What's In A SyFy Name?

But following the Sci Fi Channel’s gradual introduction of programming that stretches the typical ideas for the genre, the channel has today officially changed its name to Syfy.

Unsurprisingly, this has caused a bit of an uproar, one that raises a few questions about the motives behind the rebranding.

Is the channel trying to get away from the stereotypes attached to its old moniker?

There are no plans to make any changes to the current programming, just to the logo tucked into the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Syfy even keeps the same pronunciation.

However, in a genre that is so thoroughly grounded in visual effects, one can’t underestimate the impact that changing something small like the spelling might have.

And taking into account that many shows that should fit Syfy’s current programming, like HBO’s “True Blood” and the CW’s “Supernatural” are appearing on less genre-specific channels, maybe Syfy is just giving itself a makeover to better reflect the variety within the genre that the channel offers.

Charlotte Ballard
greyrondo@gmail.com
http://greyrondocosplay.blogspot.com