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New TTN Schedules just went up for the Debut! Looks like a very ambitious, impressive, and eclectic mix of programming for a new young station.
Even round the clock, true 24/7 broadcasting (without 12 hour repeats).
http://www.triangletelevisionnetwork.com/listings.htm
Wow!
Ron
Thanks Matt - Knowing that you're aware of it and are working on it is all that matters. We're all aware of the complexities in accomplishing such an upgrade. Thanks for hangin in there - Ron
Matt - I, and I'm sure just about everyone else, will support you in what ever you want to do because we appreciate IH so much.
But you may have noticed that probably the most common O/T item people are talking about lately is the slowness/hanging up of the boards.
I know this subject is dear to your heart, in fact I remember when you first started up you memtioned that fast retrieval speed was going to be one of the hallmarks of your new service.
So if I may suggest: Please put all other suggested improvements on temporary hold, and go after the speed problem as best you can. All the other stuff would be nice, but it can wait IMO.
About five weeks ago it sounded like you were going to jump right on the "Next 10 Messages" button (see your #186 message reply below) as one solution.
So may I ask...how is that going? And/or do you have other possible fixes waiting in the wings and/or what is your ballpark estimate for implementation.
Once again thanks much,
Ron
-----------
Post #186
"Ron,
Buddy you are always on the ball! This is a suggestions that has been suggested several times to me in the last week. This is a DEFINITE feature you will have very soon. A view next/previous 10 messages....
mb"
Willy - I'm confident that the perceived delay has nothing to do with anything on the company's end.
I was told about six weeks ago by one large broker not to expect to actually see the new shares show up in my account for at least 2-3 weeks after the 12th.
Another shareholder told me today that he was told much the same thing by his broker.
Unfortunately, seems to be standard operating procedure and mechanics for a tender offer of this kind.
Ron
QBID Programming Listings just went up, so that we may now be witnessing the beginnings of the big sprint to the 4 April debut. Check out:
http://www.triangletelevisionnetwork.com/listings.htm
The Dish Network (which will be broadcasting Triangle Multimedia Programming) is releasing their Q4 Earnings early tomorrow morning, so I wouldn't expect to see a Dish PR concerning QBID/Co-Media quite yet.
An audio of the Dish earnings conference call begins at 11 AM EST, accessible at:
http://www.echostar.com
if anyone wants to listen in.
Ron
Might be interesting to give a listen:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"EchoStar Sets Date for Fourth Quarter 2000 Earnings Announcement
February 16, 2001
LITTLETON, Colo., Feb 16, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- You are invited to listen to
EchoStar Communications Corporation's(Nasdaq:DISH, DISHP) Fourth Quarter 2000
Earnings conference call on Tuesday, March 13, 2001, at 11 a.m. EST. The call will be
broadcast live from EchoStar's website, www.echostar.com.
Mr. Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO of EchoStar Communications Corporation, will host
the call and will be joined by Mr. Michael McDonnell, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr.
David Moskowitz, Senior Vice President.
To access the webcast of this event, go to www.echostar.com, then select "Investor
Relations." You will need a multimedia computer with speakers and RealPlayer software
plug-in. If you would like to run a test to determine whether RealPlayer is installed on your
computer, please access the Pre-Event System Test on the website prior to the live event.
Fourth Quarter 2000 results will be released via Business Wire and First Call at 6 a.m. EST
on March 13. The press release will also be available on the EchoStar website,
www.echostar.com.
If you have any questions, please contact Judianne Atencio, Director of Communications, at
303/723-2010. Thank you for your interest in EchoStar Communications Corporation.
CONTACT: EchoStar Communications Corporation, Littleton
Judianne Atencio, 303/723-2010
or
www.echostar.com
URL: http://www.businesswire.com
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
with Hyperlinks to your home page.
Copyright (C) 2001 Business Wire. All rights reserved."
I'm very much enjoying this QBID exchange Hasbro. Thanks to both you, Arch, others.
Not wanting this to sound anything like a lecture, but if I could just underscore a couple more points, which goes something like this ...
The price of a stock is controlled for the most part not by what I'll call "enthusiasts", but by the much larger general investment community, together with the fundamentals.
By fundamentals I mean, of course, the ability of a company to produce useful products and to successfully distribute these products to the enthusiasts.
Obviously, there is much more to the price of an airline stock than derives from just investors who like or need to fly. And the price of a coffee manufacturer stock depends on more than just investors who love to drink coffee.
As this applies to QBID, I am suggesting that the primary way that GLBT community demonstrates "support" for the concept of their very own exclusive Direct Broadcast TV is by becoming loyal, dues paying customers. Subsequently, if the general investment community discovers and buys into this symbiosis then the stock price will, of course, rise.
Now, every indication is that the bulk of the GLBT community is just waiting on the sidelines to bail on to this dedicated channel in droves, thereby producing considerable income for the company. From what I've been able to glean, there is hardly a member of the GLBT community who has not already heard of it.
But like an airline that openly holds out little hope of ever finding aviation fuel for its airplanes, and a coffee manufacturer that can't ever see finding a shipper to ship its coffee, until something changes you really can't hope to begin to attract buyers of the stock.
