The best thing that might have happened to Time Warner Cable after merging with Charter is changing its name to Spectrum. It has been almost 10 months since the acquiring of region’s dominant cable Tv and internet provider, Time Warner Cable by Charter Communications, and it is rebranding in Western New York City under a new name.
Since officially becoming in mid-January the brand jumped from the oft-cited poster child for poor cable company service to the top tier of consumer perception and satisfaction in the category.
Even an ad campaign was launched by Spectrum touting the switch, which also increased its ad awareness modestly over Verizon FiOS. However, the Spectrum’s heritage has been realized by the large number of people. Only the 55% of the people who were familiar with the fact that Time Warner Cable has changed its name, didn’t knew that the new brand name is Spectrum, according to national You Gove Omnibus Field poll that has taken place on March 15th and 16th. More US adults nearly 53% were not aware that the Time Warner Cable has changed its name after the merger vs than those who were aware nearly 47%.
The existing customers will see the Time Warner name will disappear from mailings, advertisings, and billings. The viewers will also notice that the regional cable news operation of Time Warner has been rebranded as Spectrum News. The current Time Warner Cable customers can keep their existing service plans or can switch to one of the new packages offered by Spectrum.
The Charter’s director of communications for the Northeast Andrew Russell said that the company is no longer signing the customers to the TWC packages. The present customers can choose a Spectrum package today and if they want they can keep their existing package, then they can keep it with the same programming, internet speed and features. He also said that many customers who have been getting internet services from Time Warner can expect to see improvements.
He also said that the starting internet speed of 60Mbps by Spectrum is faster than the fastest offering from TWC in Buffalo and Rochester. Spectrum internet is very good value, which is 60Mbps for $53.99 per month for Spectrum TV customers without any modem fees, data caps or contracts. By contrast, TWC internet at 15Mbps was at $59.99 per month plus $10 leased modem fees if you didn’t own your own modem. The new customers for Spectrum internet will receive a cable modem free of charge.
According to the website of the company, the introductory price for the Spectrum Select Tv service is $64.99 per month. The customers can also opt for the bundle of Spectrum Tv, voice, and internet for $89.97 per month. The silver package is for $109.97 per month that includes the premium channels like HBO, Cinemas, and Showtime.
The $67 billion acquisition of Time Warner and Florida based Bright House Networks has made the Charter, the second largest home internet provider in US.
Charter, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, has almost 25 million subscribers in 41 states including Western New York and the Rochester area.