Weird Syence

At its Spring upfront — basically when networks present their new programming, sell big chunks of advertising and announce any major changes — the 16-year-old Sci Fi Channel announced that on July 7 it will change its name and identity to Syfy. The reported driving reason for the change was the fact that “Sci Fi” was not something that the channel could own or copyright as it describes a genre that anyone else can use as a descriptor. But by changing its name to something that is phonetically identical yet spelled like a 3-year-old text messaging, it can become wholly ownable and mutated (pun intended) across different ventures like Syfy Games, Syfy Films and Syfy Kids.By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens percept