A Retail Loss for VOOM?

[Gregg Lengling]

It appears that the VOOM satellite TV service is losing retailers to carry its products.

Richard Greenfield of Fulcrum Global Partners, a fan of Cablevision but a vocal critic of the company's VOOM unit, said in a research note released late last week that Crutchfield has discontinued its sales of VOOM equipment. Crutchfield representatives wouldn't return phone calls asking for comment, but a check of the company's Web site shows that the online retailer doesn't have VOOM systems in stock.

Greenfield also said Sears' online service isn't carrying a lot of VOOM product, though some Sears stores told the analyst that they still sell the service.

VOOM representatives wouldn't comment on the Fulcrum research or whether Crutchfield has dropped sales of the satellite TV service. On a more positive side, however, the VOOM booth at CES was generally well packed, so perhaps other retail deals are in the works.