Riiiiiiight. Just keep on telling yourselves that. Note the comments we left on the spin control article.

They are forgetting the First Rule of Holes.

This has gotten so ridiculous that I can't keep quiet anymore. A grand total of three names were tested, two of which weren't viable and one of which was stupid, so that means the stupid one wins? That's like saying that given the choice between eating two impossible-to-find foods and dog poop, it is reasonable to eat the dog poop. It's a false dichotomy, especially given the fact that the current name is fine. If you want to change it for many perfectly understandable reasons, you have to come up with a name that is also fine. Syfy is not fine, it is stupid. People are not upset that the name is being changed, they are upset that it is being changed to something stupid. How hard is that to grasp?

Keep it SciFi .

I still say it looks like it is short for syphillis

This just a nice way of saying you will learn to love like. They dislike there current fan base and want to go after SPIKE TV’s group end of discussion.

This reminds me of the automaker mentality: We will tell people what they want in a car. People have no idea what they want in a car so we must tell them. We all see how that has ended up. Good luck Sci Fi.

"SyFy" is still one of the most godawful, stupid names ever. But after reading its various definitions in Polish, including, "something that is broken." I think it's the most appropriate name for the channel they could have possibly used.

So let me get this right, we have the name changed but your still going to show the same shows? How much of a change are they making, I mean if they have the same content, then really, what has changed ??? Too much sex and we get the SyFy emblem???

I have no challenges with the name change. The reasons are pretty solid. However, that shadow effect over "imagine greater" just seems silly. It's a shadow over what should be inspiring. The impression is confusing.

'It's not enough that you obey Big Brother. You must love him.'

Come to think of it... M

Just an idea...

You know how there's MTV? This should be MTTV so when you hear it you know what it is. Empty TV.

Actually, I don't care for a change, but either Beyond or SFC would've been better.

Honestly.

Either SFC or Beyond would have been lightyears better than syphllis... I mean, Syfy

People wouldn't be so angry if you had only changed the name. People are pissed off because you changed it to A STUPID NAME.

Big difference, but that's what you get when you blindly follow a bunch of focus groups and marketing wonkery.

EPIC FAIL.

"Beyond" is a significantly better name, though admittedly one that might have been harder to secure. Still, maybe a slightly longer name that's composed of real words? Rather than a misspelling of an abbreviation? It's OK, we're not afraid to type a few more letters; plus, if it were two words, the two-letter abbreviation could be used when brevity was necessary.

Bigdog, Spike TV actually had more Scifi than the Scifi Channel for a while. Star Trek next generation, Blade the series, Highlander: The series. Maybe if they did go the way of Spike TV we'd actually get Science Fiction again...

Of course trying to watch Highlander: The Series on Spike made me know how a man must feel if watching 'Lifetime: Television for women.' 'You're watching Spike. The MAN'S network.'

I loathe demographics... I think that's why I like Tim Burton so much. He never tries to appeal to a specific demographic with his films.

Been a long-time viewer/supporter of SciFi... I think SyFy is ridiculous... should have gotten viewer involvment to name the channel and get people interested. Not a fan of the name.

Actually if they changed the name completely I would have understood. Changing it from SciFi to a misspelled version of the same word just seems pointless and doesn't really fit what they're trying to accomplish, other then ownership of the name.

Last week Howe said "SCI FI sounds very generic, sounds basic. Syfy sounds cool, cutting edge, ... the cool thing you want to be associated with." And this is exactly why their thinking makes absolutely no sense at all. THEY SOUND IDENTICAL! Congratulations on expanding your audience to the untapped illiterate scifi fan base instead of just the literate ones. They're still gonna be scifi people though, because you still called yourself "scifi".

I would have been fine with SFC. SFC is just an acronym just like IFC is for the Independent Film Channel. SFC doesn't sound lame like SyFy does. God, even just typing it out depresses me.

And Beyond was a bad choice too. Beyond? Beyond what? Beyond intelligent thought in regards to naming conventions?

I understand the corporate desire to have a name that they can copyright and own, but SyFy (ugh) is just plain silly. SFC would have been a decent choice. Or how about SFTV for Science Fiction Television? I would have been ok with something like that too.

Anything is better than SyFy, which I can only ever seem to pronounce as Siffeee.

SFC sounds great. It actually looks ilke you just shortened Scifi channel then instead of using the Polish word for Rubbish. I know IF couldn't work because you'd be confused with IFC but SFC would have worked a Hell of a lot better.

I would have loved SFC- imagine all the KFC jokes!

Syfy sucks.

No one cares what they tested. SyFy still sucks. Why don't they just admit they made a mistake and keep their existing name. Is it worth it to them to create all this angst among the fans?

The name change is just a way for them in the future to dump anything close to scifi. Soon they'll make one more name change it'll all be gone.

Sorry they all failed the test. How long is Sy-Fy on death watch until the pack it in and fold. I expect the end of the summer- unless they get a bunch of Manacillin TM adds.

Hahaha! In spite of all the pained whining, the fact of the matter is that none of you are going to stop watching because of the name. You're watching SyFy because of the programming. If that changes, then the network execs have something real to worry about. But a name? Really.

The reasons for the change make sense. I have to wonder if anyone here is reading the articles. I expect better from science fiction fans. Unless you want SciFi to remain a backwater, they need a name and a brand that can be grown.

Actually G I haven't watched Scifi in two years as of this April. I've watched online instead. It used to be the channel my TV was always set to.

OK...tell me again..why the name change? And...whoever came up with Syfy...needs to be fired. I have yet to understand why execs have to monkey around w/ something that works...the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies here!! Leave things fraking alone!!

Read the articles. "SciFi" can't be trademarked. Now 'nuf said.

Thanks, Mandy, for making my point! The name has very little impact on whether anyone watches it or not.

My point G, is that in these last few years, the quality has drastically gone down and this name change only makes me feel it will get worse.

The following was posted in the comments of the last article by 'Simon.' I thought it was interesting and worth repeating.

By Simon at 12:16 AM ON 03/23/09

The continued claim that "Sci Fi Channel" or variants thereof couldn't be trademarked is patently (if you'll pardon the pun) false. In fact, "Sci-Fi Channel" *used* to be trademarked for various products by USA Networks (the original founders of Sci Fi) and was later assigned to Universal City, the predecessor to NBC-Universal. The lawyers failed to file a required Statement of Use in 2001-- after five(!) extensions-- and the trademark was then abandoned.

See: http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=75151175

That doesn't however mean that it's fallen into public domain-- it just means that the lawyers had a bit more work to do.

It's a shame that Sci Fi's current president is either intentionally or unknowingly making this tenuous claim as the reason for the name change.

I do understand the reason why they are looking to change the name. Bur seriously, Syfy tested well??? Were they asking the same group of people who voted Taylor Hicks the American Idol?

Anything would have been better. How about PsiPhi, or does that sound too fraternal. Or SFTV (as suggested above). Maybe even try to tie into one of the old sci-fi pulps (Astounding maybe?). Anything would have been so much better than Syfy... anything!

Please come to your senses before this is too late - this is such a childish spelling........

keep it at "sci fi" for it to be "syfy" only shows lack of intelligence. if feel dumber just looking at it

Seriously.... negative comments... how much does it really matter on the grand scheme of things? Do you watch TV for the shows, or because of the name of the channel?

