Leader: NTL:Telewest - can the brand be rescued?

Yesterday was the first birthday of NTL:Telewest. The company celebrated its anniversary in London by entertaining the pigeons in Trafalgar Square with an enormous office desk and chair.

As well as talking big about taking the fight to BT and announcing its merged product set, NTL:Telewest Business MD Stephen Beynon talked a little about Virgin Media, the new name for the combine entity of NTL, Telewest and Virgin Mobile - the company's consumer interests.

Beynon said the business unit decided not to adopt the shiny new Virgin Media brand so as not to get "lost in all the noise" of the launch. Not an easy move, apparently - the MD added the company had thought long and hard about rebranding but instead decided to stick with its original nom de guerre.

Did it do the right thing though? NTL:Telewest is an oxymoron when it comes to customer service - the latter held up as a model citizen in dealing with users, the former as the industry's whipping boy. And NTL never managed to live down the wrath of Paul even several years on.

Meanwhile Virgin Media at least in publicity terms continue to attract eyeballs. Regardless of who you believe to be the injured party in the ongoing handbags-at-dawn spat with Sky, Virgin has lost nothing in publicity terms by appearing to stand up to the might of Rupert Murdoch.

Virgin's also got a solid customer service reputation and its brand has remained undented as Richard Branson continues to exploit businesses from cola to space flight.

With the consumer brand of NTL and Telewest consigned to the industry dustbin, the business unit is blessed with a chance to remake the brand after crawling out from under its less-than-snow-white heritage.

If only the NTL side can learn from Telewest and not the other way around, it could work out. For the newly announced products, one came from NTL's heritage, two from Telewest and one - IP CCTV - was a new if unexpected confection.

It bodes well for the future that Telewest looks to be leading the united entity.