Okay…

This seems a bit odd, but the SciFi Channel announced yesterday that effective July 7, 2009 that it will be known as SyFy.

Per the press release:

By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider and more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment including fantasy, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure, as well as science fiction. It also positions the brand for future growth by creating an ownable trademark that can travel easily with consumers across new media and non-linear digital platforms, new international channels and extend into new business ventures.

I get the branding aspect of it.  They can’t own “Sci-Fi,” but I guess they can own “SyFy,” a made up word.  Except someone else made it up before them.  I’m just guessing here, but it would seem that the guys over SyFyPortal.com probably sold their URL to SciFi… er… SyFy… NBC Universal.

But don’t worry!

According to SciFi President Dave Howe, “…SyFy will continue to celebrate the traditional roots of the genre…”  Which is to say, I think, that you can still count on them to provide you the finest in Latvian produced  Saturday night monster movies.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything I watch over on SciFi with any regularity other than Battlestar Galactica.  And that ends this Friday.  I probably won’t be flipping back there until Caprica hits the air.  I don’t offer this information to be contrary.  Rather, I mean to point out that here I am a geek of gargantuan proportions and I rarely watch SciFi’s programming.

I suspect that is why the change in branding, the change in image.

If they’re not grabbing the core demographic (and I acknowledge I am likely outside the age range NBC Universal finds desirable), they gotta change.  If only I could have loved mutant ant movies more, perhaps then they could have remained pure.

Perhaps.