And another things. A reason why shows are canceled is because the actors got paid too much because it got popular. Well, more people watching means more money and more money means longer running shows!

Watch the channel because of whether its tv shows are good or not. Not because of the name of the channel.

You think SyFy is vain... look at you!

Guess we'll all be watching Spike-Fi with Mandy.

Agree - based on the largely negative fan reaction, seems like the smart thing to do would be to reconsider. Every time I see it, I think "Siffy". Will still watch, but in my opinion it's dumb dumb dumb idea. Take a cue from your fans - go back to the drawing board. Or why not run a fan contest to name the brand?

I really don't think the name is the real problem here, even though I think some of the reasons are weak. The History Channel never had a problem with a "generic" name. And I would prefer SFC, but I suppose I'll eventually get used to SyFy. My concern is that they will do what MTV did. I mean, when was the last time MTV concentrated on music? I just hope SyFy doesn't come to mean "everything except SciFi".

Come on people in a year no one will care one way or another, this will all be forgotten.

Yes i will agree the SciFi channel has changed a lot over the past few years but doesn't everything? If something doesn't change it dies, I love Star Trek, SG-1, and all of the other classic scifi shows that started this channel but if all they do is show the same shows over and over then after a while even the hardest of hard core fans are going to switch over to something new, there are only so many time you can watch "Window of Opportunity" (best SG-1 ep ever) by the 100th viewing even it will lose some of its charm.

So everyone get your whining over with now then get on with your life it is going to change there is nothing we can do about it so move on, please.

ejdax37, just like the fans who forgot about the original Star Trek when it wasn't continued...

This being what, the second or third post universal has put on here trying to justify changing the name should say something right there.

They should have tested more names. SFC and Beyond don't exactly knock my socks off, but they don't make me feel like an idiot/sellout for watching the channel. It would have been worth it to find a way around getting the URL for one of those two, or just coming up with other names. I mean honestly, put 5 smart guys in a room for a day and tell them to do nothing but come up with possible names for the channel, I'll guarantee you get something better than that terrible name I can't even bring myself to type.

I second, third, and infinitize all the comments remarking how INFINITELY STUPID this move is for Sci Fi Channel as a brand. Moving from The Science Fiction Channel to "Sci Fi" was ingenious--we all called it that anyway and it had geeky flair. But this? This is pandering to a demographic THAT DOES NOT WATCH YOUR CHANNEL. Your key demographic is INTELLIGENT GEEKS. With the possible exception of texting-addicted middle-schoolers, I would say the average Sci Fi watcher does not engage in "leetspeak" except in a mocking and satirical fashion. Therefore changing "Sci Fi" to some twisted "leetspeak" degenerative form is...

EPIC FAIL. As has already been mentioned.

This is PATHETIC.

Are they running scared, trying to plead their lame case for this change, or are they playing this for all the attention they can get, somehow thinking this is good publicity? Either answer is sad, truly sad.

"We tested 3 names, 2 of which were not usable anyway, so the 3rd one was best"

Some suits should be in the unemployment lines for this. How about, say, testing 3 names that were ALL available?

Well, seems like the best bet is to wait for dvds of any shows we like--we won't have to see syfy watermarks, the bottom 25% of the screen used to promote ghosthunters during the shows, or the insanely repetitive commercials.

I bet Howe and Hammer are floating their resumes already.

The real crime is how much the people came up with "SyFy" (rhymes with "silly") were paid for their efforts.

I know what you are doing. You guys just need to drop the idea. You are throwing random names out there to see if anyone picks up on it. You are obviously trying different lures to see which one bits. And if you haven't yet figured it out yet well.... Don't change the name at all.

But on the other hand go ahead and change the name to whatever you wish even to that of syfy if you must. Personally a change to "Psi Fi and Beyond " wouldn't bother me a bit, but I'm not going to engage into this name changing ordeal. Instead of feeding examples which defeats the purpose of opposing a change at all and encourges this syfy change even more.

But it's going to happen irreguardless. But it isn't like I watch the channel too much anyway with nothing really interesting to watch to begin with. Now it seems you guys are heading into the spin-off ideas.... Stargate Universe, Caprica, Ghost Hunters International.

You guys need more shows that deal with time-travel, human vs. machine war, solo superhero shows, or even fantasy based shows. There's quite a few shows that other networks have dropped that you guys could pick up and would do a large number of fans a big favor.... like Journeyman, My Own Worst Enemy,or hell you guys could even pick up Terminator: SSC cause it's obvious Fox is gonna cancel that show too mainly cause the writers of the second season are idiots. But you make some kind of deal of firiing the second season writers you'd be alright. Or just forget it all you guys are going reality-based, spin-off shows so it makes no difference.

But just remember if you really want to grow a bigger audience give us some promising shows, cause changing your name ain't accomplishing nothing except of course a few angry fans.

It's great that you are trying to get viewers "on board" with the idea of syfy. The problem is that it sounds dumb.

We have this amazing and recent movement toward people wanting to not just be smart but to be geeky and nerdy and to revel in it.
Syfy isn't a cool or edgy "concept"; it is really just a silly name designed by silly people who think they get it, and some times they do, but they are really on the outside wondering why it is that we embrace a previously ostracized way of life.

So Sci FI has to be dumbed down to attract who exactly? How does syfy reflect science fiction, fantasy or anything else? It's a generic name that can be shaped into anything. It could be a software product, a dating site or some weird bowling alley. It's just a meaningless name.

You could have been creative and said that the content would deliver the viewers. You could have produced more high quality programming like BSG that would bring in more people. However, you changed the name to syfy.

Do you honestly believe that someone is going to sit around and see the channel "syfy" and say "Hey now, what's that? I better check that syfy and become a regular viewer! That name is so cool and edgy that the shows must be cool! I'll then be accepted by my coworkers and women! It's a brand new day for me!"

Mandy, who has forgotten about the original Star Trek? It has more fans now then it every did when it aired in the 60's!

There's nothing in a name if the programming is lame.

The stupid name change is just part of a grander scheme put in motion by the (N)o(B)ody (C)ares network when the hijacked SciFi. Seeing as to how they just love to cancel outstanding shows mid-season and throw garbage at us during "prime time" they wanted to whore in on the cable extravaganza.

YOU HAVE CONVINCED ME BY MENTIONING IT A THIRD TIME.

The SciFi channel has been on a downward spiral ever since the "I am SciFi" ad stopped running. It went from airing solid SciFi like Farscape to crap like "Attack of the mutant bugmen from TerraNova9"

I freaking give up.

Oh and Spike - SCREW YOU TOO!!

