TV News: Sci-Fi Channel to Rename Itself Syfy?
The NBC Universal-owned cable network, The Sci Fi Channel will become “Syfy” starting in July.
The re-branding comes as a way for the studio to tweak its brand perception among TV viewers who associate the name Sci-Fi with aliens and Trekkies.
“We love being sci fi and we’re still embracing that,” said network president Dave Howe on Friday. “But we’re more than just space and aliens and the future – the three things most people think of when they think of ’sci fi.’
“What this does is hopefully give us the best of both worlds,” Howe said. “You keep the heritage, but also open up to a broader range of content.”
The network plans to unveil the new branding this summer along with the premiere of its newest show, Warehouse 13 about two FBI agents who hunt down paranormal objects. Accompanying the name change is a new 3D logo.
“It was so critical to design this in a way that it felt warmer, friendlier, more fun,” said Michael Engleman, Sci-Fi’s senior VP-creative. “We really wanted to infuse the mark with the same thing we infuse our communication with: fun, whimsy and imagination.”
Next year’s Caprica is more of a ” terrestrial-based drama” than an “outer-space adventure” like its predecessor, Battlestar Galactica, so that is supposed to support this brand expansion as well, which is an effort that really began on the programming side a few years ago with the launch of the quirky drama, Eureka.
Having generic name was also cited as the method behind changing the name. The article mentions that businesses have discovered that having a strange or misspelled name (such as Digg or Fark) is “more preferable to having a familiar name that could be confused with something else.” Its all about Search-Engine Optimization to them which so the quirkier the name the easier to pick up on a Google Search.
Will the website be syfy.com after the change? Only time will tell friends.
What do YOU think?
Sources: THR , Sci Fi Wire, and Ad Age
