The name change is clearly to allow the brand to host more than just science fiction shows. How long will it be until SyFy is synonymous with Emo? Can’t wait to watch reruns of Desperate Housewives on SyFy!

I don’t think the name change or the new programming will help ratings. When you put BSG, your best scripted show in your network’s history, in the historically proven worst timeslot for TV viewing and ask why no one watches the network, your problem is management not branding.

The WHETHOR Channel (now part of the NBCU family)
HYSTORII Channel
DISKOVREE Channel
MILLITAREE Channel

Solution: “SyFy Books”

The down the road value of trademarking of books, games, DVDs, etc. makes a little more sense to me.

I do agree for the vast majority the ridicule will be short-term.

Before granting a trademark, the government reviews existing uses of the word to see if there’s likely to be consumer confusion.

As I understand it, the problem that the channel-formerly-known-as-SciFi had was that it wants to sell branded spin-off items like games, books, graphic novels, etc., areas where “sci fi” already has a generic meaning.

Quite often companies extend a name and then rely on a catchy logo to brand it in a memorable way. So “Bravo” is really “Bravo Media” and “USA” is really “USA Network.” But the logos emphasize the nickname, and that’s what people use in everyday conversation. The trademark is on the full name, though.

Other companies go for weird spellings to make a name unique. Cingular, Amtrak, Rite-Aid, VuPoint, Skil, Juice Tyme, etc. all become possible to trademark precisely because no one else spells it that way. Syfy will fall into this group.

It seems weird now, but a country that can get used to Fuze and Snapple should adapt without any problem.

The name change is going to be ridiculed by many, but fans of the genre who watch the network will still watch. They will only tune out based on the programming, not the name. They will laugh at it, as we all are, but they won’t stop watching JUST because of the name change alone. But there is a certain segment of the population who see the term “Sci-Fi” and just tune out entirely. There are people who will not even consider that something to do with science fiction could possibly hold any interest for them at all. So by changing a couple of letters, you will get at least some number of people to stop completely dismissing you because of your name.

But it’s going to be a really small number of people, you say? True, but in this TV world you only need small numbers. Fractions of fractions can have a big impact. If they only get two Neilsen households in the demo to start watching at some point in the future because of this, that makes a heck of a lot of money for them.

And then they tell two friends, and so on . . .

It’s not all as simple as I am making it sound, but there definitely is logic here. The ridicule will be short term, and eventually people will just know them as SfFy, and that won’t be a problem for people, because it’s really no less odd looking than TNT or CBS or WKLM. Broadcast networks all have funny acronyms but we are just used to most of them now. Eventually people will get used to SfFy.

And if they pick up just a small number of the right viewers, BANG, it’s worth it. Especially since there is zero chance anyone will stop watching just because of the name change. It won’t happen overnight, but it has to start somewhere. It’s an very long range plan, but it seems to me a plan with some real merit.

Look, it’s silly, and I am now changing my name forevermore to Schmoker for no reasion just to honor how silly it is. But silly doesn’t mean it might not be a good business move in the long run.

But then I never was a big carbonated beverage drinker anyway! Except at movies.

Ok, it wasn’t the first million, but it was a good chunk of change for me at the time.

Yeah, I think the reason for this is to abandon the whole “Sci-Fi” concept completely over time. The suits have decided “sci-fi” is bad business in an economic downturn.

Guess TSCC would fit right in then – given it’s obsession with psychology, it’s hardly science fiction much any more.

If we can hang on for 10 more years, maybe some marketing consulting firm will convince Nielsen, “You know, Nielsen Media Research doesn’t really tell people what you’re all about. You’re about TV and numbers….”

Update: And indeed the name was sold to an “undisclosed entity”

http://www.airlockalpha.com/news426164.html

They changed their name to Airlock Alpha a month back. And I think if you look them up on Wikipedia, Mike Hinman is the person who actually created syfy.

That’s what I figured, since TNN did the same thing after getting WWF in 2000. But, if they were going to go in a different direction, you’d think they’d change the name all together, rather than keeping the name, but changing the way you spell it.

If they wanted to rebrand the network why not go for broke and completely change the name? Are sci-fi fans really still watching the network because its called Sci-Fi? Surely they gave up when the network stopped being about sci-fi? This is just a half hearted we don’t really know what we’re doing move.

What they really need to do is re-examine their target audience (maybe, I don’t know, science fiction fans?) and either get back to basics, or get out of the game. A lame and, frankly, asinine move like respelling their name SyFy can only make matters worse.

http://www.freshfuelblog.com/2009/02/a-lesson-on-losing-brand-equity.html

It does a better job covering it than I can right now.

Putting good shows on the air on the other hand would.

It clearly comes with some big downside, I just don’t understand the value they get from having a trademarkable network name. “Bravo” isn’t trademarkable, is it? Neither is “USA”. Would love to hear from someone who knows more about trademark name IP.

Nick C, what happened at Tropicana?