Posted By G: "Hahaha! In spite of all the pained whining, the fact of the matter is that none of you are going to stop watching because of the name. You're watching SyFy because of the programming. If that changes, then the network execs have something real to worry about. But a name? Really.
The reasons for the change make sense. I have to wonder if anyone here is reading the articles. I expect better from science fiction fans. Unless you want SciFi to remain a backwater, they need a name and a brand that can be grown."
G, apparently you completely failed to notice the drop in viewers the scifi channel has recieved just because of this stupid decision. Half the problem is he programming. It has previously been pointed out that a good deal of the "ratings" on the crap movies and "reality" shows are people simply leaving the room with their tv turned on.
I'll agree with the REASONS for the change, but they NEED to find a DIFFERENT change. One that isn't relatable to STD's or a lazy teen. Apparently Scifi was trying to DITCH the dysfunctional losers still living with their parents. This spelling will only encourage the viewership of those same teens. And even then ONLY the ones dumb enough to not realize that "syfy" is the same as "scifi". (yes, I'm aware that no current member of the Scifi channel said the words other than to quote one of their former employees, but facts are the words WERE said and TPTB at scifi neither denied that it was quoted OR bothered to reject the quote until AFTER fans made such a big deal about it.)
Also, you ARE right in saying "SciFi" cannot be trademarked. However "The SciFi Channel" CAN and in fact HAS been. By Universal no less. If you want a link to the proof I encourage you to read the comments following Howe's "response" to our discontent. It's there. Twice in fact.
I want you to find it for yourself because YOU accuse US of not reading the articles (which I can assure most of us have) but you appear to have failed to actually read the reactions TO the article in the form of THOUSANDS of posts so far. I say now as I've said before (and am frankly getting SICK of saying) its NOT that they're changing the name we're offended because of. It's WHAT they're changing the name TO. Please read ALL the comments and THINK before you post again.
Also a side note; you telling mandy that she "still watches the scifi channel online, which proves your point" does in fact NOT prove your point. She choses to watch what are essentially bootlegs OF the few shows she watches that appear on the scifi channel instead, which SHOULD be read as "I'll watch the shows, but I see to it that the idiots heading this channel make as little as humanly possible out of my viewership without me flat STEALING the show. I hope they notice my rejection of their channel and change their programming..." (mandy, if I'm wrong in my assumptions I apologize, but I find I'm good at reading people and those assumptions more than make sense to me.)
Now, to get away from G and address the article itself...
Bull. Complete and utter BULL$#!T! As I JUST told G, it's not the change itself that bothers us, (as the article predicts it would be). It is in fact what the change is TO. I can easily think of 10 names, some already mentioned, which must be tradmarkable, that at least SOME fans would be willing to accept;
SFTV - Scifi Television or even Scifi Fantasy Television
ImagineTV
IFTV
Imagine Fiction The SciFi Channel SciFan SFF FSN IBelieve (IB) Beyond Science

I get it now!!

It's the ScrewYou/F***You Network now!!!

Duh!!!!!

Sci-fi channel is gonna turn into one big joke. I just cannot fathom how you can actually think this was a smart move.

People, we aren't upset about the respelling. We're upset about the condesending attitude of the executives toward the core of the viewer base that got them where they are today.

Wow...not a single poster who likes the idea. You know that SciFi paid some knuckleheaded focus group hundreds of thousands of dollars to come up with the lame "SyFy".

Talk about fail.

Lets take a step back, what has SciFi been airing lately:
1. Wrestling
2. Ghost Hunters
3. Who wants to be a Super Hero
4. Scare Tactics
5. Dozens of c!#@-tastic movies

They stopped being Science Fiction a long time ago. They are just making it official with the dumb-!@# name change.

Here are a couple more suggestions for you:
1. StupidStuffWeCantAirOnOurOtherNetworks (a little wordy)
2. NonsyFi (Non-Science-Fiction)
3. HyFy (You need to be high to even watch)
4. SGFy (Stargate Fy)

SyFy: Brand Name Fail!

'Mandy, who has forgotten about the original Star Trek? It has more fans now then it every did when it aired in the 60's!'

I was being tongue in cheek in regard to someone saying in a year we won't care.

The reason "SyFy" was available was because, on a planet with a mere 6 billion people, NO ONE ELSE WANTED IT.

Both SFC and Beyond are inferior to the Saturn Logo and "Sci-Fi" (which was once trademarked and eminantely recognizable - so you're not really "creating a brand" like "hulu," you're taking defacto brand like "Coke" and changing it to Kukoo because someone whose primary talent is making PowerPoint slides claimed it would make you look cool to wrestling loving illiterate 8 year olds)

Still, both of those options are orders of magnitude better than Siffy.

As has been pointed out, however, an incredibly stupid name, even redubbing Sci-Fi as the Syphillis Channel, would not, alone drive off viewers IF the channel had something to offer. The problem is, the new name really IS a reflection of the brand they want to create: not a home for intelligent, creative, original and classic works in the Science fiction genre, but a fluff and filler station for cheap schlock that didn't meet USA's high programming standards.

Three press releases ago they defended wrestling by claiming that it expanded their audience and brought in young viewers. That alone tells you they just don't get it.

When the History Channel runs a special on the Physics of Star Trek, THAT'S expanding your audience with cross market appeal. Their core viewers may or may not watch it, but it's an easy show to justify with the rest of their programming and no one is going to take offense. Sci-Fi Fans who don't normally watch The History Channel might tune in foe the special, some of them might enjoy it and some of them might even stick around for an episode of Moderen Marvels afterwards. That's how you extend your audience.

Putting on shows like wresting or reality TV doesn't extend the audience for the channel as a whole, it trades one viewership for another. For core viewers its an excuse to switch channels and reduces the likelihood that you'll bother to check what's on Sci-Fi while randomly channel surfing. For wrestling fans, they tune in - and then they tune out. Just how many BSG fans are there in the world who can honestly say they discovered the show because they were watching ECW and saw a really interesting ad?

I really don't know what is more pathetic: the rebranding to Siffy; the premature death of quality shows infavor of increasingly weak offerings; the fact that after thousands of negative responses on this and other sites the powers that be won't event entertain the possibility that there exists an unexpected backlash to the move; or, me for bothering to post yet another message that few if any will read and probably will accomplish nothing other than allowing me to vent over the massive dissapointment I feel over the way SciFi has not only failed to live up to the potential I saw in it when it was first announced 16 years ago, but also has eroded into something that really isn't worth the time I've spent writing this post.

Why the FRACK would you even bother to change the name to something like SyFy? I've been a viewer since the network started and I can't begin to understand this at all. Why mess with something perfect. Does anybody remember Coke 2?

Sci Fi is fine, SFC is fine, "Space" would have been great, and yet you go with a typo of a venereal disease. Boggles the mind. And did you bother to test any of this on audiences who actually watch your shows? Or was it just a bunch of 18 year olds in trucker hats?

Of course, all of this is nonsense as long as you're showing stuff like "Mansquito". Hire people to read recently released books, and then option the good ones. There is SO MUCH out there that is NOT "reimagined" or horror or stupid. Stop focusing so much time and money on your marketing team, and start focusing on actually creating GOOD programming. Because you're not achieving that now, BSG aside.

I watch most of my Scifi and Fantasy now off of Hulu. It's free and legal in the USA and it has a lot of the shows that the Scifi Channel abandoned or won't carry like Highlander: The series, Forever Knight, The Dresden Files, Beauty and the Beast, Legend of the Seeker...

It's been argued that, given an infinite number of monkeys banging on an infinite number of typewriters for a potentially infinite period of time, the complete works of William Shakespeare will emerge by random chance.

Maybe the glory boys at NBC-Universal need more monkeys...

Seems like a golden opportunity was missed here.

Seems to me that holding a contest for the FANS to rename the channel might have been a wee tad more successful.

