Altice USA said it is rebranding its wireless service across all its business units under the Optimum Mobile name, a move the company said is the first step in the transition to one consumer brand across all its connectivity products. 

The switch to Optimum Mobile will officially occur on July 25. Altice had branded the wireless service, offered via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with T-Mobile, across the country under the Altice Mobile brand. Its cable and broadband services are branded as Optimum in its metropolitan New York area markets and under the Suddenlink Communications name in its West and Mid-Atlantic states. Altice USA operates in 21 states across the country.

“Today’s consumer demands reliability, speed and ubiquity when it comes to connectivity,” Altice USA president of telecommunications and chief operating officer Hakim Boubazine said in a press release. “As we unify our brands under one Optimum brand, we will deliver on our promise to provide a consistent and reliable converged connectivity experience to all our customers inside and outside the home.  So, whether it’s Gigabit speed internet service or Optimum Mobile service, customers can expect the most reliable coverage and speed wherever they are.”

The move also comes days after the company launched Optimum Stream, a 4K-capable Android TV device that is free to its 1 Gigabit-per-second broadband-only customers. 

Altice USA first came on the U.S. cable scene with its $9.1 billion purchase of  Suddenlink Communications in 2015. It purchased Cablevision Systems, which originated the Optimum brand, in 2016 for $17.7 billion. 

Maybe unlike you I was hoping that WarnerMedia would tear the cover off the ball in naming its latest streaming channel -- to be launched in November -- a service that AT&T Communications chief John Donovan told the investment community last month would change the way you look at TV forever. I was hoping for something big, bold, outside of the box. Instead I got…. HBO Max.

Now, no disparagement to the teeming multitudes of branding experts that no doubt struggled to come up with a moniker that would stand out among the ever growing number of over-the-top services from AT&T. There’s DirecTVNow, the OTT version of DirecTV. Then there is HBO Now, the OTT version of HBO. And don’t forget HBO Go, the online version of HBO for HBO’s linear subscribers. And then there is AT&T Watch TV, the streaming service available to AT&T wireless customers with unlimited data plans that sounds more like a command than a brand.

I know a lot goes into naming a brand. You have to take thousands of things into consideration, like how the name resonates with people, how they identify the new brand with existing brands, whether the brand means something entirely different in another language  and whatnot. I’m by no means a branding or marketing expert -- and I am sure several such experts will point that out as they tell me to keep my opinions to myself. But is there any harm in hoping for a name that would have broken from the pack? HBO Max? Really?

BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield tweeted July 9, the day the new name was revealed, that HBO Max isn’t even that unique. It’s the same name WarnerMedia gave its combined HBO and Cinemax service in Latin America.

[embed]https://twitter.com/RichBTIG/status/1148641355486441474[/embed]

I guess it could have been worse -- they could have named it HBO +. That little dingbat proved to be very popular in the streaming video arena this year -- Disney, which launched its ESPN + streaming sports service last year, is slated to launch its entertainment streaming offering Disney + in November, followed by Apple’s Apple TV +. HBO + wouldn’t have been much of a stretch.

And when I think back to other big recent branding efforts in the media business, there have arguably been more hits than misses. Sling TV, in my opinion, is a great name -- it always helps when a brand name is a noun, a subject and a verb, because then you can create an entire sentence like “Sling sling in a sling with a sling,” and be kind of grammatically correct. 

Qube was a great name although the product was way ahead of its time. I never liked Verizon initially -- I was perfectly fine with Bell Atlantic -- but it grew on me over the years. And I really hated XFinity when Comcast launched it almost a decade ago, but it has proven to be one of the better branding decisions the cable industry ever made. And it has definitely grown on me too.

Part of me believes that whatever the name, the quality of the product will win out in the long run. But then there is part of me that remembers that scene in Hudsucker Proxy, when Norville Barnes, played by the great Tim Robbins, shows a co-worker the invention that is finally going to get him out of the mailroom, a perfect circle drawn on a blank sheet of paper.

