It used to be that network strategy as far as choosing a name, was connected to letters of the alphabet: ABC, NBC, CBS, and TBS. Those days are going by the wayside.
A recent example is the emerging OLN network that has chosen to change its name to Versus. This is going more along the lines of cable networks that have been adopting more unique names such as Spike, Bravo and Sleuth.
With OLN being a transitional name, its new name "Versus" - has a more competitive, "harder-edge-sounding name, perhaps a bit more younger male-skewing for a network." Another recent one is Comcast's new horror network which they have chosen to name Fear.
This comes to the point I'm trying to make. With the merger between WB and UPN, CBS/Warner Bros. has decided to call the new entity CW. Huh? This doesn't seem too sensible or smart to me when considering the current market.
While I'm sure it's hard to find just the right name for a TV channel, yet, as some marketing executives claim, using the letters CW gives the network the opportunity to fill those letters with whatever they choose to give it meaning. This is an old strategy that I don't think holds water here.
What this says to me is that they don't know who or what they are, they just merged. Any company or business should know what it is they're representing. It seems they are saying that they have no idea what they are now. No, it doesn't seem it, it is it. They merged without any idea of what they want to be. An odd thing to do from the business side of things.
Do you agree with that? What do you think they should have named it?
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