big Two

The current national campaign will need to somehow be convincing enough make a large percentage of the, maybe 20 million satellite TV customers left, to go VOOM, while also enticing more than a few of the established customers to switch, in order to turn things around. That will be a tall order considering how established The Big Two already are.

Wait! All may not be lost for VOOM and more important HDTV owners

To be fair VOOM has been able to increase combined customer subscriptions and activations to about 11,000 in the last two months (April 30, 2004) to offset the dismal 1627 subscriptions they got over the first 5 in business.

Why the turnaround? Well a national ad campaign for one, second VOOM just offers more HDTV channels, which is what an increasing audience of HD owners want, it's as simple as that.

The problem is many HDTV owners are worried that VOOM won't be around tomorrow, which is understandable if you've done your homework. Nobody wants to go through the hassle of returning equipment and getting setup with one of the other dish networks in a year. 

Here's the bottom line, if you want HDTV channels, VOOM has more than 30. That's two to three times more than anybody else, period. So if you have a HDTV set and want to take full advantage of it, you should give VOOM more than a second thought.

Worried VOOM is going to go under? May not as big a problem as you think. If things get really bad, what will probably happen is one of The Big Two will gather up what's left, keeping VOOM's most valuable asset (and what you probably wanted in the first place) the HDTV channel lineup, intact.

Maybe you have to get a new satellite dish and receiver, but they will probably give you that and have it installed for little to nothing. Toss in the free start up deal VOOM is offering to new customers where you pay only the rental fee for the receiver and programming cost and you have little to no risk involved in giving VOOM a shot.

If you want HDTV, VOOM has the most right now and that's a fact

At the moment the verdict is still out on VOOM. If you are considering going with VOOM, my personal recommendation, especially if you have invested in a HDTV set, would be give it a shot, what could it hurt?

Take advantage of the free offer, give things a try and allow the dust to settle, at least to the end of the year. If VOOM is still around by then, it's a good chance they may be able to hold on.

Of course you can always check back here, at 24hr-satellite-tv.com for updates. If you are an HDTV owner and you want HD programming, VOOM is where to get it, just be prepared for some growing pains.

Cablevision executives are upbeat about VOOM's future, my guess though, things are probably going to get worse with VOOM before they get better.

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