SciFi Becomes SyFy – Still Airs Star Trek Reruns

This morning the Sci-Fi Channel, cable home of reruns for Star Trek Enterprise and Star Trek The Next Generation, completed its rebranding and it is now SyFy. To celebrate the change, the channel has opened an "Imagination Park" in New York and is premiering a new series today (Warehouse 13). Details below 

What is in a name?
According to the SyFy channel, the name change is to give them a unique brand that they can own, however they say they are not changing their programming and will continue to focus on science-fiction and fantasy. When the name change was announced in March there was quite a lot of feedback, much of it negative. SyFy president David Howe tells Broadcast & Cable that they knew that was coming:

We did brace ourselves for what we expected to be quite a deep backlash. But we were very proactive in getting out there and reassuring [viewers] that we were not dramatically changing directions.

The channel has made a short film (and interactive website) called "House of Imagination" featuring many of the stars from current and upcoming SyFy shows.

Today SyFy opened "Imagination Park" at New York’s Rockefeller Center (which will be open until this Sunday). You can explore the shows, check out a giant View-Master and more. Many of the channels stars were on hand for the opening ceremony this morning. SyFy is also offering free WiFi (called WyFy from SyFy) for a year in different parts of New York City. 


Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly (Warehouse 13) at the opening of SyFy Imagination Park
[photo: WireImage]

Also airing tonight SyFy premieres a brand new series, Warehouse 13, which seems to be another genre-ish light-hearted show in the same vein as Eureka (which starts its third season on Friday). Here is the preview for Warehouse 13.

Warehouse 13 airs tonight at 9PM, and during the show they will air a new preview for Stargate Universe, which premieres in the Fall. 

Star Trek still on SyFy
The name has changed, but the reruns stay the same. SyFy continues to run a block of four episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Mondays starting at 7PM and one episode of Star Trek Enterprise on Friday’s at 7PM (although not this week or next week). Both shows are featured on the new SyFy.com (TNG & ENT). For a full schedule See SyFy.com.

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I will be SyFyless…

SyFy? that’s a bit of a lame name, to be honest. the font isn’t even all that catchy. it’s very plain.

They stopped being a science fiction channel the moment they broadcast wrestling so no big deal here……waste of air space….

Same product, different packaging. I’ll probably watch it as much as I ever did…

Will it’s still Sci-Fi here in Ireland & the UK. Guess its only a American thing!!! So Silly :)

3. Bill Lutz

True enough… But Wrestling is by far the highest rated program on SyFy and gives NBC Universal a nice ratings boost on a weekly basis. USA network, also a NBC Universal channel wins the prime time cable ratings every week due in part to Wrestilng.

TREK officially breaks 250 million as of yesterday $250,088,417 domestic… I can finally stop checking BOM everyday……yestwrdays take was just over 250.000 and 11 over all…I believe her legs are giving out, but it’s been an awesome run!!!

as for SYFY..or should I say the Stargate- Ghost Hunters channel!!!. with the exception of Twilight Zone and TREK marathons., and BSG…I could truley care less for that channel!…No more crappy B monster movies, or Stargate ad nausium, “something brushed across my leg!” oh god don’t get me started with those ghost shows…please bring some originall sci fi to SYFY…hits such as Hulk, or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 6 Million Dollar Man, original Superman, Bionic Woman, original BSG, some classics, not just the same ole same ole everyday….I’m serious about Stargate…every freekin day???!!!!!….come on please….I finally just stopped watching it….and now another X Files ripoff to try to lure in geek fans ! I hope Warehouse is good, but SYFY track records show just another B rated monsterfest!!!
For the love of god..please no more Stargate!!!!!!!!!

At least Space Channel (In Canada) still delivers a daily dose of Star Trek TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY! And is still called SPACE :P

stupid

Maybe I’ll finally get Enterprise in HD.

Dullards.

lame

Really, I don’t understand the need to change it with the two “y” letters instead of a “ci” and “i” instead as it was before. I understand the phonic connection as to how it is pronounced. Were people running around saying “Sky Fee”, I mean, c’mon, really? Really?

=A=

I think the best comment on this change came from TV critic Tom Shales of The Washington Post newspaper; According to Shales the new channel name is “SyFy, which rhymes with ‘Sigh, Why’.”

Another company trying to “expand their audience” by appealing to the lowest common denominator. How did those committee meetings go?…

“You see, if we misspell Sci Fi and make it SyFy, today’s 18-34 year old demographic will think our programming is hip and cool…we’ll really fool them!… how much do we make a year for such brilliant ideas?!”

I completely understand why they had to change it from a copyright and ownership point of view, but it’s still a dumb name.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Stop this nonsence

So is there some great Viewmaster comeback in the works with this SyFy prop and the previous VM movie project story? I need to hit Ebay and get all I can before they’re hot again.

Personally, I don’t particularly care what they call themselves.

As long as they produce product of the same quality as Battlestar Galactica, I’ll be happy.

I’ll still watch the shows I like on the Syphilis Channel, if the maintain the quality, but the name change is just stupid.

Probably will be known as example #2 in Bad Marketing Decisions, right after Pizza Hut changing their name to ‘The Hut’.

I will still watch Styr Tryk: Thy Nyxt Gynyrytyon on that channel. But I will be mildly irritated the whole time.

Goofy. And to think I signed a petition many moons ago for the creation of the “sci-fi” channel. Haven’t watched it in years and it appears I’m not missing anything.

Anthony:

There was an article a few months back that TNG was going into syndication this fall. Is that this? Or will it be made available on local channels around the US?

Imagine what a great channel this could be if those in-charge weren’t so ashamed of what it is: a network dedicated to broadcasting science-fiction programming.

