Sci-Fi Channel To Become The SyFy Channel? What The Frak?

 

This is just frakking stupid!

 

The Sci-Fi Channel, so named for their focus on Science Fiction programming, have announced today that as of July 7th, 2009 they will be changing the name of their station to the SyFy Channel.

 

Here's an excerpt from the Sci-Fi announcement that they posted on their news blog, the Sci-Fi Wire:

 

By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider range of current and future imagination-based entertainment beyond just the traditional sci-fi genre, including fantasy, supernatural, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure. It also positions the brand for future growth by creating an ownable trademark that can travel easily with consumers across new media and nonlinear digital platforms, new international channels and extend into new business ventures.

 

So basically, the Sci-Fi channel wanted a name they could copyright, since the term Sci-Fi is a generic term that can't be copyrighted? And SyFy was the best they could come up with? You know that the marketing execs at the network must have spent months with teams of people coming up with ideas for a new name, and SyFy was what they chose? How bad must the other names have been to make them settle for SyFy?

 

Honestly, what was wrong with the name Sc-Fi?  It perfectly fit the station's focus, and it certainly wasn't a name people confused with other stations.  As far as brand names were concerned, this brand was pretty solid and individual.  So it couldn't be trademarked?  So what?  Are the stations' owners really worried that copycat stations are going to start up and call themselves the Sci-Fi channel too?

 

Also, if you noticed in the above pic, the Saturn logo is now gone from the channel's name and they've added a new tagline which says "Image Greater". 

 

 

"Imagine Greater" will become the new brand message and tagline, inviting both consumers and advertisers into a new era of unlimited imagination, exceptional experiences and greater entertainment.

 

Syfy more clearly captures the mainstream appeal of the world's biggest entertainment category, and reflects the network's ongoing strategy to create programming that's more accessible and relatable to new audiences. Syfy will continue to celebrate the traditional roots of the genre, while opening the brand to accommodate a broader range of imagination-based entertainment.

 

Imagine lameness is more like it in my opinion.  The catchphrase feels like marketing gibberish to me.  The real sentence that worries me here though is "[SyFy] reflects the network's ongoing strategy to create programming that's more accessible and relatable to new audiences".

 

Basically, you can read that to mean that the SyFy channel is going to be adding a ton of programming that isn't in any way Sci-Fi based or in any way related to the types of programming they've previously aired on the station.  This is basically an excuse for an all out programming shift at the station.  Don't be suprised then if in the next year or two we start seeing shows on the SyFy channel that we would never have seen on the Sci-Fi channel.  It's all apart of their management team "Imagining Greater" profits.

 

So long Sci-Fi Channel.  I loved you so, and I shall mourn your passing.  Damnit, I need a drink now.  Where's my whiskey?