First prize... free sci-fi channel for life.

Could have been glorious. But now its a lost opportunity.

Beyond? HOw about beyond imagination that they would use a stupid made up name like Syfy? This guy is totally unaware of what an idiotic thing he has done. Totally oblivious. He is a 100% complete Obliviot, and should be fired before this goes much farther.

It probably would have been the wisest and boldest choice to have a poll with multiple choices and let the fans choose. Scifi would have been completely blameless. But cleverness seems beyond the execs.

Maybe we are not seeing the real objective? Can SyFy say, Stimulus or Bailout $

I pretty much agree with most of the sentiments here. The upcoming rebranding/name change is ridiculous, stupid, and poorly-thought-out. Clearly they didn't test it with anyone who visits this site, or posts to any of the forums on the internet, or in fact anyone who watches or enjoys anything even remotely connected with science fiction. I'd hazard a guess that they didn't test it on anyone they didn't know that would automatically be Yes Men, if they even bothered testing it at all.

That statement "SCI FI sounds very generic, sounds basic. Syfy sounds cool, cutting edge, ... the cool thing you want to be associated with." is one of the most banal, asinine things I've read on this site (and there have been a lot over the years, honestly). Not only do they sound the same phonetically, but if you showed Average Joe "SyFy" he wouldn't have the faintest idea what it was about. In fact, he might wonder why you spelled it that way.

However, I must say in all honesty that it doesn't affect me in the slightest. Now that BSG has ended, the only thing I'll be watching on here is the upcoming BSG film "The Plan" and after that nothing - I have no interest in the awful monster movies of the week nor any of the various Ghost Hunting shows, nor in Stargate: Any Version, or wrestling. Nor Caprica - especially now, after the ending of BSG they presented us with.

Good luck with your ridiculous name change, Mr Howe. I can't wait to not watch your channel any more.

I think the only way they will learn how monumentally bad this decision is would be for them to see a significant drop in viewership once the channel gets the syfy.

The movement should start here. If they intend to keep this bad idea of a name, they need to know that their once loyal viewers will stop watching. Boycott Syfy. Program it out of your channel line-up. Call your cable companies asking them to drop it. Even boycott products that advertise on the channel. Avoid Syfy like... well, syphlis.

I presume the name change means you're moving away from "Sci Fi", which is the only reason to change your name. Fortunately Comedy Central has a fair amount of "Sci Fi" shows, so maybe they'll take up the mantle.

Really it great name.......

Dear network executives,
Um, I don't think name change means what you think it means... The two names still sound the same. Idiots.
This is just the latest step in a shift that the channel began several years ago. Apparently they are trying to shake the "nerd" image associated with science fiction and its fans. Guess what, those nerdy sci- fi fans are your VIEWERS! Obviously when making the name change decision the executives decided to consult the same focus groups that gave the OK for producing such sucktacular films as Mansquito. The fact that they release their original films under different names for the DVDs shows that they know exactly what kind of excrement they are flinging at their viewers. Here's an idea, show some respect to our target audience. I refuse to even type the new name. I guess the overall theme to my message to the execs could best be summed up in the following way. Frack You

To sum up.... the new name is lame at best and yet totally appropriate given the perfect relation of its lackluster programming to the Polish translation.

More importantly however are the reasons for the name change... to continue the networks departure from the genre and programming that it was created to showcase.

The reasons given to us.... We can't trademark SciFi, People think of geeky things like space ships when they see the words SciFi, and all the other balony they've been trying to feed us, are just simply more of SciFi's SciLies.... They've been doing it a lot lately... trying to justify bad descisions with false excuses and downright lies.

They did the same thing to the Dresden Files fans... Lying to us about making their decision about the fate of the show, making us wait three months before they finally told us it wasn't renewed... blaming it on the actors contracts expriring, then trying to claim the show was a failure when it was in fact it's third highest ranked show.... I could go on, but most of you know the story by heart by now...

SciFi has made it a habit to distort the 'facts' to suit their own goals and agenda. They say they value our input, yet their actions belie this time and time again. SciFi has been SciLie for a long time now... and with the new line of changes they are making now, they are soon going to be SciDie.... The SciFi channel I once knew and loved and watched is dying a slow agonizing death.... which is why I gave up watching it some time ago. I have a feeling many others are going to be doing the same.

Imagine Greater huh? Greater profits perhaps... certainly not greater programming... that seems to be beyond the scope of the network executive's imaginings. Imagine this then Mr. Howe.... imagine your networks slow spiral into mediocrity and failure... Oh wait... you don'r have to imagine it... just take a good look at it right now... you're already there!

"Which is why having a made-up name is more open and enables you to give it the perception and values you want it to have"

Now, presuming this isn't just marketing gibberish, what perception and values does Mr. Howe think he can use "Syfy" as a shell to convey?

Some thoughts. S(19) + C(3) +I(9) + F(6) + I(9) = 46. Whereas S(19) + Y(25) + F(6) + Y(25) = 75. The latter is clearly bigger. So instead of particular values, maybe Mr. Howe just wants to "imagine greater" values, in a perceptibly smaller space (4 characters v. 5). Thus we're reminded just how science helps makes things more efficient.

Or perhaps we should focus on the idea of being "more open." For indeed, trying to make sense out of the "syfy" semantic unit requires us to forcibly tear asunder those wretchedly archaic concepts of rationality, logic, and common sense. We're imagining/fantasizing about a new world now, a greater world, a world in which things mean what they mean because Mr. Howe (and by extension us, the loyal fanbase) say so.

And while we're on the subject, perhaps we should ask who this "you" is. Straightforwardly, it might be "you" the reader, the fan, the one of many who negative nancies who needs to be reminded of what a great idea this whole debacle is. Or judging from the asinine market-speak in which its couched, one might take it to be a general indefinite - "you" the whoever who makes up a new brand name and has some values and perceptions to infuse it with. But this wouldn't give enough credit to the rhetorical skills of Mr. Howe. Because, when it comes down to it, the only person trying to justify this idiotic rebranding is Mr. Howe. Indeed, he's the only person who's making up a new name, and he's the only person trying to infuse it with all new money-driven values. But thanks to the power of this second person pronoun, he skillfully deflects and obfuscates the blame, as well as any first rate corporate hack could.

Aye, let's take Mr. Howe's word for it, that this is for our better, because its our values that we're infusing into this blank slate of a slack-jawed stare of an idiotic name and "affinity lifestyle brand" that Mr. Howe is oh so generously building for us.

Syfy: Imagine Greater, Just Don't Think about It Too Hard or at All

Well, After learning that there is already a Sci Fi Channel in Europe that is not Sci Fi Channel. I wonder if it has something to do with making a channel name that is all their own. One they can trademark. They should have asked it's viewers about it before just going with this lame name.

This is inane. This is marketing... trying not get fired. The idea that you bought the rights to this is very hopi. You don't know your audience. We don't care if we're nerds. This is just the dumbest thing ever.

Oh! Wait "SyFy for dummies"! Never mind you've clinched it. Go marketing!28zu

This is why we need Kay Koplovitz back. Now that it has been mentioned do you really want your channel being the but of a venereal disease joke?

@Grace...."Space" is technically already taken, its the SciFi channel in Canada. Though I don't know why they couldn't try to use it here.

