Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:51 pm
Hello SyFy.
In a move proving once again that Hollywood is too stupid to realize that nothing makes everyone happy, Sci Fi is dumping their name because they think it's a negative that keeps more of the mass audience from checking them out.
In corporate speak:
What the fuck is a "human-friendly brand"? Isn't this really a case of hoping people too stupid to realize SyFy = Sci Fi will tune in to watch?
As for their loyal current fans, apparently, SyFy hates you:
Of course, who did they test this new name with...:
Can someone explain to them that this "18-34 techno savvy crowd" are the very people that Mr. Brooks insults above?
Because sometimes, the corporate ignorance writes its own jokes:
Oh and if you were thinking Sci Fi was a failing network, think again:
Personally, I think Sci Fi would have a much larger audience if they had made different programming decisions over the years:
-Instead of trying to save crappy shows, they should have saved "Space: Above and Beyond" and " Firefly".
-They should have put less money into their laughable self-produced movies and instead produced a new ongoing series based on "The Walking Dead" or "World War Z".
-Fewer infomercials during late night. Sure, that's a traditional time for them, but not for the Sci Fi core audience.
In a move proving once again that Hollywood is too stupid to realize that nothing makes everyone happy, Sci Fi is dumping their name because they think it's a negative that keeps more of the mass audience from checking them out.
In corporate speak:
“What we love about this is we hopefully get the best of both worlds,” Mr. Howe said. “We’ll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we’ll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.”
What the fuck is a "human-friendly brand"? Isn't this really a case of hoping people too stupid to realize SyFy = Sci Fi will tune in to watch?
As for their loyal current fans, apparently, SyFy hates 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,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.
Of course, who did they test this new name with...:
“When we tested this new name, the thing that we got back from our 18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd, which is quite a lot of our audience, is actually this is how you’d text it,” Mr. Howe said. “It made us feel much cooler, much more cutting-edge, much more hip, which was kind of bang-on what we wanted to achieve communication-wise.”
Can someone explain to them that this "18-34 techno savvy crowd" are the very people that Mr. Brooks insults above?
Because sometimes, the corporate ignorance writes its own jokes:
“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”
Oh and if you were thinking Sci Fi was a failing network, think again:
Sci Fi is coming off the best year in its history. In primetime it ranked 13th in total viewers among ad-supported cable networks in 2008. It’s a top-10 network in both adults 18 to 49 (up 4%) and adults 25 to 54 (up 6%).
During its fourth-quarter earnings call, parent General Electric said Sci Fi racked up a double-digit increase in operating earnings despite the beginnings of the recession.
Personally, I think Sci Fi would have a much larger audience if they had made different programming decisions over the years:
-Instead of trying to save crappy shows, they should have saved "Space: Above and Beyond" and " Firefly".
-They should have put less money into their laughable self-produced movies and instead produced a new ongoing series based on "The Walking Dead" or "World War Z".
-Fewer infomercials during late night. Sure, that's a traditional time for them, but not for the Sci Fi core audience.