What's Next? InnBeeSea?

Barb Sherrill — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:43:43 -0700

I can't keep quiet about it any longer.

Earlier this month, the SciFi Channel officially changed its name to SyFy.

What the...?

According to Dave Howe, channel president, "We made a commitment to grow into a global lifestyle brand....The new name positions us as having our own attitude and personality, which gives us permission to do a broader range of shows."

So, they link together four letters that mean absolutely nothing and still pronounce it "SciFi"? Hard to think that's going to be that effiective in broadening out the market into a global lifestyle brand.

Before, under SciFi, the target market just looked like a bunch of geeks.

Now, the target market looks like a bunch of geeks who can't spell.

We geeks aren't going to take too kindly to that.

I'm pretty sure SyFy is now the only television channel whose letters stand for absolutely nothing. HBO = Home Box Office. ABC = American Broadcasting Company. HGTV = Home and Garden Television. Oxygen = well, I don't exactly understand that one, but at least it's a real word.

I'm not sure what got their panties in a wad in the first place. So, they're the SciFi Channel. So what? That doesn't mean they can't go beyond scifi in their programming. Other channels certainly haven't let their monikers dictate what they broadcast. Honestly, when was the last time I actually learned something watching TLC? And since when does a reality show focusing on brutal murders, blood spatter patterns, and DNA evidence qualify as either "Arts" or "Entertainment" (Cold Case Files on A&E)?

SyFy, I think all you've done is manage to insult your core audience in this process, which is too bad. I think you've forgotten that science fiction has given us some of the most creative and intelligent (and long-running!) television on record, and it's delivered some of the most hardcore, tv-watching fans you'll ever find (which advertisers and product licensors love). We may be geeky, but we're not a bad demographic.

(SyFy's website is a lot more honest about the change: They could never "own" SciFi, and that was becoming a problem. You know, had their spokespeople said that from the start, we'd feel a little less insulted.)

Ah, well. I'll still watch. And perhaps that's what SyFy has known all along--its core audience of science fiction geeks don't care too much about branding and image (just take a look at the people attending any convention involving the words comic con or Star Trek, and you'll see exactly what I mean). We are who we are, and we're proud of it. Call the channel SciFi, SyFy, SighFi, or SemperFi--we don't care! As long as you're carrying our shows, we'll watch.

But I understand there are those outside the scifi world who wouldn't be caught dead in the scifi world, and, for those people, perhaps "SyFy" becomes more palatable, perhaps they'll give a show a try if they don't feel like they have to wear Spock ears and speak Klingon to be on board--a show they may very well end up loving. If that's the case, I'm for it. I don't want to keep people away from the genre I love--I want to invite them in.

Huh.

I wonder. Have we done the same thing with our Christianity? Kept people out just by how we choose to talk about it?

I'm not talking about changing the essentials of the Christian faith to make it more palatable (SyFy is still going to broadcast Stargate: SG-1 marathons, for example). I'm just wondering if we haven't sometimes made the image, the lingo of Christianity so insider that people would think it couldn't possibly be for them. Or, from what they've seen of Christianity, they wouldn't be caught dead in that world.

You know, I don't want to keep people away from the Jesus I love--I want to invite them in.

No Spock ears or Klingon language required.