I'm terribly disappointed at the meanness of the comments posted here and elsewhere. I think SciFi executives are finally being honest and giving us truth in advertising. After all, "syfy" is Polish for garbage and feces, which is what this channel's programming has degenerated into. It's also American slang and Polish for syphilis, a disease which causes brain damage and insanity in its terminal stage. The brain-related effects of terminal syphilis would account for the otherwise inexplicably bad decision-making at this channel. Instead of condemning these poor souls for their stupidity, we should be commiserating with them for their suffering.

Shiraziel... Marry me.

Allow me to make a comparitive observation a moment....

Many months ago, when the hoardes of Dresden Files fans finally figured out that their screaming letters of protest regarding their favorite show's non-renewal were being ignored by SciFi, they decided on a new tactic. Surely if outrage was not being persuasive enough, perhaps locic would do the trick! More letters were sent to the Powers That Be, each detailing an extensive list of calm, logical reasons why the show should be given a second chance. Many of the reasons listed had to do with what the fans felt was an irresistable, irrefutable selling point....PROFIT! Surely the smell of money would be enough to wake up those stubborn execs and get their mouths watering for the huge profits the show could generate for them. Alas... the ploy, as sensible and ingenious as it was... did not work.

Having now read all the idiotic hype and imbecilic reasons we have been given forthe channel's new name, new look and new direction,I finally realize WHY logic failed.... Obviously the executives running the SciFi/SyFy network wouldn't be able to recognize Logic if it came up and Vulcan mind-melded with them!

(Blink)

Uhh... umm...

.....

I love you, Shiraziel.

Iso, I honestly wouldn't mind it if our Scifi channel became Space.

Space.... the final frontier.... OR the only thing to be found inside the craniums of SciFi/SyFy executives? (Must be a spectacular echo in there!)

(Given that according to the original article there were around 300 different suggestions for the new name and SyFy is what they ended up with.... Makes you wonder what the rest of the losing suggestions were. Hope they feel they got a good deal from their fancy Madison Avenue marketing firm who did the research for 'em.... personally, I think they got taken to the cleaners....)

Wait... yesterday I was your hero Mandy! Now you're going to run off and marry Shiraziel! I'm hurt... :(

Or at least I would be if I had any interest in a relationship....

alaethancar, sorry to break your heart. I'm ficke like that. :-P

Wow, they dodged two bullets, then got served a headshot anyway.

SFC would have been ridiculed as the SanAntonio Fried Chicken channel and Beyond screams for calling it the "no bed, no bath" channel.

But if their emphasis is on all sorts of fiction, then why not use that in the title? Ahh right, I forgot, Reality TV is actually real, as is wrestling.

Fantasy and supernatural horror were always sub-catagories of scifi. If you ask me this is all senseless.

mandy, fortunately im a villain at heart, so broken is where it belongs. I'll simply focus the ensuing rage towards my destruction of the syfylys channel.

Besides, (and really no offense meant) I'm probably too young for you anyway.

Shira, any chance we could be archnemises?

You poor, delusional child. I would have respected you more if you simply changed the name. You're not a science fiction channel anymore! Stop playing in the muddy waters, man up, and move on! Hear more on my rant in my podcast at chronicrift.com.

"The conversation that we're having today and the feeding frenzy in the chat rooms and online would have been considerably greater if we changed the name completely."

You're 100% wrong. The problem is that the very name "Syfy" itself is ridiculous.

"SFC" would be somewhat dull, but it would blend in nicely with all the other "three-letter names of networks that no one cares what they stand for anymore". "Beyond" would've been both distinguishing, and reflect what you want the network to be. Either of those would've been satisfactory.

Please just leave it Sci-Fi -

This is like holding a bedside vigil for a dying love one. You watch as they struggle to live, semi comatose, no clue about what's happening outside, just their last battle to remain alive. You suffer with them as you look on, powerless to stop it, wishing it would end, yet holding on to hope that maybe, just maybe they will pull through.

The Scifi Channel was brain dead years ago. Someone just forgot to pull the plug on the artificial life support.

I'm not sure which is worse, the god awful name of SyFy or their apparent pride in it. Only thing that would be worse is to me it entirely bad wresting shows and horror flicks about mutant hamsters.

Name change? Well, maybe they really need to change it. After all, there are so many horror and fantasy shows, not to mention that stupid wrestling show... anyway, I seem to be wathing SyfyLess anyway....

As a twenty-year veteran in design and branding, I understand the new branding and applaud all the publicity the detractors are giving the new SyFy Channel.

There is no point in arguing with the people who seem to complain about the change (and even the quality of the channel), and yet, are here none-the-less spending time complaining.

Much fun!

Also, when it comes to branding, you want to set yourself apart and the more unique the name the better. SciFi is a genre, afterall, and not easy to copyright. In fact, I believe all the copyrights, trademarks, logos and such are all centered around SCIFI.COM and Science Fiction Weekly, rather than just "SciFi."

Anyway...I like it!

alaethancar & mandy.... *chuckle* Sorry to break both your hearts, but mine belongs soley to Hrothbert of Bainbridge....

And to anyone who has hopes that SciFi will come to their senses and go back to the old name in light of all these disparaging comments.... Don't hold your breath! SciFi has a history of making truly BAD decisions and even when it is patently obvious to a two-year old that they've made a mistake, they will never admit it much less try to correct it. Their modus operendi is to spin-doctor it... twist the facts like a pretzel until it fits their view of things and try to pass it off as the truth. They've done it time and time angain and it's not likely to change any time soon.

SCI-FY = science-fiction-fantasy

This might have worked better than sy-fy. It just sounds and looks devious, disingenuous, duplicitous, guileful, indirect, lubricious, shifty, underhanded, furtive, secretive, sneaking, surreptitious.

It would be like airing wrestling instead of re-runs of any of the star trek series or Buffy/Angel, oh wait.

IT'S NOT THE NAME, IT'S THE CONTENT!
we want a sci-fi chanel not a sci-fi, fantasy, horror chanel!
why not have several separate chanels of different content? won't add much to the cost of opperations and will be great for pulling in advertisers.

SFC would have worked just fyn. Clearly, the marketyng gurus are mysguyded...SyFy ys a stupyd name. Eyther one of the other optyons would have worked better. For heaven's sake, yf yt ayn't broke, don't fyx yt!

The problem with Scifi is not the name, it is the programming. I love science fiction and used to watch Scifi all the time. I remember Scifi friday with the great SG1, then the bridge of Atlantis (which I always thought was alright) and BSG. Then they broke it up (some believe it had something to do with a conflict of interest involving Monk airing on USA) and BSG got way too preachy with its left wing politics and right wing religion. (I hated the finale's explanation to everything: "It's magic! Starbuck is magic! The six and Baltar are magic! The way they found the planet is magic! Sigh). Anyway, the point is, they no longer have any strong Scifi series. I have enjoyed many of their mini-series (The Lost Room, Dune and Tin Man, fo example... even though I think Tin Man was made somewhere else) but the Saturday movies are awful. instead of making a dozen terrible movies, up the budget and make four good ones. or, how about this, make scifi movies that have a science fiction premise without the need of a lot of effects you don;t have the budget for (something like a Gatica could be made this way.) Anyway, i used to watch all the time, now I do not watch much at all. Oh, and yes, SyFy is really, really dumb and sounds like a disease.

