Bad Network Exec! No Cookie! (The Sci Fi Channel rename)
Behold the madness from this TVWeek post (I implore you to read the comments on that page, too): The Sci Fi Channel is renaming themselves in July to “SyFy”. Yes, it sounds the same, but it’s spelled different. But there’s one thing even more idiotic than the name change itself: the reasons for doing so.
They are changing the name in July because “The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular”, and because some brain-dead lemming thought that “SyFy” is how the hipsters type it in text messages anyway.
They say they’re aiming for the “18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd”. That’s all I need to hear. So they’re looking for people who listen to Moby and 808 State? Maybe the problem isn’t the channel’s name, as much as it is that 40% of their airtime is reality shows and wrestling. Is that what the “18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd” is looking for? Ghost Hunters and three movies a week about gargantuan snakes?