“You know, for kids,” he says matter-of-factly.

That little drawing becomes the Hula Hoop and for a bit becomes the most popular toy for kids. But I think it would have had a much different fate if it was named “Circle Max, For Kids.” And even with a great name like Hula Hoop, the Hula Hoop didn’t occupy that spot for long. Sure, they still sell them, but it’s nothing like it used to be.

So maybe I should just shut up about HBO Max. As long as the content is strong and the price is competitive, it should do just fine. But that doesn’t stop me from wishing, and here are a few names I wish WarnerMedia considered.

HBOhno: Think of the promotional opportunities -- it could be marketed as the swift, slippery, on-the-edge streaming TV service, with none other than eight-time Olympic speed skating medalist Apolo Anton Ohno as its spokesman.

HBOff: The kids today like speed, and if Apolo Anton Ohno isn’t available, our marketing department is prepared. (The ff is for fast-forward).

HBOdelay: This streaming service, named for an album by seminal rapper Beck, is no Loser, baby. But it does have a Devil's Haircut. 

HBOld: Let’s face it, the senior set is the demo with all the money. And since HBO doesn’t have any advertising, (not so sure about the other content) who needs millennials? Let the brand name reflect the audience the product is targeting.

HBOwe: At $17.99 per month -- what some pundits are predicting will be the price-point for the service -- WarnerMedia’s streaming offering will be more than double the $6.99 monthly charge for Disney+. Add that to all the other streaming services the youngsters already subscribe to -- Netflix ($15), Hulu ($11.99 for no commercials) and Amazon Prime ($12.99) -- and you almost have a full-blown linear cable subscription. 

HBOle: Realizing HBO Max is the name of its Latin American counterpart, WarnerMedia decides to go in the other direction, using a popular soccer chant made popular in part by a staple of WarnerMedia’s other programming network TBS -- The Replacements. 

HBOMG: You know, for kids.

HBOderus Urungus: Named for the deceased lead singer, guitarist and bassist for heavy metal band GWAR, HBOderus Urungus is on the cutting edge of intergalactic barbarian content.

StankeyVision: In keeping with the time-honored tradition in the media business of naming products after their creators, HBO introduces a streaming service for the ages named after WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey.

Phoenix-based cable operator Cable One said it will rebrand as Sparklight, beginning in the summer of 2019, further evidence of its commitment to focus on residential and business high-speed data service.

“We are very excited for this evolution to our new brand and the next chapter in our story,” Cable One chair and CEO Julie Laulis said in a statement. “Over the past several years we have evolved and our new brand will better convey who we are and what we stand for – a company committed to providing our communities with connectivity that enriches their world. While we are introducing a new brand, our corporate name will remain Cable One, Inc.”

According to Cable One, the new name reflects its transformation from a traditional cable company to one that focuses on connectivity. The company continued that the name Sparklight illustrates that speed and connectivity, “while at the same time symbolizing its new brand promise – connecting people to what matters.”

Cable One had about 801,179 residential and business customers -- nearly 60% of those non-video subscribers -- in 21 states in the third quarter. The company was one of the first cable operators to focus almost exclusively on broadband customer growth.

As part of the rebrand Cable One said it will be streamlining its residential service plans and pricing in 2019, offering faster speeds and the ability to include unlimited data on any plan.

“This is not simply about rebranding our products under a new name and a new look,” Laulis said in the statement. “We are changing the way we do business so that our customers feel like every interaction with us is effortless, our communities know we are here for the long term and the towns and cities we serve are proud to call us a neighbor.”

Sparklight will also expand customer self-service options through improved residential and business portals and creating a more personalized experience in updated and refreshed local offices.

“As consumer data consumption continues to increase, multi-device households become the norm, and businesses expect a broad suite of services, Sparklight will continue to evolve with our customers by offering innovative options to fit their needs, while providing helpful, proactive and personal local service,” Laulis said in her statement.

