Quote:
|
Originally Posted by andygrif
I think you're getting C&W mixed up with Telewest who, it was announced, that ntl will be merging with. There are a few subtle differences between a takeover and a merger - usually to do with equity, share value and board level movements - so even though ntl will be (in effect) buying Telewest they are officially merging.
At this point they could change the name of either, both or neither.
Then when you get to Virgin, ntl publicly stated an interest into a mobile network to offer a "quadruple play" of services (TV, broadband, home phone, mobile phone) presumably to out-play Sky who will be doing broadband and home phone later this year and BT who will be doing Freeview and Video on Demand later this year.
CableTel had a crappy name for itself. When they changed to NTL they started all over again and now the ntl (lowercase) name has a poor public image and stigma attached to it, in a way that Sky do not. It doesn't matter whether the perception is true or not, but ntl are perceived in marketing terms as second or third rate.
That's where Virgin comes in. The Virgin brand is extremely strong. British people have a huge admiration for Branson as an individual and even after all these years the Virgin brand is a cool one to be associated with - the public buy into it.
But this is where I think it's a dangerous game for Branson; the history shows CableTel and ntl making a mess of things from a brand point of view - effectively killing the brand with consumers. It is dangerous to create a Virgin branded cable system that will suffer the same fate in a few years from now. Branson has come incredibly close to doing it with the trains, but managed to claw it back - I don't think he'd be that lucky with cable TV.
So there you go...In a nutshell, that's why they would want to change the name - and I have no doubt that Virgin TV would be more sucessful for a while than ntl is right now - but I also doubt it would last.
|
I agree, I think the main benefit to ntl would be a better image with the new name. It would only mean another known good name getting tarnished as you rightly said cabletel did to ntl.
The term "Deja vu" springs to mind
