Today, the Syfy Channel Makes Hystyry
The Sci Fi Channel undergoes brand reassignment surgery today to become Syfy (pronounced like Sci Fi), in an effort to attract new and different segments of the television audience, like, for instance, females of any age whatsoever. Let's be honest though - they could call Sci Fi the Robert Pattinson/Flattering Sweatsuits/Cupcake Diet Network, but the second I see Romulans and Klingons facing off over mineral rights, I'm switching back to The Bachelorette.
The network explains via press release that the phonetically identical name change facilitates trademarking a brand "that is portable across all non-linear digital platforms and beyond." So by switching out a few letters, they have created a spunky, not-so-genre-constrained identity that can also be slapped onto iPhone apps and video games.
On top of the Syfy facelift, the channel jazzes up its programming with tonight's Warehouse 13. The dramedy features a pair of opposite sex FBI agents sorting paranormal artifacts. Will their eventual romance melt the hearts of reluctant Sci fi fanboys? Syfy's digital executive Craig Engler might tweet the answer ("Fun! Great channel, great colleagues and the most amazing viewers ever").
No matter whether you're a diehard Battlestar fan or a woman, chances are that the Sci Fi to Syfy transition will not affect you. It's like when your cousin Terry went to Thailand and the next time you saw him, it was as cousin Terri. He looked a little different but your relationship stayed the same.
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Comments
Am I alone in thinking this is a vaguely savvy marketing movie, or have I been drinking the (lukewarm) Hollywood Kool-Aid? I mean, Sci-Fi has loooong needed a marketing makeover. Their old logo was the pits and their ad campaigns are pretty underwhelming.
Gryt job on mrkyt rysyrch.
SciFi or Syfy, they suck, and have sucked for a long time. It's been more "ghost hunters" and "monster of the week" (a la the classic Mansquito) and ECW Wrestling (yes, wrestling) than actual, you know, SCIENCE FICTION! Because they love us nerds for giving them a critical hit in BSG, or a fluffy cashcow like Stargate, but otherwise, it's "Scram, dorks, you're embarrassing us." And the notion that science fiction is inherently like Kryptonite to Teh Wimmenz is such a bunch of bullshit I don't know where to begin.
You know, I thought this was the age of niches, but is it just me or are all cable networks basically just becoming the same mix of reality, procedurals, and cheap crap. They're all trying to appeal to the same "choice" demographics instead of actually mining their core audience.
Also, "syfy" is Polish slang for syphilis.
I think Siffy is a fabulous name for a network. The name reeks of hot summer nights in Prague hostels or the steam rising from one of La Hilton's little beasties.
Of course, QyFy was another option....
So you're frakkin'yourself
(instead of others?)
Seems like a good campaign to me.
...Stretch takes a deep breath and a heavy Sy...
I'm a Brian, and have always been glad I wasn't a Bryan.
i'm a girl and i (when i used to watch tv on a tv set) watched the sci-fi channel. yea i'm a geek, bite me. but this new "logo" will only draw one demographic... losers who can't spell.
Syphilis never looked so cool.
What's next, HrPs?
RgBrnz?
Stupid move. Maybe instead of changing their logo to a stupifying phonetic the powers that be at whatever-in-the-hell-that-channel-is-being-called should have looked at their programming. There are wymyn out there watching. Geekgirls exist. I are one. Although I adore 'Ghost Hunters', it may or may not be science fiction. Wrestling? What the frak were they thinking? Doesn't that guy who owns that whole wrestling franchise have enough bucks to make a 24/7 wrestling channel?
Perhaps lukewarm, insipid programming was more of the problem? Bad science fiction is bad no matter what the channel is called.
Stupid, stupid move.