| Former type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media, High-definition television |
| Fate | Ceased operations |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Defunct | Jaunuary 15, 2009 |
| Products | Broadcasting, Television Production |
| Owner(s) | Rainbow Media |
| Website | none |
Voom HD Networks was a group of 15 original high-definition television channels owned by Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of Cablevision. The channels were produced in true High Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in the world. These channels were available on Dish Network until May 12, 2008, and were removed from Cablevision in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on January 20, 2009.
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The Voom HD Networks were originally part of the Voom DTH satellite platform launched by Cablevision and were operated by its subsidiary, Rainbow DBS Company. The original Voom HD was primed as a competitor to the established DirecTV and Dish Network systems, with its goal to become the first television provider with a lineup consisting mainly of high-definition TV networks. As part of this endeavor, Voom launched in 2003 twenty-one original channels that were completely in HD. In 2004, the organization promoted itself by advertising that it had more high-definition television channels available than its competitors.
Service was broadcast via the Rainbow-1 communications satellite, which was built by Lockheed Martin and launched on July 17, 2003. It continues to operate from the 61.5°W orbital location, over the Atlantic Ocean; as the sole transmission path for Voom, the satellite's low position in the sky from the U.S. west coast often made the service more difficult to receive than those of its competitors.
In early 2005, Voom's parent company Cablevision announced it would seek "strategic alternatives" for Rainbow Media Enterprises, the business unit that contains its Voom satellite service, leaving the future of Voom questionable. After a bitter dispute in the boardroom, Charles Dolan (the founder of Cablevision) ousted three board members who pushed for the extinction of Voom, on the condition he had until March 31 to arrange for Voom's assets to be purchased. When that deadline passed, Cablevision's board proceeded to shut Voom down: The service ceased on April 30, 2005, and Rainbow-1 and VOOM's spectrum allocations were sold to EchoStar. The day before, EchoStar's Dish Network announced that they would be adding ten of Voom's original 21 channels to their lineup starting May 1; the remaining channels were added on February 1, 2006.
In addition to being carried by Dish Network, Rainbow Media continued the HD channels themselves and relaunched them under the name "Voom HD Networks." Due to issues surrounding the formatting of the channels, fifteen of the 21 original channels were initially retained, with improved programming as the goal of the consolidation. Voom's HD collection was added to Cablevision's cable-TV HD-lineup in late June 2007; however, other than Dish Network, no other cable systems chose to carry Voom.
Dish Network removed ten of the channels from their lineup on May 12, 2008, with the remaining five removed the next day,[1][2] leaving coverage limited to Cablevision's systems in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and parts of Pennsylvania. Citing this drop in carriage and the ensuing lengthy litigation, Cablevision announced on December 18 that the Voom HD suite would be discontinued as of January 15, 2009, to be replaced by other HD programming.[3] (Ultimately, the channels ceased operations on January 20, and were replaced by multiplexed HD content from premium providers.)[4]
VOOM continues to broadcast internationally, where two of its channels sustain robust carriage.[3]
One of its channels, High Definition News (HDN)—managed by veteran news director, William Wright—was responsible for many HDTV firsts, including incorporating Emmy-Award–winning television journalist Bob Tur's transmission codec which allowed the backhaul of news content via the Internet. Today Tur and HDN's novel use of the Internet for high definition transmission of breaking news is now used by content creators across the globe.
The satellite which broadcast VOOM is currently still in orbit, incorporated into the Dish Network fleet after the demise of VOOM's satellite operations and rebranded as Echostar XII.
Unlike most discontinued direct broadcast satellite systems in the United States such as PrimeStar and AlphaStar, the Voom set-top boxes are still useful even though the service is gone; they can be used to receive ATSC off-air signals. Voom set-top boxes have commanded prices upwards of $100 on websites such as eBay as people seek a less expensive way to receive digital off-air broadcasts.
† Removed by Dish Network on May 12, 2008
‡ Removed by Dish Network on May 13, 2008
In 2005, Rainbow Media signed a licensing and programming deal with Canadian company High Fidelity HDTV allowing them to air programming from the Voom HD Networks on their own channels and use of the Voom brand and branding of several of their channels. Thus far High Fidelity HDTV has launched 4 channels with three having the same names as their Voom counterparts:
Rainbow Media ran Rush HD in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on Sky between 2008 and 2011. The channel is also available in Germany.
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Voom HD International was available through UPC Broadband; it ceased broadcast on August 31, 2009. This channel carries HD content from the different channels in the US. The channel was replaced by Rush HD. Voom HD International was also available in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Voom HD International, Equator HD and Worldsport HD were shown in Singapore through SingTel's IPTV network mio TV from July 2007 to January 1, 2010.[5]
Voom HD was launched in Brazil on April 28, 2009 on SKY Brasil and TVA cable service (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro); it was replaced by Rush HD on August 1, 2009.
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