# Sci-Fi becomes SyFy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628 "2009-03-16T15:46:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/41 "2009-03-16T18:12:27Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > In their defense, “Sci-Fi” is a somewhat mockable term with the (ahem) SF industry. Within the (ahem) SF industry, the term “sci-fi” is associated with people who are attempting to sound knowledgable, but are failing. > > One might say that “SF” or “SF/Fantasy” is the preferred nomenclature, dude. > > Its a minor hair, but I felt like splitting it. Whatever the industry prefers, I think that ‘sci-fi’ is better. ‘Ess Eff Fantasy’ isn’t much of a shorthand, and SF could stand for [lots of different things.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF) ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/42 "2009-03-16T18:17:26Z")
This probably also explains the recent announcement at the Dizcuvree Channel. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/43 "2009-03-16T18:18:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > That was only for the host segments, and they still wound up fairly interchangeable - unless you’re really worried about what happened to Pearl & Prof. Bobo when they were seized by Romans in an end-of-episode cliffhanger. The bigger change was that all the movies had to be SciFi related in some way - no more movies like “Kitten with a Whip”, “Girls Town”, “Daddy-O” or “Mitchell” ! A rule which they apparently eventually discontinued, anyway, since “The Girl in Gold Boots,” “Hamlet” and that other Joe Don Baker movie, “Final Justice” eventually ended up on MST3K during the Sci-Fi years anyway. (Possibly my favorite host segment was during “Final Justice”. Mike figured, since Joel got to escape during “Mitchell” (the OTHER other Joe Don Baker movie), “Final Justice” was his chance.) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/44 "2009-03-16T18:19:32Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > One might say that “SF” or “SF/Fantasy” is the preferred nomenclature, dude. > > Its a minor hair, but I felt like splitting it. Bah. SF was just a lame attempt to class up the genre. Speculative Fiction was even more pretentious. Science Fiction and Sci-Fi have a long and glorious history and we should be proud to use them. ---
**Author:** ![howye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@howye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/howye)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/45 "2009-03-16T18:39:43Z")
Anybody want to wager on the date when they change it again to remove all connection wity Sci Fi? I am assuming this is a planned two-step strategy, change to absurd name, change name to something completely unrelated. See The Nashville Network --\> TNN --\> Spike. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/46 "2009-03-16T18:40:33Z")
That. Is retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/47 "2009-03-16T18:41:50Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > This is the first thing that occurred to me when I saw the thread title. It makes perfect sense. “Sci-Fi” is a generic term. They should have a brand that they can claim rights in. Hmm, I wonder if that means we can look forward to the new and improved “Hystyry Channel”. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/48 "2009-03-16T18:43:09Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Wow, that is pretty much a textbook example of failed marketing. In addition to alienating your core customers (ie science fiction and fantasy fans) you are creating an incomprehensible brand for yourself that no one will understand or associate with anything. > > The SciFi Channel has always been terrible though. Other than Battlestar Galactica and maybe Eureka do they ever have anything worth watching? Every time I turn past it, it’s made for TV movies like Megashark 4 or Alien Supergator 3. > > Who cares if it doesn’t appeal to the female audience? They have We or Oxygen or Lifetime. The problem with cable tv is that it is loosing it’s specialized programming and rapidly turning into a hundred variations of USA Network. Network programming will die out as Producers will distribute their warez directly via On-Demand media. Push media is dying, and all of these people think it’s a branding issue. They never get it. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/49 "2009-03-16T18:43:45Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > FTFA: The network worked with the branding consultancy Landor Associates and went through about 300 possibilities before selecting Syfy. > > “When we tested this new name, the thing that we got back from our 18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd, which is quite a lot of our audience, is actually this is how you’d text it,” Mr. Howe said. “It made us feel much cooler, much more cutting-edge, much more hip, which was kind of bang-on what we wanted to achieve communication-wise.” > > 300 names and this is the one they chose? (stealing a joke from Dilbert) Well, first they tried randomly combining words from astronomy and technology, but the first result was **Uranus-Hertz**. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/50 "2009-03-16T18:47:46Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > In their defense, “Sci-Fi” is a somewhat mockable term with the (ahem) SF industry. Within the (ahem) SF industry, the term “sci-fi” is associated with people who are attempting to sound knowledgable, but are failing. > > One might say that “SF” or “SF/Fantasy” is the preferred nomenclature, dude. > > Its a minor hair, but I felt like splitting it. :rolleyes: It might be mockable by a small cadre of fanboys who are desperately trying to find a way to feel exclusive and 3l337 but Sci Fi is the mainstream usage by everyone both in and out of the sci fi community. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/51 "2009-03-16T18:51:06Z")
I thought maybe Century Theaters had bought them out. Now I’ll have [this music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-b69azot58) stuck in my head all day. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/52 "2009-03-16T18:53:18Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Network programming will die out as Producers will distribute their warez directly via On-Demand media. Push media is dying, and all of these people think it’s a branding issue. They never get it. Push media will never die completely. There will always be a group of die hards that has to see something the very second it’s available. See midnight showings of blockbuster movies or the viewing parties that have sprung up around certain must see shows like Lost. And obviously, no real sports fan is going to watch a big event like the Super Bowl or the World Series on tape delay. Those will be pushed forever. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/53 "2009-03-16T19:06:58Z")
> [@howye](#): > > Anybody want to wager on the date when they change it again to remove all connection wity Sci Fi? I am assuming this is a planned two-step strategy, change to absurd name, change name to something completely unrelated. See The Nashville Network –\> TNN –\> Spike. Soon to be renamed “Spyk”. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/54 "2009-03-16T19:27:28Z")
Maybe SyFy is trying to appeal to all the hardcore feminist womyn. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/55 "2009-03-16T19:30:42Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Maybe SyFy is trying to appeal to all the hardcore feminist womyn. Nah…then it would be Sypphy… ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/56 "2009-03-16T19:31:09Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > This probably also explains the recent announcement at the Dizcuvree Channel. Actually, I think the next change NBC/Universal will make will be to rename one of their other channels to “You Essay”. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/57 "2009-03-16T19:33:05Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Push media will never die completely. > > There will always be a group of die hards that has to see something the very second it’s available. See midnight showings of blockbuster movies or the viewing parties that have sprung up around certain must see shows like Lost. > > And obviously, no real sports fan is going to watch a big event like the Super Bowl or the World Series on tape delay. Those will be pushed forever. Right, Push Media will be a niche product. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/58 "2009-03-16T19:43:32Z")
It doesn’t even look like it should be pronounced “sci fi.” It looks to me like it should be pronounced “siffy.” ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/59 "2009-03-16T19:46:02Z")
I like the implication that there’s suddenly this enormous danger of nefarious business interests seeking ill-gotten profit by craftily exploiting the Sci-Fi Channel’s good name. That must explain all the “Sci-Fi Channel” brand soft drinks and athletic gear I’ve been seeing on sale lately. The terrible irony here is that they’ve now opened themselves to a massive lawsuit from Hair Club For Men president Sy Sperling. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628/60 "2009-03-16T19:54:53Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > I like the implication that there’s suddenly this enormous danger of nefarious business interests seeking ill-gotten profit by craftily exploiting the Sci-Fi Channel’s good name. But that implication is really just a concocted wiseguy thing. Obviously, SciFi wants a brand that it can use for cross-platform marketing and cross-licensing. I’m not saying that they’re planning to sell soft drinks and athletic gear, but what would be the point of their even entering the business if anyone else could undercut them because their brand name is a generic term? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-becomes-syfy/489628.md?page=4)