Cablevision Systems Corp. said Friday that it will pull the plug on its Voom HD Networks for U.S. markets in late January.
Voom, part of Cablevision’s Rainbow Media Holdings unit, offers 15 high-definition channels featuring its own programming, including fashion, animation and extreme sports. The network is carried on Cablevision and, until last May, also was shown on satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp., which owns 20 percent of Voom.
Cablevision said it would lay off employees because of Voom’s closing, but declined to be more specific. Some staff will stay to handle Voom’s international operations. Voom will continue to be distributed abroad, where it airs two high-definition channels.
Joshua Sapan, Rainbow’s chief executive, said in an internal memo that the decision to end Voom was prompted by Englewood, Colo.-based Dish, formerly known as EchoStar.
“It became clear that we can no longer operate Voom domestically, particularly without EchoStar fulfilling its obligations and providing its support,” he said.
In May, Bethpage, N.Y.-based Cablevision sued Dish for $1 billion after the satellite TV company dropped Voom from its lineup. Cablevision claims that Dish’s move violated a 15-year agreement signed in 2005. Sapan said it will take at least a year to resolve the lawsuit.
A Dish spokeswoman declined to comment Friday on Voom.
Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield applauded the “final nail in Voom’s coffin.”
He said Cablevision acted in the best interest of shareholders by leaving money-losing businesses that weren’t part of its core operations. Greenfield said Cablevision has been obligated to spend at least $100 million a year on Voom with “minimal revenue from the channels.”
Cablevision said it will replace the Voom HD channels with other high-definition programming.
Shares of Cablevision rose by 10 cents to $15.21 while Dish rose by 74 cents, or nearly 7 percent, to $11.93 in afternoon trading.