Consumers may claim they don’t care which network carries the shows they want to watch, but branding still plays a key -- if slightly subliminal -- role in the choices they make, according to Hub Entertainment Research.

Citing info from past studies, Hub principals Jon Giegengack and Peter Fondulas told an audience at the Media Insights and Engagement Conference in Miami on Tuesday (Feb. 6) that 41% of consumers they surveyed said network branding doesn’t matter. But a deeper dive proved the opposite. The information was gleaned from online surveys of between 1,774 and 2,214 individuals aged 16-74 who watch at least 5 hours of TV per week.  

According to Hub, when given the chance to build their own bundle from a list of 52 networks participants proved extremely selective. For example, when told that money was no object, they chose just 19 of the 52 networks, with the four major broadcast networks, Netflix, HBO and ESPN topping the list. And when pricing information for each network was included, that number dropped further to just 9 of the 52 networks available, with Netflix on top followed by the four broadcasters, HBO and Amazon Video.

Branding played an even bigger role when participants were given descriptions of hypothetical TV shows across several genres, with interest varying dramatically depending on which network the show was on, Hub said. According to the study, Netflix generated the highest interest in a competitive reality show the researcher tested, even though the brand is not known for that genre. About 47% of participants were extremely or very interested in watching the reality show on Netflix, compared to 30% if it was on The Travel Channel.

Hub’s conclusion was that as consumers are faced with an ongoing deluge of content, it is critical that distributors give them access to brands they care about without forcing them to sift through the ones they don’t care about. The company cited Amazon Channels as one distributor that is following that line.

“These findings suggest that viewers have developed clear expectations for the kinds of viewing experience different brands—networks and SVODs—will deliver,” Giegengack said in a statement. “This new brand paradigm has wide reaching implications for brand marketing and distribution.”

Please, let’s not argue whether the age of traditional TV networks is over. It is, and you know it. Older viewers may be keeping it on life support, but if that fills you with optimism, we have a buggy whip factory to sell you.

A friend, a veteran producer at a major TV network, put it this way: “I’ll still be here in 10 years — but the networks, not so much.”

So what comes next? After years in the network TV trenches, we believe the answer is: studios. Neo-studios, actually — a new breed filling the void left by the inevitable disappearance of networks as we know them. Neo-studios will build tomorrow’s media empires.

In the modern TV era, networks have been more than distribution platforms. They‘re brands. Branding has helped forge relationships and create fans (“I want my MTV!”) and helped those fans discover new shows and characters (AMC: “Something more!”).

THE PRODUCTION ISSUE > Cover Story: John Landgraf's Legion of Hits | Finance: Production Profits Now Power VOD Leaders | Content: Family Business Expands Its Tool Set | Through the Wire: ITN Plotting British Invasion Into U.S. Production Market

Branding Across Platforms

But the new digital distribution mega-platforms — we’re looking at you, Netflix, YouTube and Hulu — strip branding away. They just plop content out there naked. And then they dangle algorithmically chosen video-bait — unbranded video-bait — to keep viewers viewing.

To these platforms, content is commodified and fungible. (Unless, of course, it’s their content, which they brand as their own and promote heavily.)

Neo-studios are the new networks. Untethered to any one platform, they distribute their IP over neo-networks — a web of media platforms customized to the nature of the property and needs of the audience. A neo-network could incorporate everything from streaming video to games to books and movies and toys.

Neo-studios understand that successful properties must be media-agnostic in this way, but must also live under the umbrella of a consumer-facing studio brand.

A few smart media companies are well positioned for the age of neo-studios.

The Walt Disney Co., for example, views its branded channels as just one of many platforms for its venerable properties. Its Marvel division, eschewing the Disney brand, is free to leverage its considerable brand equity to become a neo-studio of its own.

WWE has built an empire on the mythology of its story world — live events, television, video games, music, merchandise.