No more stupid, fluff shows and no more original movies. Sci-fi… er, SyFy… needs to do something with their weekend programming in the worst way.

Yes, but will they still be showing the same 20 episodes they always do???

Also, I quite enjoy having to set the alarm for 2am to catch classic X Files eps but if I want to watch Giant Preying Mantis Chubacabra Larvae Invasion I can see it pretty much whenever I flip through channels.*

*(hey, not EVERYONE prefers to watch tv on their computer!!!)

I just don’t get it. I don’t understand, why does the Sci Fi channel thinks this so important. SY FY is actually grammatically incorrect. But whatever, seems like they are going to still run my favorite shows. If your a Star Trek fan,and I know all of you are, Eureka is a great science fiction channel show. “Sorry I mean a great SY FY show.

They should have named it the Imagination Channel, Network or Station.

The United States really needs Canada’s SPACE channel. There is more than one music channel, why can’t we have more than one Science Fiction channel? Plus they air all of the Trek shows, I’m jealous!

SyFy … reminds me of Syphilis…

Haven’t watched the channel since BSG ended. The Ghost Hunters shows bore the crap out of me. Sorry.

For now, SciFi is a channel I just ignore. Until “Caprica” starts up, that is.

Attn: Scifi Executives – Just do a search for “Tropicana sales plummet 20%” to see how this will play out. Also “not dramatically changing directions.” is equally bad as we viewers who were there circa 1994 all know.

Very creative. It’s Sci Fi spelled with a “y” get it? The marketing department worked some overtime to pull that one off.

#29 YES. Thank you.
SyFy = New Coke= it won’t last.

25. Steve – July 7, 2009

“Imagine what a great channel this could be if those in-charge weren’t so ashamed of what it is: a network dedicated to broadcasting science-fiction programming”

True dat.

I caught them talking about this on the Today show this morning and the music they went out to was the theme from Star Trek TOS. Interesting.

Remember when Sci Fi Channel was running episodes of Law & Order? I suppose that must have been cheap for them to run, considering all the L&O on USA Network. We could be in store for Law & Order: Space Command or some such…

IMHO, SyFy was a silly name when it was a website & is still a silly name now it’s a TV channel. 50 years from now our grandchildren will look back & go “Wow, SyFy was a silly name wasn’t it!”. :)

Now that they’ve acknowledged Sy, how about Morty & Sol?

Oy!

It’s a money and ownership thing. They can’t own Sci Fi. It’s a common parlance. Sy Fy they can own. And in today’s post Lucas/Disney world it’s all about ownership.

JMN

1) What is the point of the change?

2) Why would they have had to have been “proactive” about acquiring alternate/similar websites/domain names, etc if the idea had merit?

3)Upper management never admits when it’s wrong. When this gets a bad reception (and it will) I’m sure they’ll blame the viewers for lack of imagination.

4)Just put on good shows.

5)Logos should be /are iconic- the new one means Nothing.

“CW”, anyone?

#7. Capt Krunch

What you describe: Now that’s a channel I would watch all the time. Not what it is now.

They really should think about a line up change. Dump that Ghost Hunters Wednesday. One show, OK but what is it? 6 Hours worth? While there are some people who like the show, they are the ones who say: why 5 hours of Star Trek?

I wish they would run Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twight Zone, Night Stalker, Night Gallery, Dark Shadows, etc. I like Eureka, that show has got some funny scenes plus I like the Joe the female deputy, she;s got what it takes, in more ways than one.

The name/logo change???? Why bother, I never think about it. But it is their name and they can do what they want. Some hotshot exec probably got a raise for thinking of it when nothing else worked in their meetings.

I will add Sci Fi to the list of channels that were killed by their corporate sponsor. Well, they lost Dr. Who and BSG is over so I’m leaving anyways.

Remember when Arts and Entertainment actually had quality programs?

It just seems these morons keep buying stations, completely changing their programming to make them cheaper and taking away any charm or fan base they already had. At least in England they are kind enough to name BBC1,2,3 etc so you know that it’s just another station of the same crap lower in the food chain.

Are they trying to soften the image of the genre with the soft, curly y’s? Good luck with that one.

#22

ROFLMAO!

FAIL

Stupid but I can see why they’re distancing themselves from science fiction. Think about it: None of their lame movies is even science fiction-based. They have three genres of ‘original’ (read: straight to video) movies: monsters, disasters and sword-n-sorcery. Just how many stupid movies about meteors crashing into earth can one channel show? One more lame move from an increasingly more and more lame channel. Ugh.

As with all channels, I watch the shows I like, I don’t watch the shows I don’t like.

There are lots of shows I love on the big networks. Doesn’t mean I stop watching them because they put shows on like “The Worlds Fattest Dancing Idol Loser Survivor Race”.

At the end of the day, I figure we have maybe 10 years of normal programming left, if we’re lucky. Then it’s back to reading books, because all that’ll be left is Fox News and ‘Ow, My Balls!’ ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ )

Yes, there are dozens of sci-fi movies and tv shows that SHOULD be shown on this channel, but, apparently, they don’t quite have the budget that would afford such things. Personally, I hardly ever watch the station because — with the exception of a few things — there’s nothing here that interests me. Count me out on the wrestling. And I’m tired of shlock/horror movies. They have produced a few decent shows, I will admit, but — as someone else said — Stargate day after day, hour after hour….

#40: Almost true; it’s probably about _broadened_ ownership. But they already did own “SciFi,” even though it’s in common parlance. Trademarks are contextual; you own them in a specific arena of operation. Hence Apple Records versus Apple Computers when the latter started getting into music, but the commonplace word “apple” was in fact owned by each, within context.

#47: In fairness, they probably SHOULD distance themselves from it, but if they mean to, picking a name that’s (apparently) intended to be phonetically identical wouldn’t be the way to go about it.