Scott, GREAT NEWS!!!
Let's run the numbers:
1. Assuming that every TV in the US will be replaced (or a VSB converter added to every TV) during the next ten years, Zenith will earn a royalty on 100 million new TVs and coverters, in the US, alone.
2. Assuming that approxiamtely 50% of all new computers sold in the US over the next ten years will include the VSB feature, that's another 100 million "boxes" on which Zenith will earn a VSB royalty.
3. The broadcasters also must pay a VSB licensing fee to Zenith.
4. Add the foreign market, and the figures could double, over the next ten years.
5. Assuming Zenith charges only a $10 VSB licensing fee per box, the total could be as high as $4 billion in total VSB licensing revenues during the next decade. Assuming the worst ($5 fee per box and slower implementation), the VSB licensing revenue surely will top $1 billion.
My read is that Zenith should be trading (based on VSB future royalties and the great earning's potential of DTV) at about 50, right now, if it had produced positive earnings in '97. All we need is a quarter or two of numbers in the black...and we're on our way.
The street is waiting to see the turn around and it's no 100% guarantee, at this point. However, with Jeff Gannon and Bob D. at the helm, the odds are looking much better. |