Moving on ... Perhaps you are aware that industry giant "Viacom" recently bought out the Black Entertainment Network (BET), which is just an "extended basic" and not even a premium channel, to the tune of $2 or $3 billion dollars!
There were dozens of stories about it at the time. Here is just one link:
http://www.viacom.com/press.tin?ixPressRelease=55002967
Viacom, which you would think has a lot of really smart people in this area, is head over heals in love, or so it seems, with the potential profitability of what they regard as the next big evolution in TV broadcasting, namely minority and alternative lifestyle broadcasting.
So I am further suggesting that each of us draw our own conclusions as to whether something like this may have relevance to the future share price of QBID too.
Thanks again,
Ron
On QBID: Of course Arch. - As a matter of fact, if you are truly interested in price movements than I'm sure you also understand the stock terminology "Special Situation."
I know that I am new here but I have been studying this stock for a very long time. And you guys seem to already be talking about it, so it is surely not spamming, and I thought I could contribute.
This is far far from a traditional kind of startup company and the typical struggle to market and sell a "widget."
Very important: Please don't rush to judgement by assuming that because Hasbro and I seem to be conversing about G&L likes and dislikes that that we are involved in some kind of discussion over idealogy and are therefore heading for some kind of confrontation. Though ideology is often the context when the G&L subject is raised, you'd be 100% wrong about the motivation here.
Rather, it is the uniqueness of QBID's product that is precisely central to and at the heart of this "special situation" (together with the rare timing of events) that makes this such a fine candidate for the kind of sudden and pronounced price movement you seek. Although IMO, this particular stock should be capable continuing on more like a super "energizer bunny" ... if you read my prior posts.
In any event, something quite extraordinary has occurred with this stock in just the last few days, the details of which have not generally been widely disseminated yet.
And I suspect that very soon there will be people wanting to place beaucoup posts on this board to discuss all the aspects of it, including the reasons for attendant turnaround price movement. When that happens I hope you will be able to fine tune your view of ideology as it may apply to this "special situation" so that people can get all the relevant information out there in plane view and, most importantly, feel comfortable about doing it.
Respectfully and best wishes,
Ron
Hasbro123 - Hope this helps with your QBID concerns.
On your first point: QBID is just now concluding a particular type of business combination, one that I understand many small companies are using these days, with its predecessor company called Triangle Broadcasting Company (Symbol GAAY). This business combination, which has taken well over a year to accomplish in this case, includes a substantial asset transfer into QBID from GAAY. However, the way it works, GAAY will continue to exist subsequent to the BC wrap up which will occur in just a few days now.
Now because this is not a merger where QBID would be the sole surviving company, and no one can compel you to swap shares without your permission, conversion must be optional, and QBID has put a tender offer out to any and all GAAY shareholders who want to swap their shares for QBID. Most are doing this because GAAY will apparently not be left with much in the way of assets (and may even be sold off later as a shell). All of the above can be confirmed by the attorney who is acting, on behalf of the shareholders and company, as escrow agent.
The company has sent out almost 5000 letters to GAAY shareholders announcing the tender offer and any broker can also bring up an electronic announcement of the offer on their display. You can either have your broker push a button to accept the offer or you can deal with the escrow agent directly. And so it's no big deal.
On your second point: Imagine if you will, due to thematic content, the possiblity of almost insurmountable resistance (including that from fundamentalist religious groups) and other hoops that you might have to jump through just to get such a channel up and running.
And that, in large part, is what has actually happened here.
This little company first announced it's intentions way back on 7 August 2000 hoping for an October debut, and it's been an steep uphill battle to gain acceptance really ever since.
So it's no wonder that the stock price has fallen by so much and appears to be lacking support. Up until the last few days it was not even apparent really that the company would be able to even get their main product off the ground at all!
But now that's all water under the bridge. All the tees have been crossed, the iees dotted, and all the required signatures on the distrubution contract have been obtained.
I do like your comments that the GLBT community has a ton of money BTW LOL, and I respectfully invite you to reevalutate your previous conclusion, and maybe also think a little on the concept of timing.
Best regards and good luck,
Ron
Regarding QBID: (And please. Do your own independent DD to verify any and all of the following):
The company estimates that the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered (GLBT) community in the U.S. to be approximately 20-40 million strong, and the CEO is of the opinion that the company will become profitable on the day they begin TV broadcasting (which is an astounding 24/7 from the get-go!).
The population statistic BTW seems consistent with a recent article I saw estimating the worldwide GLBT to be about 11% (You do the math on that one.)
Among its sources of revenue, QBID, which will handle the production end of things, will get a huge non recurring fee for each new subscriber they sign up. And thousands have already signed up before broadcasting has even begun.
In this respect, surely this is really an already developed market in search of, and fully ready to embrace, a product or service, instead of the other way around, something extremely rare in business and commerce.
Once broadcasting begins, of course, the service is "self advertising," and it's difficult to imagine anyone in the GLBT community who will not of heard about it in very short order.
Thus, marketing expense to the company should be just about nil! - something else which is just about unheard of.