Even Hasbro (Transformers, Monopoly, My Little Pony) understands it’s not in the toy business anymore. Said president John Frascotti: “The business we are in today is really about building multidimensional franchises that are rooted in great stories and great characters.” In other words, Hasbro is a neo-studio whose key franchises are intellectual properties.

As we see it, successful neo-studios share seven traits:

1) Stand for someone and something. They will do their homework — and reflect deeply — to determine exactly who they’re for and what they will promise them.

2) View shows as media-agnostic IP franchises. Digital is more than “brand extensions” and “ancillary content” — it’s a platform equal to any of the others.

3) Spread across the media-verse. They will use all platforms and all formats to architect a media structure that is right for for each IP franchise.

4) Produce a lot of meta-content. Content about content not only promotes properties. It satisfies fans’ hunger to experience properties they love in deeper ways.

5) “Marry” their fans. They’ll recognize that their consensual relationship with fans is an intimate partnership. They’ll listen, respond and give them a sense of ownership.

6) Turn fans into superfans. Using audience management strategies, they’ll drive current fans to new properties, deeper engagement and a role as a kind of marketing platform.

7) Build a realistic business model. Before their subscription VOD and direct-to-consumer dreams can come true, neo-studios will have to become truly indispensable to fans.

The networks that survive today’s upheaval will be those that evolve into neo-studios. Successful media startups will be born that way. And in this new environment, the best content and most well-crafted brands will rise to the top. It’s survival of the finest.

Scott Webb, managing director of brand and content-development company Static-Free Media, was executive vice president and creative director of Nickelodeon during its formative years. Dave Goldenberg, chief brand strategist of Static-Free Media, was part of the Nickelodeon brand team.

Altice, N.V., the European telecom company, pulled the curtain back on a new unified global branding strategy that will bring together its diverse brands under a single name and logo tied to the concept of "One Brand, One Group."

The telecom company, founded by entrepreneur Patrick Drahi in 1993, includes hundreds of diverse brands in the telecom, wireless and cable field in Europe, the U.S. and the Caribbean. Beginning Wednesday the company plans to embark on a year-long process that will culminate in its telecommunications brands to share the same Altice brand.

Related: Altice USA Files IPO Documents

The process also will include a new logo for the company, developed by a unit of advertising and branding giant Publicis Group. Called “the path,” the logo is in the shape of a lower-case “a,” without borders or background, which the company said represents “Altice’s timeless aspirations to continuously innovate and reinvent the future to meet customers’ evolving needs. It reinforces the strength of the Altice brand, and the path which Altice and its customers take together to experience the future.”

The new brand and logo will also get a new tagline, "Together Has No Limits," which the company said proclaims its vision.

Related: Altice USA Looks to Expand Content Reach

Altice CEO Michel Combes told reporters the rebranding will be complete by the end of the second quarter of 2018 and is expected to affect its commercial telecom operations worldwide. Most brands will initially share the Altice brand to give consumers a chance to get used to the name, including its U.S. properties.

While the Altice USA name will remain for its U.S. cable properties, Optimum, its operations in the New York Metropolitan area, and Suddenlink, its cable operations in the Midwest, would share the new brand as “Optimum: by Altice” or “Suddenlink: by Altice,” or something like it until the transition is complete.

“One group with one brand, Altice,” Combes said in a statement. “Altice is today entering a new era, following its transformation into a global leader in telecoms, content and advertising. Operating as one unified organization, Altice will reinvent the future of the customer experience through an enduring commitment to deliver innovative, best-in-class products and services that unlock the limitless potential of our customers and our people. This is our path, this is the Altice path.”

Some brands won’t see a change. Altice said its telecom sub-brands in certain areas -- including Red in France; Moche, Uzo and Sapo in Portugal; Next TV in Israel; the media news brands (News 12 Networks, i24NEWS, BFM, RMC); press brands of SFR Presse (Libération, L’Express, etc.), and Teads -- will not change.

