samedi 12 janvier 2013

What's in a cable television name?

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Shakespearian question: "What's in a name?" (Hamlet). A name is a brand (a brandname, a trademark). For an association it is also the definition of its field of activity, its area of business.
So, when an organization such as the American National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) needs to change its name, something important is happening. Or, something has changed: "one form of life has become old" (as Hegel puts it, Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts, 1820, "dann ist eine Gestalt des Lebens alt geworden"). Cable has become old.

The NCTA, a lobbying group in Washington DC, might become "The Internet and Television Association" (according to an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office); it is getting rid of the word "cable".


In the beginning, 1952, it was the National Cable Television Association, a pure TV business. Then, in 2001, Telecommunications was added. Now, cable companies (MSOs) bring telephone, television and the Web as well to their subscribers (triple play bundle).
Internet services (broadband) now represent a major part of MSO activity. MSOs might lose TV subscribers (churn) but they are adding Internet customers and increase their Internet business.

History of the NCTA and of main cable laws

2 commentaires:

Unknown a dit…

To my mind, the name of the brand is important:
Indeed, the name has a financial value, because many products are bought for the brand. And this is the name of the brand that illustrate/defines that brand.
That name is essential in order to build a strong identity, and to have a good visibiliy for consummers.
Moreover, I think that the name should suggest the kind of service/product that the brand is selling.
The exemple of NCTA illustrate this strategy: in fact, if they want to increase in the internet business, they have to have a name that suggest it.

Unknown a dit…

The name of the brand should give to the potential consumer a clear vision of the activity of the company. As it s said in the previous comment, the name has to suggest the products and services provided by the brand. Therefore NCTA has to think about changing the name of the brand to integrate Internet and the Web.