Other key ingredients are that the format is to be family oriented, very upscale and sophisticated with much of the material imported from around the world. And as a $19.95 per month, limited access, premium Dish channel, anyone can sign up and view the programming from the privacy of their own homes. (And of course, there are also thousands of GLBT bars and nightclubs, etc., around the country who will also want to subscribe.)
Do stop and dwell for a moment about the subscribership potential with respect to such a humongous and heretofore vastly underserved segment of the population! And BTW, it turns out that this population is very sophisticated and has, on average, a considerably higher annual salary and disposable income then the general population. (See below.)
From the company's developing affiliate website at (and don't forget to view the RP video at the site):
http://www.triangletelevisionnetwork.com
"Triangle Television Network will be the first totally GLBT channel available on television in the United States. Our gay programming will consist of highly acclaimed films, entertainment, special events and documentaries. Our TV programs will be fun, exciting and informative. The programming will consist of news, gay and lesbian sports events, game shows and live shows from bars across the country."
Apparently, much of this high level material already exists and that G&L producers from all over the world will be tripping over themselves at the doorstep of QBID's fairly lavish Palm Springs Studio wanting to give their productions national TV exposure. So I expect that the company will be able to pick and choose from all this candidate material and broadcast only the best to maintain quality.
Further, the company is also originating and producing a bunch of their own shows. A Gay Court, Dating Game, a Soap opera serial, a cooking show, etc., have all been mentioned among others.
I'm going to stop for now and I certainly don't wish to appear as though I've been pumping. But IMHO this is a human interest story and development of unprecedented scope and significance. Just about everybody has some kind of opinion on the subject and, afterall, hears or reads something about it almost every day of their lives.
So IMO, expect to see a considerable ramping up of publicity, website upgrades, programming information, feature articles, advertising, probably ubiquitous news coverage, etc., starting up in the days immediately ahead and extending through the 4 April 2001 debut IMHO.
Best wishes to the Board.
Ron
The following email is just now being sent out to current subscribers on Tiffaney's email list. I just spoke with her and she mentioned that the slight additional delay in the debut date (see below) was at the request of Dish. - Ron
"Hello this is Tiffaney with the Triangle Television Network (TTN). The purpose of my e-mail is to inform you of the latest updates with the Network. We are very excited to inform you that TTN will finally start airing April 4, 2001.
We would like to thank you for your ongoing support throughout this long stretch. We will offer quality programming and movies twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week!!!
For more information please give us a call toll free at 1-866-438-4298 and one of our representatives will be more than happy to assist you.
Once again, thank you for all of your support.
Sincerely,
Tiffaney W."
Hello HG.
The 15 minute editing window (may be closer to 10) is already here on IH.
After you craft and post a message, go back and reopen your message from the thread list. You'll see the "Edit" link at the top of your message.
Regards,
Ron
I agree Ferrgus, and you also bring up an interesting point about the MMs. For safety's sake, they probably won't want to wait until the last minute to start the process of converting their own shares too.
I wonder if that means that as we approach 12 March, the MM will actually reduce their GAAY inventory down to zero and effectively won't be making a market in GAAY shares anymore?
On the other hand, this might not be true either because the conversion is optional and GAAY supposedly will continue to exist as a shell beyond 12 Mar. And there will be those people who don't elect to convert or haven't even heard of the offer by that date. So they will need a continuing market. Interesting indeed.
You know, one thing I think none of us have ever tried to do is to phone up the MMs to request information. I presume that at least some of our MM's are the same as those who also make a market in bulletin board stocks, and that those phone numbers are available somewhere over at www.otcbb.com.
Among the many questions that one could ask ... Wouldn't it be interesting to hear what the QBID MMs had to say about the reasons for, plus what they hoped to accomplish by, all that violent whipping around of the Bid and Ask prices before the opening bell each day LOL !
Ron
Ferrgus, I'd guess that as we close in on the 12 March conversion deadline, more and more existing GAAY shareholders will have already sent in their Stock Powers and/or initiated action via their brokers and will not want to perturb that paperwork.
And prospective new shareholders, who don't fully understand the conversion process, will be apprehensive that they can get the job properly done in time.
This all equates to less and less buyers than sellers over time, a divergence from the 2.375 ratio, and a tremendous discounted buying opportunity for those in the know IMO.
Ron
Interesting guys,
Another tack would be to pick up 2.375 times as many GAAY shares.
Maybe you noticed that the Ask is now only $0.0045.
That's like being able to pick up QBID at only 0.0045 x 2.375 = $0.0107 instead of $0.018.
Alternately, you could end up with 68% more QBID shares after conversion for the same amount of money!
Of course you'd have to adjust your Stock Power quantity unless you haven't sent your SP in yet.
Ron
Matt - Closing the loop on what I thought was a possible problem with the missing upper link bar:
Turns out some of the public machines that I was using had Netscape's "Always use my colors, overriding document" box checked under "Edit/Preferences/Appearance/Colors."
So it was merely a manual color selection problem, and when I unchecked the box the bar reappeared just fine.
Sorry about that - Should have discovered this earlier. - Just one of those things that can happen when a bunch of different people share a machine. LOL
Ron
Matt - Just tossing this out there to see if anybody salutes.