“Altice has a global vision, a clear strategy and a track record of success, and Altice USA is pleased to stand together with its colleagues around the world under one common brand,” Altice USA chairman and CEO Dexter Goei said in a statement. “Today represents a new beginning on our path as we continue to deliver innovative, high- quality, customer-centric products and solutions that connect our customers to the world around them. As one global Altice brand, we believe anything is possible.”

Kevin Vitale was named senior vice president of brand creative and operations at MTV, where a network turnaround is a priority for struggling parent company Viacom.

Vitale had been senior VP of brand marketing at IFC. At MTV he'll report to Jacqueline Parkes, executive VP of marketing and creative.

Last year, Viacom named Chris McCarthy as president of MTV, VH1 and Logo, replacing former Discovery executive Sean Atkins.

Vitale joined IFC in 2011 and led a network rebrand in 2015.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Arris will no longer use the Motorola brand as of the end of 2015, but Arris confirmed that it owns the “SURFboard” brand and will continue to utilize it for retail products.

Motorola has used the SURFboard label on its cable modem products for many years, and Arris, which acquired Motorola Home in April 2013, has been using it in retail products that, of late, have been affixed with both the Motorola and Arris logos (see photo).

Zoom announced this week that it had inked an exclusive five-year license agreement with Motorola Mobility to use the Motorola brand in connection with Zoom’s consumer cable modem products, including cable modem bridges, cable modem/routers and cable set-tops that are manufactured, marketed and sold in the U.S. and Canada, starting in 2016.

Arris said in this blog post that it’s been preparing to take a run at retail without the Motorola banner.

“Since our acquisition of Motorola Home two years ago, we’ve anticipated this transition by accelerating our investment in making ARRIS the trusted name and global leader it is today, the company said. “Now, we’re ready to usher in the next wave of industry innovation under the ARRIS brand…The SURFboard is the most widely recognized and most popular retail cable modem —with more than 135 million sold, covering 90% of the market. It’s the retail standard.” 

Univision Communications Inc. is spreading its branding wings at LAX.

Jumping into an arena occupied by CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel among others, the U.S. Spanish-language media leader plans to open two retail and specialty stores early next year at Los Angeles International Airport.  The redevelopment by Westfield is taking place while the Terminal 2 continues to serve its 5.5 million annual passengers, and it is expected to be completed in 2015 with new retail and restaurant options being phased-in incrementally.  This marks the first concessions awarded to Paradies in Los Angeles and the first Univision stores to be opened nationwide.

“Our first branded store experience at Los Angeles International Airport with an industry leader like Paradies speaks to our growth and brand affinity in the No. 1 Hispanic market in the U.S.,” said Rick Alessandri, execuitve vice president, enterprise development at Univision Communications Inc.

The two Univision-themed stores will feature an array of products that include snacks and beverages that represent Latin America, as well as Univision-branded products and local, national and international news. Each location will also feature original programming in English and Spanish throughout the day on large media screens, including the most trusted newscast on Spanish-language television in the United States, Noticiero Univision.

“We are extremely excited to partner with such an iconic brand like Univision at the Los Angeles International Airport,” said Gregg Paradies, president and CEO of Paradies. “The Univision-branded travel essential stores will generate amazing energy and become a true destination for LAX travelers.”

The Univision Travel Essentials Store will further expand Univision’s reach in Los Angeles, one of its most important markets.  Los Angeles is home to Univision’s KMEX 34, the No. 1 most-watched station among adults 18 to 49 in the country based on July 2014 sweep, and K-LOVE 107.5 FM and KSCA 101.9 FM.

On Sept. 7 at 8 p.m., Univision viewers got their first look at the talent squaring off in the network’s new song-rich reality-competition show, Va Por Ti.

Viewers also got their first chance to build their brand awareness and affinity for Coors Light, Glade, MetroPCS, Nissan North America and pharma giant Boehringer Ingelheim.

