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Sci Fi Channel Becoming Less Geek-Centric "SyFy"

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the or-you-could-quit-cancelling-good-programs dept.

narramissic writes "According to a TV Week article, NBC Universal has decided to change the name of their Sci Fi Channel to SyFy. Why? To pull in a more 'mainstream' audience. If you're unclear what 'more mainstream' means, TV Historian Tim Brooks spells it out for you: '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.' Yes, we should probably all be offended. And telling us that a crack marketing team came up with the name because that's how tech-savvy 18-to-34 year-olds would text it really doesn't help."

5 of 798 comments (clear)

  1. Goodbye Galactica, hello crappy reality shows! by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're going to do exactly what G4 did, introduce a bunch of shitty reality shows and bad syndicated crap designed to shamelessly appeal to the "young male demographic" (as if young males are completely devoid of taste, and just want some drunk slut in a bikini making an ass of herself in front of Brett Michaels).

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Goodbye Galactica, hello crappy reality shows! by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Informative

      The SciFi Channel used to do some pretty good movies back when they were owned by USA. After their acquisition by NBC, all their movies turned into some of the WORST monster-of-the-week crap I have ever seen. I mean, these movies are completely unwatchable.

      I wish they did more movies like the one with the house AI gone mad, or the lady who stowed away on a cargo lander headed to a mining colony, or the excellent Dune movies. Not all of the movies were great, but they were all more interesting than the garbage they show these days.

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  2. Re:Ahem... it's SF by vux984 · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, real sci-fi fans knows that sci-fi and SciFi is short for Science Fiction, while SF is short for Speculative Fiction, which includes other genres.

    Real science fiction fans are probably the only people who know what 'speculative fiction' is, and they know that if they use the abbreviation SF, that almost everybody who sees it will understand it as science fiction. They also know the boundary between speculative fiction and science fiction is pretty blurry and don't get their panties in a knot over it.

    Your average parasmut novel is SF, but it isn't sci-fi.

    Now I'm curious what a parasmut novel is.

  3. Re:My IQ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative
    how tech-savvy 18-to-34 year-olds would text it

    Any 34 year old man that would text the word "syfy" needs his ass kicked.

  4. Re:My IQ by sznupi · · Score: 4, Informative

    You're quite spot on, especially for people who know some slavic language :> (precise translations below are from polish, but such words are somewhat universal usually (though I'd have to check, and too lazy atm))

    "syfy" would be plural form of "syf"; which can mean: crap, shit, junk, syphilis.

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    One that hath name thou can not otter