To make sure nothing important is missed, I'm sure many people like to read all messages using the Next Link. My perception is that the primary thing that bogs down information transfer with this method though is the dwell time that's needed over and over again just to get the server's attention prior to each message.
And, of course, very short messages containing little or no information are an especially huge waste of time.
To speed things up one can, of course, operate from the message header list skipping over messages that don't look promising.
But this is kind of risky because you can't always tell if something useful is hidden in the body of the message.
Therefore, it seems to me that a very useful capability would be the ability to download, say, the next 5-10 messages "All at Once" with just one push of the Next button. I'm assuming here that each such expanded download would take only negligibly more time to download than for a single message.
Then, using your mouse plus scroller you could much more quickly scan through all that text, skipping and/or stopping here and there, all the while being reasonably certain that you haven't missed anything important.
Ron
Hi again Matt,
When accessing IH from a public computer, like in a library, the upper link bar:
(i.e., Login/Live!Chat/Home/MailBox/Discussions/Favorites/Hot!)
is sometimes missing. (Seems to depend on the particular machine I'm using at the time.)
I can usually spoof the system by taking a long way in, but this makes getting to "login" and "favorites" cumbersome.
Is this a cookie related, or some such thing?
Do you have an idea what is going on and/or a fix?
Thanks again,
Ron
QBID - Are Dish Network and GTN now Family?
Take a look - If true, could "Rock the World" of alternative and minority broadcasting!!! - By analogy, the recent buyout of Black Entertainment Television (BET) by Viacom was a two billion dollar deal!
http://www.gaytelevisionchannel.com/
Ron
QBID - Are Dish Network and GTN now Family?
Take a look - If true, could "Rock the World" of alternative and minority broadcasting!!! - By analogy, the recent buyout of Black Entertainment Television (BET) by Viacom was a two billion dollar deal!
http://www.gaytelevisionchannel.com/
Ron
QBID - Are Dish Network and GTN now Family?
Take a look - If true, could "Rock the World" of alternative and minority broadcasting!!! - By analogy, the recent buyout of Black Entertainment Television (BET) by Viacom was a two billion dollar deal!
http://www.gaytelevisionchannel.com/
Ron
Latest article on QBID/CMDA. From:
http://www.metrog.com/headline/articles/012601_gaytvnet.html
WILL DISH SERVE UP GAY TV? A COURTROOM MAY HAVE TO DECIDE
News Analysis by Crusader
Exclusive to metroG.com
PALM SPRINGS, CA (January 26, 2001) -- The lavish 12,000 square foot corporate offices of Co-Media, Inc. and Triangle Multi-Media Ltd are filled with promotional materials for what was to be the premiere of gay television programming exclusive to Dish Satellite Network beginning February 2. Co-Media and Triangle claims they have invested approximately $7 million in money and commitments to develop Gay Television Network (GTN), which was to provide a very large number of gay and lesbian programs for Dish. Dish is owned by EchoStar Communications Corporation, whose corporate offices are based in Colorado. Triangle Broadcasting (an arm of Triangle Multi-Media) currently produces gay radio programming on the Internet from their Palm Springs studio.
On January 16, Co-Media announced in a PRNewswire press release that GTN programming would be aired exclusively with Dish, and provided details about how consumers can take advantage of a $19.95 per month promotion that includes the dish and free installation. The promotion is also featured on GTN's website (Gay Television Network), and in advertisements placed in 77 gay-oriented publications throughout the nation. According to spokespersons for Co-Media and Triangle, the ads in question were reviewed and approved by Dish prior to publication.
Shortly after the Co-Media press release was issued, however, it became unclear whether or not GTN would ever see the light of day on Dish. According to a January 19 Multichannel News story (via http://www.tvinsite.com) a Dish spokesperson denied the "gay TV deal." When metroG attempted to access the GTN website that weekend, we received the following message: "The Gay Television Network Website will Be Down Until Tuesday January 30th for database configuration and server upgrades." During that same weekend, GTN's corporate voice mail system must have been inundated with inquiries and crashed, because several attempts to its corporate numbers over the weekend resulted in a few rings followed by dead silence.
metroG finally caught up with Triangle Media CEO Frank Olsen on January 25 via telephone, who confirmed that a contract had been signed. "They got cold feet," he said. "They came to us to have us air programs. They approved our ads, and then all of the sudden when our press release came out, they then denied they had a contract with us."
Olsen said that the reason web surfers could not access the GTN website on the weekend of the 19th was because Dish had "asked us to take the site down," even though all parties involved are said to have entered into a $360,000 per month contract. GTN (Gay Television Network) is back up on the net and was fully operational at the time this article was written. Olsen said that Dish was apparently upset after MSNBC ran a headline stating that Dish would "serve up gay TV." Dish also asked for an apology from Co-Media for mentioning Dish in a press release. Gary Goldman, corporate attorney for Co-Media, told metroG, "We wrote them [Dish] a letter of apology, at their request, apologizing for releasing the [January 16] press release without getting their approval on it."
