Rather than put forth more effort to try and change this association (or, god forbid, embrace it?), the Sci Fi Channel is changing its name to SyFy. I could not make up this kind of story; I'm not that creative. Tim Brooks, who helped launch the channel, offers that the name “Sci Fi” is too limiting, referring to critics who whine that not everything on the channel is, in fact, science fiction.
But you really have to read down to the bottom of the original article to find the real reason for the name swap:
“We need an umbrella brand we can attach to new businesses: Sci Fi games, Sci Fi kids. It does no use to attach ‘Sci Fi’ because there’s hundreds of sci-fi Web sites and sci-fi publications. So it’s changing your name without changing your name,” Mr. Howe said.
Look, guys, quit giving me this BS about how “Syfy” is going to broaden your appeal. You did it for search engine optimization. Admit it and move on.
In an effort to relate this to anime more directly: if you try to go to scifi.com to look up what anime is playing this AniMonday, and the site doesn't appear? Try syfy.com. (The network will change over to the new site at an unspecified future date.)
Hey, maybe they'll change the name of AniMonday to “Annie Mundy.”
/facepalm
It's not like it needs search engine optimization. The first two links for scifi, sci-fi and sci fi on Google and Yahoo are both SciFi.com sites.
Ask any older SF fan, and they'll tell you the correct pronunciation is "skiffy." Personally, if they're going to change it, they should've gone the Greek route and called it, "Psi Phi."
But more importantly, this is what worries me. With the Spike name came a content overhaul into what it is today. A more frightening example is the TechTV into G4 debacle. TechTV becoming G4 overhauled its content into something that was neither TechTV or the original G4.
With SciFi becoming SyFy, what content changes will it bring? SciFi had their best year in '08 because of scifi programming like Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Doctor Who, Eureka and a slew of other shows either original or syndicated. What the hell will they show now, especially with BSG and Stargate being done and no new Who for another year or so?