By Rudie Obias | 8 years ago

A few years ago, the Sci-Fi Channel changed its logo and name. They officially became the SyFy Channel in 2009. By dropping the more traditional spelling of the abbreviation of Science Fiction, they alienated (no pun intended) many of their viewers. The Australian counterpart to the SyFy Channel has followed suit but with a more reasonable branding.

The Australian Sci-Fi Channel will simply be known as SF, with the new tagline “We Are Sci-Fi.” The Australian network SF offers the same programming as its American cousin including Lost Girl, Alphas, Warehouse 13 and re-runs of the original Star Trek series.

If we’re lucky, maybe the American version will take a hint and follow suit. At the least, it’ll stop us from mocking it by calling the channel “Siffy”, and given their penchant for running wrestling might help win back those alienated viewers back by once again proclaiming a dedication to the mostly abandoned science fiction genre.

NBCUniversal launched the Sci-Fi Channel in 1992. It expanded to international markets like Australia in 2006 and expanded to Brazil earlier this year. The Sci-Fi Channel is known by different names in other countries. In the Philippines and Japan, the Sci-Fi Channel is known as Universal Channel and in Poland and Romania, it’s known as Sci-Fi Universal. It’s strange that the American Sci-Fi Channel is the only one that makes no sense and is comically misspelled.