After playing telephone tag with Dish's media relations department for two days, I finally got what amounted to a "no comment" from spokesperson Mark Lumkin on January 26. When I asked him for a comment about "the gay television programming controversy," Lumkin said he had no idea what I was talking about. When I specifically mentioned GTN, Co-Media, and Triangle by name, he vehemently denied that Dish had a written contract with the entities in question, and refused to confirm or deny that they now are in or have ever been in negotiations with GTN, Co-Media, or Triangle Multi-Media regarding such programming. "When we launch a new channel, we enter into negotiations with the program designers, enter into an agreement, and put out our own press release," he said. When asked to comment about GTN's ads in gay publicatins, Lumkin said, "We never approved [GTN] ads for the gay media."
So, what inquiring minds want to know: Is this some sort of scam operating out of a boiler room with a post office box? Why is a multi-billion dollar satellite company denying any involvement with gay television programming?
After spending more than an hour touring GTN, and speaking with the main players in an informal setting on January 26, I can unequivocally state that this not only appears to be a legitimate venture, but that once this programming gets on-the-air, it is going to put a face on gay-related programming that will rock the world!
Upon entering the corporate office, located near downtown Palm Springs, I observed a Dish banner over the reception area, which GTN spokespersons say was provided to them by Dish. While waiting in the reception area for the grand tour, I leafed through the current issue of Expressions (EXP) Magazine (based in Missouri) and noticed a full-page advertisement for GTN: "Gay-TV is Out of the Closet! Subscribe now to the first and only Gay-TV Channel..." Moments later, I was greeted by GTN founder Frank Olsen, who literally dropped everything he was doing to give me a complete tour of the offices and studios. (For all trivia buffs: the studio was once the home of "The Morton Downey Jr. Show.") If this is a scam operating out of boiler room, then these folks deserve an Oscar. After the tour, I interviewed Olsen, Marvin Jenkins, president and CEO of Co-Media, and their corporate attorney, Gary Goldman.
Goldman confirmed the contract with Dish. "We have a written contract to distribute Dish [satellite] dishes to the gay community, and it is signed," he said. "We have a contract to go on the network, which has been modified several times at their request. It has been signed by us...They have changed the terms, in writing, on several occasions. The latest was a couple of days ago, after their press release denying they had a contract with us." (During my brief conversation with Dish's Lumkin earlier in the day, he categorically denied that Dish ever issued a press release denying the GTN contract.)
Jenkins provided metroG with compelling evidence of a contractual relationship between EchoStar and Co-Media. He explained that in the original ad submitted to EchoStar for their review, the Dish logo was in blue and "we were instructed to change it to red."
Jenkins also said that Randy Bowman, the regional sales manager for EchoStar, came to Palm Springs on October 3, 2000 and gave a training session at GTN studios for all GTN employees. The purpose of the training session was to explain to employees the policies and procedures for selling subscriptions to the Dish Satellite Network. Jenkins said they have the training sessions on video tape to utilize for new employees. Goldman said that some employees were even sent to a Dish training program in Sacramento, California in November.
In a November 28 letter addressed to Co-Media, EchoStar's senior vice president of the satellite division states: "EchoStar looks forward to a business relationship with Co-media (sic) that will continue long past the term of this initial Agreement...Again, EchoStar looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship with Co-media (sic)." That certainly does not sound like a company without a contract.
On December 1, at EchoStar's invitation, Jason Shearouse, vice president of marketing for GTN, gave a presentation in Sacramento to Dish's West Coast distributors. This presentation, according to Jenkins, was also video taped. On January 11, 2001, EchoStar's Bowman is said to have come to GTN's offices for "an update on our programming and GTN issued him a check made payable to EchoStar," Jenkins said. On that same date, according to Jenkins, Michael Schwimmer, vice president of programming for EchoStar, spoke with Triangle's Olsen to "officially welcome GTN to Dish's family schedule."
Olsen described a variety of gay-related programming on GTN to metroG, including a "Gay Court" program. GTN spokespersons said it will be similar to "Judge Judy," but will focus on the unique issues that gays and lesbians face in every day life. Will the first "Gay Court" program be the case of Co-Media, Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corporation? "There will be a lawsuit launched next week if they [EchoStar] do not comply with the terms of the deal," said GTN attorney Goldman. He said that Co-Media and Triangle would seek $300 to $400 million in damages in a California federal court. Goldman said that as a result of Dish denying the gay TV deal, GTN has "lost credibility in the gay community, and it is costing us a lot of money in terms of [losing] customers." He said that GTN is doing everything possible to negotiate the current matter without going to court.
metroG is committed to keeping its readers apprised of any new developments with this story.
More on QBID - "Gaytvlistings.com" has just this morning performed their weekly update and, at least on this last Sunday in January,
seems to continue to believe that GTV is coming. (No launch date is given, however.)
http://www.gaytvlistings.com/listing.html
(Scroll down about eight inches and then also further down towards the bottom of the page to see the now familiar GTN sample
programming matrix.)
Ron
Well - "Gaytvlistings.com" has just this morning performed their weekly update and, at least on this last Sunday in January,
seems to continue to believe that GTV is coming. (No launch date is given, however.)
http://www.gaytvlistings.com/listing.html
(Scroll down about eight inches and then also further down towards the bottom of the page to see the now familiar GTN sample
programming matrix.)
