The consumer facing operations of cable TV and telecoms networks NTL and Telewest were rebranded as Virgin Media three years ago after the duo .
The NTL brand in particular was notorious for poor customer service and at a press conference last night Richard Branson and Virgin Media chief executive Neil Berkett joked they were glad to see the back of it.
Asked whether NTL and Telewest brands were now consigned to the dustbin of history, Berkett replied "Absolutely" while Branson said: "NTL will be firmly at the bottom of the basket – Telewest not so far down."
Branson, whose Virgin Group licences the Virgin brand to Virgin Media, said he would have cleared the move before now. He said: "I personally would have been happy some time ago for it to be called Virgin Media Business. People wanted to get Virgin Media properly established, get that box ticked first before moving on."
Berkett said the strategy had been to turn around the consumer business first and wait for the right time to rebrand the business-to-business division.
He said: "As much as we all hated the NTL/Telewest Business [name] as a mouthful, I think it was appropriate to get the consumer business established first and have the credentials of turning round what was, certainly from an NTL brand point of view, not a great legacy."
Mark Heraghty, managing director of Virgin Media Business, said his division would now benefit from the halo impact of the marketing spend across Virgin Media and he particularly liked the Virgin brand's characteristic of challenging the status quo.
Virgin Media Business serves police forces, hospitals and councils in addition to the commercial sector. It is the largest business-to-business operation within the Virgin Group.
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