How crass of me to do so... And, thinking on this, my friend, I realize why the name change is coming, and it's *not* for any promotional value.
I was thinking back to my brief time posting on the Skiffy boards (if you can call a hair under two years brief), and remembered way I call it Skiffy. Skiffy Management doesn't like that word. They feel that it's demeaning. Martin (trying to muster a lone tear for Skiffy, failing miserably) ---------[ Received Mail Content ]---------- Subject : RE: [RE][scifinoir2] Sci-Fi Channel changes it's name and logo Date : Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:09:18 -0400 From : "Reece Jennings" <[email protected]> To : <[email protected]> PLEASE don't insult the pig! _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Martin Baxter Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 4:32 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] Sci-Fi Channel changes it's name and logo Hey! They *do* make "Eureka" as well! (sarcasm function ON) Seriously, this reminds me of something that President Obama said, during his campaign run, about lipstick on a pig... ---------[ Received Mail Content ]---------- Subject : [scifinoir2] Sci-Fi Channel changes it's name and logo Date : Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:30:17 -0400 >From : Daryle Lockhart To : SciFi Noir [ http://theblackboxoffice.com/?p=3110 ] LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - After 16 years, Sci Fi Channel is changing its name . unless you say it aloud. NBC Universal-owned cable network will become SyFy starting in June. The phonics-friendly moniker is part of a network-wide rebranding campaign that has been in the works for more than a year. It's an evolution that also includes a new logo and tagline - "Imagine Greater" - and will be announced Monday at the network's "upfront" presentation to advertisers for the new programing season. The changes attempt to address longtime marketing goals at the network, as well as practical challenges that have stemmed from using a generic term as a brand name. "We love being sci-fi, and we're still embracing that," said network president Dave Howe on Friday. "But we're more than just space and aliens and the future - the three things most people think of when they think of 'sci fi.'" Though at first blush more fantastical-looking than the current name, "SyFy" aims to telegraph that the channel is a unique destination without being so different from the current title as to lose the network's core familiarity. "What this does is hopefully give us the best of both worlds," Howe said. "You keep the heritage, but also open up to a broader range of content." For years the network has sought ways to expand its image beyond its signature male-skewing space operas such as "Stargate" and "Battlestar Galactica." The network will unveil the branding campaign this summer along with the premiere of "Warehouse 13," a series about two FBI agents who hunt down paranormal objects. Next year's "Battlestar" prequel "Caprica," which is a terrestrial drama rather than an outer-space adventure, will further support this brand expansion, an effort that began on the programing side a few years ago with the launch of drama "Eureka," about a town of geniuses. The pragmatic aspect of the change is that from a business affairs standpoint, the network's genre-as-title has long been cumbersome. "We're going to have upwards of 50 Sci Fi Channels in various territories, and yet you cannot trademark 'Sci Fi' anywhere in the world," Howe said. "A new logo design would not solve that particular challenge. We needed a brand name that was own-able, portable and extendable." Howe knows some fans will dislike the change and see Syfy as a rejection of the network's core viewership. More than most channels, Sci Fi has an intense relationship with its audience. Clashes are unavoidable to some degree when you combine a network making businesses-minded decisions with a genre that has some of the most passionate and outspoken fans around. "Our core audience will use it an opportunity to question our motives - they always do," Howe said. "But what we're embracing is the total sci-fi landscape - fantasy, paranormal, action-adventure, mystery . it's imagination-based entertainment." ------------------------------------ Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/app/peoplemap2/entry/add?fmvn=mapYa hoo! Groups Links http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