Ron
The market makers may be playing a spirited little internal game of "I dare you" amongst themselves as they jockey the B&A's around for position in the minutes before the opening bell each day.
MM's apparently do even occasionally trade amongst themselves before the opening bell. You can tell this is going on because volume sometime starts to build in advance of 9:30 EST (as I've observed with some other stocks).
In QBID/GAAY's case, it's as if the MM's are all expecting a gap-up at the open on one of these mornings, they just don't know exactly which one it'll be.
So they play this little game of moving the B&A around to see if anyone knows anything and will take the bait in the minutes before the bell.
Just a little blue sky theorizing LOL.
Ron
With this nifty story appearing at the MSN Website, we shouldn't be surprised if MSNBC TV also starts broadcasting the GTV story very soon.
Currently Clinton's settlement is monopolizing the news, but as soon as this dies down maybe they'll get to it.
I've got the station on right now; but nothing yet.
Ron
Tomr - There has been much confusion as to the frequent careless use of the word merger, mostly by TMM itself, when they really meant to always be saying "Business Combination."
You do indeed have to initiate action to convert your GAAY shares into QBID. It is not automatic.
If you will call Max Cassing he will explain that since both companies will continue to exist after 12 March, the law prohibits any entity from compelling you to swap your shares. That's why it can't be automatic.
Conversely, if this had been a conventional merger you would have voted away your rights to retain your shares and the swap would indeed have been automatic.
Give Max a call - He is eager to answer any and all such questions.
Ron
There were 19 separate trades and almost $100K changing hands today.
One guess is that this was the first day of a wave of new issue private placement certs hitting people's mailboxes.
But there were some buys in there too (like the last trade), probably starting when the MM's were willing to halve their ask down to about 5/8.
Spread has tightned up a lot now too as a result.
Ron
Bulletin:
(Go to www.pinksheets.com to access.)
January 16, 2001
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Jan 16, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Marvin Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Co-Media, Inc. (OTC: CMDA) announced today that the company will launch its Gay Television Network (GTN), to be aired on Dish Satellite Network, beginning February 2, 2001. Co-Media has been specializing in target programming for a number of years. "This project has been eight years in the making," said Jenkins. "We have finally overcome the obstacles of distribution, availability of programming and acceptance in the advertising community."
Gay Television Network is available only through the Dish Network, the digital satellite subscriber system, as a Premium Channel choice. Sign up for their Basic Package, which includes 150 channels of TV and audio programming, and for an extra charge of $19.95 the subscriber will receive GTN and, as a bonus, a gay Internet radio channel. If one signs up now, one gets the 18-inch satellite dish and installation free.
"In the beginning programming will be 7 days a week, 12 hours weekdays and 24 hours per day on weekends," explained Jenkins. "Programming will include news, information and entertainment especially for the gay and lesbian community. We will eventually have original programming, such as "Gay Dating Game," "Gay Court," "Gay Bandstand," and 40 new movies each month. We will be covering events such as Gay Olympics, Gay Rodeos, Gay Conferences and Gay Prides all over the nation, as well as the activities surrounding the Nabisco (Dinah Shore) Golf Tournament."
The initial film schedule includes "Claire de Lune," "Red Rain," "Defying Gravity," "Latin Boys Go to Hell," "Twisted," "All the Rage," "It's in the Water," "A Boy Named Sue," "Caravaggio," and "Edward II."
Produced programs planned include a morning talk show, "Good Morning, Gay America;" "Gay Archives," a one hour program which traces gay life in New York and Los Angeles in the early days of the '70s and '80s; "Gay Pride, Palm Springs;" music video shows; "Gay Across the Globe," an hour special that documents international gay happenings; "Mardi Gras 2000," a documentary on the hot celebrations down under from Sydney, Australia; and religious services broadcast live from Fort Lauderdale's Sunshine Cathedral and Dallas' Cathedral of Hope.
In the near future we will be adding a cooking show hosted by transvestite Betty Delicious, as well as a gay history program. Also planned is a Girls' Night, featuring lesbian-themed films, and a Boys' Night.
Gay producers and gay writers have been producing programs for years. Co-Media, Inc., GTN, combined with the Dish Network, provides an ideal distribution system for the entire GLBT community.
Through trade ads in the gay press, their subscriber base is projected at 10,000 during the first few months; it currently stands at about 2,000. Naturally the Dish Network's subscriber base of 5 million is a rich resource for new viewers.
The demand for niche television programming by the advertising community has become very evident by the recent purchase of BET (Black Entertainment Television) for $200,000,000 plus by Viacom, as well as the entrance of non- traditional television producers such as Microsoft teaming with NBC to form MSNBC. Other networks are also in demand as noted by the increase in advertising dollars spent for advertising time.
"The company will now devote its time to the execution of its business plan and continue seeking acquisitions, to create and enhance shareholder value," Marvin Jenkins stated. The company's audited financial statements have been completed and plans to file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, its Form 10 by the middle of February 2001 to become a 12G Company. Co-Media, Inc. is a vertically integrated entertainment company that includes radio, television programming/production for network syndication, Internet and real estate holdings. GTN's projected gross revenues for the next five years exceed $250 million. For additional information please visit our website at: www.wearegaytv.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; Co-Media's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; and the risks described from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
For more information about Co-Media, Inc., contact: Investor Relations on (866) 527-3500.