The name change wasn't needed, but if you insist on fixing something that isn't broken it WILL break.

Why not just have the new name to "THE" SciFi Channel, this will allow NBC/Universal to actually "COPYRIGHT" the name...... come on now, get your butts in gear and heads out of the clouds!

lame justification

syfy = epic fail

Still sounds like an STD.

oh dont worry everyone, it will stay SciFi channel in Poland to avoid the bad association. that should solve that problem.

really, i could live with SFC, it REALLY does change the name with out truely changing it. (i know that's confusing.) the name technically stays SciFi channel, but legally, it's SFC. plus u could keep the scifi.com domain. no need to buy anything. AND i think the fans wouldnt HATE it. maybe it sounds like Kentucky Fried Checked, but it's better then sounding like a STD and being the polish word for dirty things. plus it doesnt insult intelligences. yes people wouldnt like any change, but SFC its really not a radical change.

this sounds like stone walling. if they admit they are wrong, they will admit that they didnt really look into how their fan base would react and made a bad decision in spending the money on the name. not to mention they would have to change months, if not years, of planing and already made advertising for the "aggressive ad campaign."

I can't help but wonder how many TV episodes of (pick your favorite show) could have been made with the money spent on this "re-branding" nonsense.

Cheers.

Just curious - anybody like "SFTV" ?

'alaethancar & mandy.... *chuckle* Sorry to break both your hearts, but mine belongs soley to Hrothbert of Bainbridge....'

Curse you, Terrence Mann! Always getting the interesting ones. Oh, well. I'll forgive him because I like his voice.

SFC or SFTV would have been great. SF is closer to the original Scifi than the disease of Syfy. It's the content that annoys me.

Here's my suggestion:

XXX

Because X is a common occurrence in the Sci-Fi world (X Minus One, Dimension X, X The Man with X-Ray Eyes, the average size of the Sci-Fan's T-Shirt, etc.).

We could refer to it as X-cubed.

And it might draw in viewers who were expecting something else.

No number of jokes, flames, or logical arguments will change Sci Fi channel's mind. The new name will happen and sadly, will not greatly improve the content. I believe this upsets me almost as much as the insult to my intelligence that is "Syfy"'s spelling.

But I will not cancel my cable or boycott the channel over this slight. I will still watch the first episode of their amusing looking shows with great hope and little faith. Then when they fail me again, I will stop watching the show and not by their advertiser's products. And I will watch Eureka when it returns, even if I am annoyed by the men's deodorant commercial it had become and the petty hiatus that lasted too long.

I just with Sci Fi would respect their viewers more. But hey, everybody else is insulting their viewers, I do not know why I should expect any better from this channel.

P.S. Sci Fi, stop digging yourself deeper. Admit that the new name is not everyone's cup of tea and point out that no one thought "Wii" was a good name but the product was good anyway.

This name is crap... bad enough it encourages someone like Michael at SyFyportal.com (who can't seem to differentiate Science Fiction News and Gay rights propoganda.... not that there's anything worng with it, it just doesn't belong tied in with BSG spoilers and the like) to think that they are more important than they are. The name sucks. You all really should do better.

Look, I agree that this is an incredibly stupid change, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as everyone is making it out to be. I didn't read anywhere that the channel was suddenly dropping Eureka, Stargate, Sanctuary, Ghost Hunters or any other great shows. It'll still be SciFi Channel, just with a ridiculous name. Honestly, to get so worked up over it is also ridiculous.
It doesn't matter what they officially call the channel anyway. To me, it will always be "The Network that Canceled Farscape."

SyFy is a great name. It was a great name when SyFy Portal used it, and it's still great. Those who complain are idiots.

THE NAME ISN"T THE POINT. It's what it represents. Sci-Fi needs to come clean. Either it's a network that is devoted to science fiction--its fans, its ideas, its beliefs, its core genre concepts, supporting original programming therein, encouraging risk-taking within the art, etc.--or it's not.

If the network respects the genre qua genre, I don't care if it's called 'Mr. Magoo's Fun Channel'; on the other hand, you could come up with the coolest, most evocative, most 'science fiction' network name in the history of the universe, but, if it's being applied to a network that is embarassed of the sci-fi genre and its fans, then that name won't matter a bit.

Frankly, I think the reason people are so upset isn't so much because of the name change per se, but because it reveals that, in fact, sci-fi is very far from ... well, 'sci-fi'. They seem to be genuinely uninterested in the genre. They certainly don't seem to respect it--they've pumped out enough B-movies of the week, and comingled them with enough watered-down questionably-sci-fi series and tangentinal projects (wrestling, anyone?) that that seems quite clear.

This is par for the course. As I said in a comment on another article, science fiction fans have always been treated as second class citizens in the televised realm.

"SyFy" is simply going to further dilute the SciFi brand. I have no reason to believe that any complaints here will change the minds of the network execs who thought this was a god idea. I knew they didn't really care about science fiction when the schedule started to fill with professional wrestling and dopey reality shows.

In the end this simply means there's an under-served demographic -- fans of science fiction-- ready for anyone who wants to establish a cable or internet-based channel to cater to our needs.

Actually, I would've been far happier with Beyond or SFC as the new name than with SyFy.

But that's just me.

Looks like my earlier post, promoting the competition, got spaced out the airlock. Hmmm. Maybe they ARE reading these posts...

They just don't care much.

JPH
SciFi4Me

After reading through all this, maybe it should be called SighFi

After reading through all this, maybe it should be called SighFi

I could live with SFTV. totally. ive seen Syfy. i can live with Mr Magoo's Fun Channel.

i got a question. has E!, the entertainment news channel, trademarked ....the letter E? if so, how the hell cant u trade mark SciFi?

I guess you can trademark E if you you have an exclamation point...which leads to the question "why not call it SciFi!" ?

Or "Beyond!"

or even "X!TV"

I guess they decided "The Saturday Night Low Budget Horror Movie Network" would be too long to fit into programming guides.

"By JasonPHunt at 4:59 PM ON 03/24/09

Looks like my earlier post, promoting the competition, got spaced out the airlock. Hmmm. Maybe they ARE reading these posts...

They just don't care much.

JPH
SciFi4Me"

Huh. Looks like I have to give credit where it's due. Their marketing people are at LEAST smart enough to recognize competition and think "copmetition bad".

Funny story. Got to work today and one of my co-workers asked "you catch siphilis on friday?" I was momentarily confused, as he knows I'm single and one of those losers who refuses to have sex until I'm married. It took me a moment to realize he was talking about the scifi channel and wanted to know if I'd seen the preview for SGU.

People are ALREADY calling it the syfylis channel in thier daily conversations! This is a BAD SIGN scifi! Take the hint! Or maybe you're trying to appeal to the youger generations by making STD's sound like a cool new fad...

As a side note I DID in fact watch the SGU preview, but NOT ON YOUR CHANNEL. I watched the bootleg video that was uploaded 2 hours before your network even aired it. It's sad to know that what looks to be one of your best future shows and one I know will be among my favorites is going to be cancelled early.