The five companies have signed on as integrated sponsors for the series. As such, each will be prominently featured throughout in customized programming content, co-created with Univision, as well as through traditional spots.

A co-production of Televisa and Univision, Va Por Ti  features three teams of contestants, each mentored by such Latin recording acts as regional Mexican artist El Dasa, former RBD member Dulce Maria and pop star Jencarlos Canela. Alejandra Guzman (pictured) and Larry Hernandez are featured as celebrity judges, and one internationally renowned Latin recording artist will be a guest judge each week.

“We know that our platforms provide powerful and one-of-a-kind engagement opportunities between brands and Hispanic consumers,” Keith Turner, Univision Communications president of advertising sales and marketing, said. “As more brands embrace the importance of engaging Hispanic consumers, we continue to develop culturally relevant platforms to help our marketing partners connect organically with this important audience.”

Boehringer Ingelheim is sponsoring the “El Duelo” (Last Chance Duel) segment in which two contestants with the lowest votes fight for their chance to stay. The contestants will have an opportunity to perform one song before the judges decide who should be eliminated. The pharmaceutical company will also sponsor the “La Revancha” (Afterlife) challenge, in which eliminated contestants are featured in a digital only, one-on-one competition on Univision’s Va Por Ti website for a chance to get voted back onto the show.

Viewers will vote digitally for their choice based on footage from the contestant’s last performance, and the online winner will be brought back for the TV show’s final phase. In addition to the in-show features, Boehringer Ingelheim will also promote its Hispanic branding campaign, “Cuida Tu Don,” which promotes awareness and diagnosis of Type-2 diabetes through a series of ads featuring Sabado Gigante host Don Francisco.

Coors Light will present “El Lounge de Coors Light” (The Coors Light Lounge), a weekly heart-to-heart segment with one of the contestants of legal drinking age. In the segment, a team captain will help dig deeper for inspiration to make that week’s performance bigger and better.

Glade will sponsor the “Sala de Inspiración Glade” (Glade Inspiration Lounge), an area backstage where contestants re-energize during rehearsal and talk about their experience on camera. The “Sala de Inspiración Glade” will feature exclusive interviews by fans who will ask contestants questions via Twitter or Vine. 

Interviews and other content from the “Sala de Inspiración Glade” will also be featured online. Glade will also have an on-air presence on Univision morning show Despierta América and Sábado Gigante, with recurring featured integrations throughout the course of Va Por Ti’s first run.

Meanwhile, MetroPCS will sponsor the toll-free audience weekly voting number for contestants that are up for elimination, giving fans the power to decide who will stay and who will go. Each week, MetroPCS will also reward a deserving contestant with the opportunity to connect with loved ones through their MetroPCS devices. Furthermore, MetroPCS will sponsor wrap-up segments of the previous night’s show on Despierta América and teaser segments leading up to the Sunday broadcast of entertainment news-and-gossip show El Gordo y La Flaca.

Finally, Nissan North America will sponsor the “Va Por Ti Moments” segment of each week’s show. At any point during the competition, one of the judges could reward a contestant’s performance by classifying it as a “Va Por Ti Moment.” That contestant is then given a chance to sing a duet with the guest judge in a segment later in the show. Nissan will also reunite the top three contestants with their families during the final show prior to revealing the overall winner.

Some 28 contestants are competing to be the next Latin music star in this new reality show. Celebrity judges will evaluate the performance of the singers, and one contestant will win a $50,000 cash prize while embarking on a path that could have them become the world’s newest Latin singing sensation.

According to Univision, the Sept. 7 premiere episode reached 5.8 million total viewers 2-plus who watched all or part of Va Por Ti’s inaugural three-hour broadcast. Nationally, it delivered more adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 than ABC’s special presentation of The ABC’s of Schoolhouse Rock and the finale of Wipeout as well as first-run airings of CBS’s 60 Minutes, Unforgettable and Reckless.