SOURCE Co-Media, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations of Co-Media, Inc., 866-527-3500
URL: http://www.wearegaytv.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
(C) 2001 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
Bulletin:
(Go to www.pinksheets.com to access.)
January 16, 2001
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Jan 16, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Marvin Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Co-Media, Inc. (OTC: CMDA) announced today that the company will launch its Gay Television Network (GTN), to be aired on Dish Satellite Network, beginning February 2, 2001. Co-Media has been specializing in target programming for a number of years. "This project has been eight years in the making," said Jenkins. "We have finally overcome the obstacles of distribution, availability of programming and acceptance in the advertising community."
Gay Television Network is available only through the Dish Network, the digital satellite subscriber system, as a Premium Channel choice. Sign up for their Basic Package, which includes 150 channels of TV and audio programming, and for an extra charge of $19.95 the subscriber will receive GTN and, as a bonus, a gay Internet radio channel. If one signs up now, one gets the 18-inch satellite dish and installation free.
"In the beginning programming will be 7 days a week, 12 hours weekdays and 24 hours per day on weekends," explained Jenkins. "Programming will include news, information and entertainment especially for the gay and lesbian community. We will eventually have original programming, such as "Gay Dating Game," "Gay Court," "Gay Bandstand," and 40 new movies each month. We will be covering events such as Gay Olympics, Gay Rodeos, Gay Conferences and Gay Prides all over the nation, as well as the activities surrounding the Nabisco (Dinah Shore) Golf Tournament."
The initial film schedule includes "Claire de Lune," "Red Rain," "Defying Gravity," "Latin Boys Go to Hell," "Twisted," "All the Rage," "It's in the Water," "A Boy Named Sue," "Caravaggio," and "Edward II."
Produced programs planned include a morning talk show, "Good Morning, Gay America;" "Gay Archives," a one hour program which traces gay life in New York and Los Angeles in the early days of the '70s and '80s; "Gay Pride, Palm Springs;" music video shows; "Gay Across the Globe," an hour special that documents international gay happenings; "Mardi Gras 2000," a documentary on the hot celebrations down under from Sydney, Australia; and religious services broadcast live from Fort Lauderdale's Sunshine Cathedral and Dallas' Cathedral of Hope.
In the near future we will be adding a cooking show hosted by transvestite Betty Delicious, as well as a gay history program. Also planned is a Girls' Night, featuring lesbian-themed films, and a Boys' Night.
Gay producers and gay writers have been producing programs for years. Co-Media, Inc., GTN, combined with the Dish Network, provides an ideal distribution system for the entire GLBT community.
Through trade ads in the gay press, their subscriber base is projected at 10,000 during the first few months; it currently stands at about 2,000. Naturally the Dish Network's subscriber base of 5 million is a rich resource for new viewers.
The demand for niche television programming by the advertising community has become very evident by the recent purchase of BET (Black Entertainment Television) for $200,000,000 plus by Viacom, as well as the entrance of non- traditional television producers such as Microsoft teaming with NBC to form MSNBC. Other networks are also in demand as noted by the increase in advertising dollars spent for advertising time.
"The company will now devote its time to the execution of its business plan and continue seeking acquisitions, to create and enhance shareholder value," Marvin Jenkins stated. The company's audited financial statements have been completed and plans to file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, its Form 10 by the middle of February 2001 to become a 12G Company. Co-Media, Inc. is a vertically integrated entertainment company that includes radio, television programming/production for network syndication, Internet and real estate holdings. GTN's projected gross revenues for the next five years exceed $250 million. For additional information please visit our website at: www.wearegaytv.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; Co-Media's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; and the risks described from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
For more information about Co-Media, Inc., contact: Investor Relations on (866) 527-3500.
SOURCE Co-Media, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations of Co-Media, Inc., 866-527-3500
URL: http://www.wearegaytv.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
(C) 2001 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
Bulletin:
(Go to www.pinksheets.com to access.)
January 16, 2001
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Jan 16, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Marvin Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of Co-Media, Inc. (OTC: CMDA) announced today that the company will launch its Gay Television Network (GTN), to be aired on Dish Satellite Network, beginning February 2, 2001. Co-Media has been specializing in target programming for a number of years. "This project has been eight years in the making," said Jenkins. "We have finally overcome the obstacles of distribution, availability of programming and acceptance in the advertising community."
Gay Television Network is available only through the Dish Network, the digital satellite subscriber system, as a Premium Channel choice. Sign up for their Basic Package, which includes 150 channels of TV and audio programming, and for an extra charge of $19.95 the subscriber will receive GTN and, as a bonus, a gay Internet radio channel. If one signs up now, one gets the 18-inch satellite dish and installation free.
