Earlier this month, Charter Communications got the regulatory approval it needed to complete its acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, forming the second-largest cable company in the United States. But with three well-known brands to manage, that presented obvious questions about whether or not Charter planned to consolidate its branding portfolio.
Having formally closed the deal on its acquisitions this week, Charter confirmed to Bloomberg that it will phase out both the Bright House and Time Warner Cable brands, unifying those operations under the Charter umbrella.
Charter spokesperson Alex Dudley explained: "While Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks customers will not see any immediate change, the company will be called Charter and the products and services will be marketed under the ‘Spectrum’ brand."
Time Warner Cable customers in particular are unlikely to shed many tears for the passing of that brand name. The company had a well-earned reputation for appalling customer service - the worst in any industry in 2015, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
A quick web search for phrases like "Time Warner Cable sucks" returns results going back at least a decade, from customers venting their endless frustrations over its poor service. In 2014, its CEO promised to "set a high bar for differentiated, exceptional customer service", but apparently failed to deliver on that commitment before the company"s acquisition by Charter.
Source: Bloomberg