Commentary

Leaving TV's Brand Roots In A Rut

Groping for a longer-lasting, more valuable TV identity, one of New York City's noted TV stations, WPIX, is going back to its roots. But can it grow a better tree?

WPIX no longer wants to promote the network associations it had in the past -- WB11, for The WB network, and CW11, for the CW network, the successor to the WB.  Now WPIX, a former independent station, realizes the best brand name is one New Yorkers have know for a long time.

Even though the CW has had resurgence this year, WPIX, the strongest station on the network, thought it better to go with what is perhaps more authentic. So its numerous newscasts will now be affixed with the station's shorthand nickname, PIX.

What about the Internet? That seems to be a more complicated question. Type in "wpix.com" right now and you get the station's Web area that says, "The CW 11 WPIX Television." What does this tell viewers? That there is a conflicting story about the station's dual personalities.

The NBC network and its TV stations have gone in the other direction. While those local brand names remain intact at TV stations entities -- so far -- this is not the case for the stations' Web sites. Instead, "NBCNewYork.com" or "NBCChicago.com," for example, are the end results.

When SBC Communications bought back its parent company, AT&T, it felt that long-time consumer brand name association meant more globally than the newer SBC brand. So it took back the name and converted it slightly -- to a lower case "at&t," perhaps as a way to identify with its more humble beginnings, or that of a young upstart.

It's not just for the telecommunications industry, but the TV business as well, that small -- or thinking small -- is good. Internet streams of TV shows can be small and successful. The audience for AMC's "Mad Men" is tiny -- even compared to mediocre HBO shows in their small universe of viewers.

In a marketplace where, too often, big entertainment seems to be all spectacle and little value, the mindset should be intimate and personal, or something like: think new, but don't forget the past

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