"In the beginning programming will be 7 days a week, 12 hours weekdays and 24 hours per day on weekends," explained Jenkins. "Programming will include news, information and entertainment especially for the gay and lesbian community. We will eventually have original programming, such as "Gay Dating Game," "Gay Court," "Gay Bandstand," and 40 new movies each month. We will be covering events such as Gay Olympics, Gay Rodeos, Gay Conferences and Gay Prides all over the nation, as well as the activities surrounding the Nabisco (Dinah Shore) Golf Tournament."
The initial film schedule includes "Claire de Lune," "Red Rain," "Defying Gravity," "Latin Boys Go to Hell," "Twisted," "All the Rage," "It's in the Water," "A Boy Named Sue," "Caravaggio," and "Edward II."
Produced programs planned include a morning talk show, "Good Morning, Gay America;" "Gay Archives," a one hour program which traces gay life in New York and Los Angeles in the early days of the '70s and '80s; "Gay Pride, Palm Springs;" music video shows; "Gay Across the Globe," an hour special that documents international gay happenings; "Mardi Gras 2000," a documentary on the hot celebrations down under from Sydney, Australia; and religious services broadcast live from Fort Lauderdale's Sunshine Cathedral and Dallas' Cathedral of Hope.
In the near future we will be adding a cooking show hosted by transvestite Betty Delicious, as well as a gay history program. Also planned is a Girls' Night, featuring lesbian-themed films, and a Boys' Night.
Gay producers and gay writers have been producing programs for years. Co-Media, Inc., GTN, combined with the Dish Network, provides an ideal distribution system for the entire GLBT community.
Through trade ads in the gay press, their subscriber base is projected at 10,000 during the first few months; it currently stands at about 2,000. Naturally the Dish Network's subscriber base of 5 million is a rich resource for new viewers.
The demand for niche television programming by the advertising community has become very evident by the recent purchase of BET (Black Entertainment Television) for $200,000,000 plus by Viacom, as well as the entrance of non- traditional television producers such as Microsoft teaming with NBC to form MSNBC. Other networks are also in demand as noted by the increase in advertising dollars spent for advertising time.
"The company will now devote its time to the execution of its business plan and continue seeking acquisitions, to create and enhance shareholder value," Marvin Jenkins stated. The company's audited financial statements have been completed and plans to file, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, its Form 10 by the middle of February 2001 to become a 12G Company. Co-Media, Inc. is a vertically integrated entertainment company that includes radio, television programming/production for network syndication, Internet and real estate holdings. GTN's projected gross revenues for the next five years exceed $250 million. For additional information please visit our website at: www.wearegaytv.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
As a cautionary note to investors, certain matters discussed in this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the following: changes in economic conditions; general competitive factors; Co-Media's ability to execute its business model and strategic plans; and the risks described from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
For more information about Co-Media, Inc., contact: Investor Relations on (866) 527-3500.
SOURCE Co-Media, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations of Co-Media, Inc., 866-527-3500
URL: http://www.wearegaytv.com
http://www.prnewswire.com
(C) 2001 PR Newswire. All rights reserved.
Check out the new GTN preview video at:
http://www.wearegaytv.com
Ron
Check out the new GTN preview video at:
http://www.wearegaytv.com
Ron
Check out the new GTN preview video at:
http://www.wearegaytv.com
Ron
Max Craig Cassing just called me back and, after an extended conversation, 1) I feel I have a much better feel as to many of the important logistics of conversion and 2) I feel confident and very comfortable that it going to be done correctly, "by the book," and with all relevant contingencies satisfactorily addressed.
On the mailing: 4300 letters are going out but, not now until Monday the 15th. The delay was necessary so Mr. Cassing could come up to speed, plus prepare a letter of instruction for inclusion in the envelope. It does sound like he has now thought of most everything to make this go as smooth as possible.
Rather than post other details here, I will be in Yahoo Messenger briefly tonight Friday, 12 Jan starting at 8PM EST (5PM PST) [ONE HOUR EARLIER] to share what else I learned and to try to answer questions.
Ron
Max Craig Cassing just called me back and, after an extended conversation, 1) I feel I have a much better feel as to many of the important logistics of conversion and 2) I feel confident and very comfortable that it going to be done correctly, "by the book," and with all relevant contingencies satisfactorily addressed.
On the mailing: 4300 letters are going out but, not now until Monday the 15th. The delay was necessary so Mr. Cassing could come up to speed, plus prepare a letter of instruction for inclusion in the envelope. It does sound like he has now thought of most everything to make this go as smooth as possible.
Rather than post other details here, I will be in Yahoo Messenger briefly tonight Friday, 12 Jan starting at 8PM EST (5PM PST) [ONE HOUR EARLIER] to share what else I learned and to try to answer questions.
Ron
Hi Matt,
Heard a rumor that you may be installing new improved servers soon.
Is this, in part, to remedy slow server speed which has been in evidence last few weeks?
And if so, can you share the schedule as to when they might come on line?
Best wishes,
Ron
Want to see some peculiar spreads going into tomorrow?
(Both were updated a few minutes after today's close.)
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=qbid
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=cmda
Theories? (Somehow doesn't look like a mistake.)
Ron
Want to see some peculiar spreads going into tomorrow?
(Both were updated a few minutes after today's close.)
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=qbid
http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=cmda
Theories? (Somehow doesn't look like a mistake.)
Ron