The "It's Comcastic" tagline is likely to be retired. The country's No. 1 cable operator said Wednesday it's giving its services a new brand: xfinity.
Those include its legacy
operations of TV, high-speed Internet and phone. Cable companies don't always have the strongest reputations for customer service, and the revamp may provide an opportunity for a reset.
Comcast
says xfinity is more than a new moniker; it brings upgraded technology and consumer choice. The brand is debuting in 11 markets next week and is planned to be live in most markets by the end of the
year.
The xfinity name will also be attached to what was known as On Demand Online, a service Comcast has been offering in some areas. It allows Comcast TV subscribers to view content they
receive at home on laptops and elsewhere. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says the mobile option provides "a valuable benefit" to video subscribers.
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Roberts spoke on a conference call as Comcast
reported full-year results for 2009, where revenues increased 4% to $35.8 billion. Operating income was up 7% to $7.2 billion.
The company did lose more TV subscribers than 2008 -- 623,000 versus
575,000 -- as competitors such as Verizon and AT&T broadened their footprints. But total customers -- those taking TV, broadband or phone -- increased 1.5 million.
On the call, Comcast COO
Steve Burke, who will oversee NBC Universal's integration into Comcast, said the ad market on both the local and national level is improving.
"What's interesting to me is how broad the change in
ad sentiment is. You know when you talk to NBC or when you talk to the NBC cable channels or our cable programming group or our local ad sales, it seems like the world is getting better," he said.
"The problem is obviously it's month-to-month, and we'll see where it goes from here. But there's no reason not to be optimistic."
Comcast has a deal to take a majority stake in NBCU.