syfy

syfy (pronounced /ˈsɪfiː/; "sci-fi"), formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel, is an American cable television channel that has science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural and paranormal programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The name Syfy was officially adopted on July 7, 2009.

History

The Sci-Fi Channel was devised in 1991 by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie Silvers, two entrepreneurs from Boca Raton, who currently own HomeTown Cable in South Florida. In March 1992 the concept was picked up by USA Networks, then a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. The channel was seen as a natural fit with classic film and television series that both studios had in their vaults, including Rod Serling's Night Gallery (from Universal TV) and Paramount's Star Trek and classic Universal horror films such as Dracula and Frankenstein. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and author Isaac Asimov were among those on the advisory board.

In 1994, Paramount was sold to Viacom, followed by Seagram's purchase of a controlling stake in MCA (of which Universal was a subsidiary) from Matsushita the next year.[citation needed] In 1997, Viacom sold its stake in USA Networks to Universal, who spun off all its television assets to Barry Diller the next year. Three years later, Diller would sell these assets back to Universal, by then a subsidiary of Vivendi SA (at the time known as Vivendi Universal). Vivendi's film, television, and cable TV assets were then merged with General Electric's NBC to form NBC Universal in 2004. A high definition version of the channel launched on October 3, 2007 on DIRECTV.

Rebranding

On March 16, 2009, Sci Fi announced that it would be changing its name to Syfy, to end confusion over how to capitalize and stylize their name and as part of an on-going rebranding effort. Network officials also noted that, unlike the generic term "sci fi", which represents the entire science fiction genre, the term "Syfy" can be protected by trademark and therefore would be easier to market on other goods or services without fear of confusion with other companies' products. The only significant previous use of the term "Syfy" in relation to science fiction was by the website Syfy Portal, which became Airlock Alpha after selling the brand to NBC Universal (represented by a shell company) in February.Reaction to the new name has been largely negative, with people often pronouncing Syfy as "Siffy", "Skiffy", or "See Fee" to make fun of the name change.The parody news anchor Stephen Colbert made fun of the name change by giving the channel a "Tip of the Hat" for "spelling the name the way it's pronounced" and noting that "the tide is turning in my long fought battle against the insidious 'soft C'.The new name took effect on July 7, 2009.[10] Syfy is in the process of making more reality shows and edging farther away from science fiction programming, and has been making a conscious effort to do this since the 1990s, also to significant negative response, alleging Syfy is succumbing to channel drift.