Either it'll have no viewers after you change your name because of all the fans you just convinced to get all their scifi shows online now, or you'll cancel it out or sheer stupidity. Either way it's dead already as far as I'm concerned. I can only hope that Cooper and Wright are smart enough to end the series after a single season on their own. Pull a BSG on the first season. THEN maybe syfylis will learn to RENEW THEIR GOOD SERIES' BEFORE THE CREATORS START DITCHING THEM.

I hope these clowns are reading these comments and realize they're only alienating their faithful fans/audience. We've already put up with some of their other mishandling of the network with decisions such as splitting Eureka season 3 into two parts- 10 months apart! Again, clowns.

Actually, I would have preferred a complete name change than some preppy-pop misspelling because it's "Creative".

In fact, Beyond would have been cool. So would "If". The "If" channel. Very mysterious, very imaginative and it tells you everything you need to know about the programming.

SyFy is just plain stupid.

The truth is the "powers that be" don't carte what a few thousand LOYAL VIEWERS think when they want to increase general viewership on the channel.

Anyone remember when USA NETWORK used to be 50% Sports? It evolved. Now it's one of the "big 3" Basic Cable General Entertainment Channels" along with TNT and FX. Who would believe these cable networks would get viewship levals on bar with Broadcast networks! :)

SYFY needs to evolve to keep advertisers happy - Eventually Scifi will become a hybrid of USA Network and SPIKE. Eventually the same thing will happen with CHILLER and SLUTH.

The only way we'll ever see a 100% Purse Science fiction channel is is someone comes along and created a tier based service like ENCORE WESTERNS or ENCORE MYSTERY which doesn't have to worry about advertisers.

IF might be owned by IFC. But SFC or SFTV would be great. At least the meaning is there instead of just the phoenetics with humiliating misspelling that means something horrid.

The channel Is named Sci-Fi because that's the sort of programming we want to watch. I’m sorry that you morons let other "Senior" channels within your network family take dibs on programming that should have been rightfully yours (4400,lost,chuck,heroes) but your track record against the fan base is hideous no matter what your business model is. We are loyal fans of our series and shows. While wrestling may garner profitable advertising revenue for you, those viewers are not really your core audience, once the show is over, they're gone! this and your "Blairwitch" wannabe shows besmirch what is Sci-Fi worse than your sellout to infomercial that nobody watches. Sure you get paid for showing it but where’s the quality programming. This SyFy thing is stupid and it amount to the same as doing research as to why people hate going to jail! Stop wasting our time. realize the flaw in the Nielsen rating system and do better Sci-Fi. Do like Disney and Import it if you have to. but don't sell us out for $$$. We've put up with your merchandising markups to our "fandom" as well but I don't think you’ll survive this...

alaethancar :
Got to work today and one of my co-workers asked "you catch siphilis on friday?"

Oh Lordy! I nearly choked on my iced tea I was sipping when I read that! That is too funny! So now good 'ol 'Skiffy'' becomes instead 'Syphy'! Well with their leprous programming of late I'd not be surprised if there wasn't some sort of diseased mentality spreading like a plague around the network offices... and now they are trying to infect us with their insideous carcenoma! Upshot is... I'm avoiding their network like the plague!

I know that, in reality the name doesn't mean anything...but when I first read SciFi(I was a tiny thing then) I read it as "Sigh-Fie", as in Science-Fiction. When I first read 'Syfy" I thought it was "Sigh-fee"...really a dumb change on your part guys. But hey! Who cares what all the loyal viewers think about their channel? If renaming it "Sigh-Fee" will bring in new audiences, who gives a frack about them?

Just sayin'.
(P.S. Finny, you're scaring me... "Eventually Scifi will become a hybrid of USA Network and SPIKE."
D:)

Michael Hinman ran his own sight called SyFy Portal for 10 years, until NBC/U came along and bought it from him. Why does Howe continue claim (somewhat) that they made it up?

Good sci fi shows have been disappearing from this network for years now. It's like the people that run this network are embarrassed about the programming. So to get the shows that they tell their friends they show, they've run this channel down into the dumps to convice the big guys for the format change that is happening now. They made the mistake that their viewers were as dumb as their bosses. Most here know the name change is really just the first move. They could name the channel SLUG and show 24/7 sci fi and we would watch not because we like the name SLUG but because of the programming. Hire people that have actually read sci fi and love it or ask your viewer for input for show ideas.

I for one will continue to watch the shows I like on the channel but absolutely refuse to spend money on anything with the SyFy trademark.

alaethancar:

Yes, maybe they still have half a brain.
In the closet.
Next to the jelly.

JPH
SciFi4Me

I've got the answer - thanks to "HeyMoe!nyuknyuknyuk".

They should call it "S!F!"
Its clever, its hip and its cool, its "E!" only different

(I need a good laugh - out of work next week :-) )

The Rifftrax guys (formerly Mystery Science theatre) have spoofed Syfy on their blog.

http://blog.rifftrax.com/2009/03/23/re-branding/

And

http://www.kevinwmurphy.com/

I love you guys!

Two Words for you Microcephalic Morons:

NEW COKE

Look it up...

I did look up "New Coke" - The first page I clicked on kinda sums up this thread
(http://www.buildingbrands.com/didyouknow/08_new_coke.php)

Nice to know that "SyFy" is following in "New Cokes" blunders :-)

Cheers.

SyFy is a fraked name. Pure and simple.

"SCI-FY = science-fiction-fantasy"

Scify or SciFy or Sci Fy
Would be great actually.
Why isn't there an online poll on the Wire to suggest and vote for a new name. CROWD SOURCING is FREE people!

excellent point SciFy. id be resistant to it because it's so similar to Syfy, but at least Sci Fy makes since. plus having a fan poll or suggestion contest might make us less upset, and feel involved in the process. but the consulting firm has shiny degrees (in who knows wat). they know better.

As someone who has advertising and marketing experience, my mind is still boggling at the concept that out of 300 or so suggested new names, 'SyFy' was deemed to be the best choice....

Then again, we ARE talking about the same network execs who honestly believe that there is nothing at all wrong or illogical with featuring WRESTLING in their programming...

Viewer Poll!
Viewer Poll!
Viewer Poll!
Viewer Poll!
Viewer Poll!

It is a dumb name but i could careless what they call it as long as they stop cancelling shows. As was stated somewhere above the network will always be known to me as the one that cancelled Farscape. They end shows because they get too expensive to continue making or there is a dip in the ratings. They need to develope some new ways to determine how much a show is enjoyed because with the internet and DVR's and TIVO and all that crap there is no way all the old rating systems are still working. So call it whatever you want just quit cancelling shows like Farscape, SG:Atlantis, Dresden Files, etc. Or at the very least give them a decent amount of episodes to close out their storylines. Get it through your heads that if a post-cancelled movie or mini-series is required why not just re-up the show. SG1 should have proved you could cancel and restart a show a few times, why not try to give good scifi its proper respect and a good place to showcase it. The name is not important, the shows are.

PS--wrestling is just stupid

Abosulutely ridiculus! The management team must be suffering the recession and they all had their brains cut back. SYFY reminds mean of the military SNAFU. Ask a military person what it means!

Well, if you guys aren't going to change the name to something decent at LEAST change the motto to something better and maybe relevant. Here's some suggestions...

Syfy - Catch It!
Syfy Shows for SciFi Fans
Not Just For Losers Anymore
Who needs viewers with a name this COOL?

