Yesterday was the end of the company that got me started as a "blogger." VOOM, the poorly conceived satellite company from Cablevision, shut down yesterday after hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Along the way a family was divided, an intense boardroom battle took place, board members were fired and a one time visionary saw his dreams for one last big score dashed.
It was a spectacular failure. One that will be discussed throughout the years in business schools around the world.
Now it is over. Satellite geeks held an impromptu vigil via a chatroom waiting for the moment until the service went dark. Alas it did at around 6AM EST.
With VOOM gone, I'll have to move on to other targets (there will no doubt be many) but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Family Dolan. It was they who inspired me to start my rants and it was the feedback from my colleagues that kept me going.
To stay in character I will close the book on VOOM with a top five list of things the family can do to stay busy. Cue the clown music...
1. Jimmy Dolan can hit the road and promote his book "The Idiot's Guide to Running an NBA Franchise."
2. The whole family can go out on a crusade to demand the closing of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building as they are "competitors" for the NYC entertainment dollar (editor's note: the Family Dolan, owners of Madison Square Garden, has been trying to torpedo the Jets stadium deal on these grounds, why not expand).
3. Launch a satellite service that will offer no local channels BUT will offer 21 obscure channels that no one will watch (check that, they already did this one).
4. Remove landmines on the property between Jimmy and Old Man Dolan's house.
5. Go on tour to various satellite conventions where rubes from www.satelliteguys.com can attend and treat them as if they are Star Trek like royalty.
Hawk's View: Cablevision's board finally get their company back but some of us will miss the nonsense. Notably me. To show my affinity, I've aimed my satellite dish at half staff.
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