My take on a few things for whatever it's worth. Interpret them as you wish.
The silence is not surprising. In fact it was to be expected. In their announcements TV2U set some expectations that were obviously unrealistic. I won't go through the list but the most obvious one is the content negotiations timeline, specifically the 9 February announcement indicated that content licence rights were expected to be concluded by the end of February 2018 (3 weeks!). Clearly that did not happen. If there was a hint of good news I'm sure TV2U would have been heralding it by now.
Is TV2U just distracting us with an announcement (8 March) about Vonetize's VOD content (which can expand to Ukraine by the way, in case you wondered!) and how does that fit with the previous paragraph of the same announcement where Slim Pack was finalising contracts for live and VOD? Will there be two VOD offers? Is TV2U hedging its bets in case the Slim Pack deal didn't happen? Is Vonetize offering a better content that what Mr Suzuki can negotiate? Is that specific to Brazil, as we know it won't work for Indonesia, which was also not listed in the massive list of other countries mentioned? Why now, that late in the game? Vonetize has been around for ages! This strikes me as taking a baseball bat and going fishing, if you hit the water hard enough and long enough a fish may swim under.
I ask these questions because without live and VOD content there is no TV2U deployment. That simple! Free-to-Air and radio stations are fun to have, but won't generate any revenue. Extend that to the value to shareholders.
Imagine how you would be feeling today if you were SOL Telecom or any TV2U partner. Especially when you see your competitors or other networks launch their products and heavily advertise the World Cup. Although the WC won't start till mid June, some networks are already promoting their offer and will be streaming replays of previous WCs and Olympics matches, and running reports on players, teams, strategies, etc. well before the WC starts. What is TV2U promoting now? In its 8 March Business Update, TV2U did not mention the World Cup for Brazil but mentioned it for Indonesia. Omission or facing reality? Aren't we entitled to know what is TV2U doing about the WC in Brazil, if anything?
Also, in the 8 March Business Update it was stated "
TV2U are also seeking potential partners to expand the Brazilian business model to Argentina and the Caribbean.". What "business model" is that exactly? How would these "potential partners" react when they see what's happening in Brazil and start talking to SOL or CCS TV? TV2U's competitors are already all over Argentina and Mexico (since last year), actively trying to secure the major players. Wasn't that Claudio Lessa's job?
Whichever way you interpret Claudio Lessa's resignation, it does not reflect well on TV2U in Brazil, and maybe beyond. If someone's interpretation is that he was doing a poor job, then why wait so long to let him go? If he was doing a good job in a difficult environment then his resignation will have a different interpretation and probably consequences locally. I suggest TV2U puts out an announcement explaining why its director for LatAm resigned in the middle of the Brazilian launch. Even if they say health reasons, personal reasons, or pursue other interests, just say something.
Other than that, all the issues raised before remain unresolved. Management issues, focus issues, poor communications, spending issues, etc. If they are being addressed, please let us know.
Last, I find it amusing that people are attacking
@JimmyEyebrow for his posts. Since when did HC limit the forums' use exclusively to shareholders? Jimmy may be right or totally wrong in his conclusions! Why not put forward a good answer to the issues he raised or ask him to explain instead of insulting him and calling him names? (and joining by doing so my Ignore list). I don't have to agree with everything Jimmy says, but I will defend his right to say it. The question he raised as to why Cancun Trading invested in TV2U at a premium is a perfectly reasonable question. We simply don't know the answer. Do we want to know? Personally, I do. Do they know something I don't know as a shareholder or potential investor? Can we express an opinion about that? Absolutely! Whether that investment was smart or misguided time will tell. In the meantime, are we happy they invested and gave TV2U a lease on life for another 6 months? Absolutely! Thank you Cancun Trading for helping and in doing so protecting my investment.
Cheers and happy weekend to all.
P.S. On that last matter, I don't consider the posts/replies of
@rugbysid,
@glorydays, and
@kevscranes as insulting or personal attacks, no more than I consider some exchanges between
@SuperTrumpy and
@Bullish Event as being so. There are things that can be said light-heartedly or in good fun or as an expression of disagreement. Sometimes we let our emotions overtake our thinking, all human. But some posters go beyond that and it becomes literally bullying, intimidation, and personal insults. At a time when we condemn bullying in schools and gratuitous aggression in the streets, why would we tolerate it here? To each their way of dealing with this kind of behaviour. You can start shooting at me now