I'm amazed that this channel still has viewers. Who did you poll? The people that still watch the channel. The true fans of Sci-fi already stopped watching the channel or will be very shortly. Go ahead change the channel. I'll be back when there's actual entertainment. Not the sub-standard TV shows with that on the line-up. The network already ended every show I ever enjoyed on it. The name could be changed to "The Best Channel On TV" and I'd still have no reason to watch. Good luck and fail faster.

Ok, I'm in agreement that Syfy is the dumbest name they could have come up with. So, I spent the last couple of hours of yesterday trying to come up with something, and think I've come up with one that fits for everyone.

I haven't read all the posts, so someone may have already suggested this, but why not "Sci&Fi". It still denotes Scifi and allows them to bring in things that are just fiction (or fantasy related, like wrestling! ;-)

Just my 2 cents.

Ps. The wrestling idea was stupid Scifi!

SyFy make me think about children and cartoons, not Science Fiction. SciFi is a great name. And a love the logo too. Please don't be stupid, don't change it.

Beyond? Really? How long has Showtime Beyond been a channel? Do these people even WATCH television?

I am not really concerned that they are changing the name, even though its a stupid name. i am more concerned about the fact that the only channel that still shows scifi in america is changing so they don't have to show scifi anymore. i guess people like me who only watch scifi don't matter to tv execs. i mean i only watch 1 channel so when it gets rid of the like only 2 shows left to watch i wont be bothered to watch it. makes me wish my cable provider provided the bbc america since the english are the only ones still making scifi

http://eclipsemagazine.com/hollywood-insider/8629/

More of the same crap if anyone wants to read it.

We're not abandoning our core, we did extensive testing, we think it looks cool, we see the comments people are making, I get a summary or them, we couldnt find anything better after TWO YEARS of rebrand research, syfy is made up and new and shouldnt have any bad connotations, etc, etc...

Well if they're telling the truth and someone IS reading this I now address the poor intern having to deal with his superior's ignorance.

That's right, whoever it is that is going to write Dave's next summary, I am talking directly to you. PLEASE include the following word for word in your next report. Seriously. Copy/Paste into word, print it out and staple it at the end. All of it.

1. We're not abandoning our core

At this point they're abandoning YOU.

2. We did extensive testing

Please say where so we know who to really blame. There have been a few people online already who admit they were part of your focus group but I have yet to find one that thought Syfy was a good choice.

3. We think it looks cool

According to 99% of your fanbase you think wrong.

4. We see the comments people are making

But ignore them apparently

5. I get a summary or them

Not the same as reading them yourself. Please take the trouble to read the responses to your rebranding yourself instead of sending someone else to do it. I realize you dont have the time to read every post and complaint about the decisions your channel makes, but the fact that you have already had to take two interviews defending yourself should tell you it's time to take some VERY personal interest in this particular decision. Go back to your announcement and read every post. Repeat for your first interview's news post and the post this excerpt it taken from.

6. We couldnt find anything better after TWO YEARS of rebrand research

Your marketing team should be fired. If you read the posts as I've already requested you'll find that a handful of people online could have done better in 2 weeks easily.
You could even have made a contest out of it and had a full rebrand, name and logo included for free with MAJOR support from your fans. The fact that it took two years for you to come up with a rebrand so many people HATE (not dislike HATE) isn't something you should emphasize like it's a good thing.

7. Syfy is made up and new and shouldnt have any bad connotations where we've decided to use it

Seriously? Ok, right now Dave write "Syfy" on a piece of paper with a sharpie. Right now. Now walk downstairs (elevator, whatever). Walk out on the street and just start asking people what it means. I don't care if you're in your company's California or New York building.

I already did it myself at the base of the NBC-Universal building in Hollywood for an hour. All but one person (and it is a very high traffic area) said either "I don't know" or "siphylis". ONE person said it's what sci-fi is rebranding to, and he thought it was a bad idea.

PS-Fix your captcha on SciFiWire

Gosh, I always thought it was pronounced "Skiffy".

I can't believe you're changing the name of a well identified network ... guess I've been out of the loop absorbing the financial craziness in the real world (i.e. getting laid off).

Quiet simply a horrible idea ... back up, turn around and stop the change. It's that simple !

>>Gosh, I always thought it was pronounced "Skiffy".

Why should it be pronounced that way? Hi-Fi isn't pronounced Hiffy. The only people who insist on using Skiffy are the people who think the term is demeaning. Forest J Ackerman didn't intend to demean science fiction when he minted Sci-Fi. He was just trying to be clever. Sci-Fi is certainly more understandable than SF (which doesn't lightly trip off the tongue either). To paraphrase, would a rose by any other name still smell as sweet? It's not the name that's important; it's the content.

Turns out that other versions of SciFi channel i.e. from Germany or France are more interesting and carry a lot more science-fiction content than our SciFi channel right here in the U.S. Well, it appears that this transformation can't be stopped, but, I totally agree with Rose, why not go with Beyond or SFC ? It's not too late.
SyFy is one ugly mistake.

SyFy...Seriously? You're Fracking! Yeah...I thought so.

How can i get in contact with the program manager?

In July the shows that are still programed into my tivo are going to be deleted. Beyond or SFC would be much better. SyFy is just insulting to the intelligence of a mentally handicapped two year old as it is to mine.

I thought things were bad enough when Sci-Li terminated FarScape, but then they started with the ECW...which I guess is Science Fiction.....in that it's probably chemically enhanced, scripted & fixed....don't know, don't watch it.....but the really creepy thing was when it seemed like it was becoming the Baldwin Family Channel....Steve & Adam &whoever else couldn't land a gig on any other program.....now with SyFy....I guess they don't care if anybody watches anymore.....probably just looking to be able to market it to sell it to some unsuspecting fools........

Hey, The History Channel in HD works just fine! I do not hear any moaning tht they cannot brand or trademark the name "History".

I'm still pissed because they got rid of the cool Saturn Logo for the crappy digital one they have now...

First you bring on Wrestling... then you waste an entire Wednesday evening without the base viewership for stupid Ghost reality TV...

Stick to your base... Even though you can not trademark the name "Sci-Fi", everyone knew which network was the king of Science Fiction when watching TV.

As fans, we endured the stupid shows like Scare Tactics, hoping that Shannon would flash her breasts or do something stupid, but then you dumped her too.

Break down the meaning of Sci-Fi...
Science Fiction... meaning no reality shows, only science related fantasy and cute chicks with exceptional mammary hormones.

If you do not stick to your base, your base will not stick with you!!!

Leave the name alone. Change your executives and put more Sci-Fi adventures on instead.

From a purely marketing perspective if 1 out of 10 people in your target audience disagree with the choice of names when rebranding, you're alienating 10% of that target audience. In no real world situation would this be smart marketing move. But then again - I guess the marketing folks at Sci Fi must not be grounded on terra firma.

Dumb idea.....

I will be boycotting "SyFy" what a stupid name.

SyFyLyS
imagine betterer

syfy sucks, change it back

Why not change the name to a bastardized spelling of the real name?
They had a teck show that gave useful information on computers and replaced it with wrestling (seeing it is all fake—I guess it works on a science fiction channel!)

If this is such a great idea, why am I not reading about it at syfywyr.com?