VOOM 2.0

Cablevision announced the sale of its VOOM hi-def TV assets to Echostar Communications. (Or maybe not - there's no mention of the VOOM sale anywhere in the Cablevision corporate news page. Nor, probably, at the Dolan dinner table.)

While the satellite assets were bought at a ridiculously low valuation, the basic business needs a shot in the arm. Some have commented that VOOM needs to go after sports programing. I disagree: sports exclusives are expensive and as attendance logs will show, people seem to have had their fill of sports programing as we know it.

As someone who really doesn't have a dog in this hunt, I have three modest proposals for Charlie Ergen:

1. Look at what ESPN is doing with their branded cell phones. Rethink the "how" and "what" of sports programing  - there are some exciting things that can be done with fantasy sports, such as delivering new ways to get subscribers into the game. 
2. Go multichannel. Cable companies are thinking about the delivery of video to the PC.  Think about how your services tie into the everyday lives of your subscribers, and how you might use technologies like SMS or the Sling Box to make their lives better or more enjoyable.
3. Think niche. LCD HD screens are about to get really cheap, and beyond residential subscribers, I see a big audience in retailers who have an interest in "interactive TV"-like features in creating great environments and putting their best salesperson in front of every customer.