Oh, come on.

[apocalypsos]

SCI FI Channel president Dave Howe answers questions about the name change, remains a smug out-of-touch moron while doing so.

Things I find amusing (mostly in a morbid sort of way) about this article:

1. They're keeping the SCI FI name in Poland, but changing it to Syfy everywhere else. Because, of course, their core audience are definitely not the sort of people who are most likely to find out what "syfy" means on the internet and mock accordingly even outside of Poland.

2. This question:

You say you want your brand to be more female-friendly, but I'm a woman and I like the old name. Don't I count?

Howe: You absolutely count, and we appreciate that you're watching our shows. And we're not saying that no women watch the network. In fact, almost half of our audience is women, thanks to shows such as Ghost Hunters that attract more women than men. But overall, our channel and the sci-fi genre in general tend to skew more male than female, and we want to ensure we remain gender-balanced and continue to bring in new female viewers, who often say they don't like traditional sci-fi.

Dear Dave Howe, MEET MORE WOMEN.

3. His answer to a question about ECW wrestling, "ECW has successfully brought new younger viewers to our channel. We have no plans to increase the amount of wrestling on the channel."

You'll notice he says nothing about decreasing the amount. And hell, American Idol and Hannah Montana could bring in a lot of younger viewers, too, but guess what? They're not sci-fi either. (That's not saying I don't think wrestling's a valid form of entertainment. *I* don't like it, but to each their own. But ... you know, somewhere else?)

4. He's asked if they did any research about the name and among the other moronic "marketing bullshit" quotes from focus group members he quotes is this gem: "SCI FI sounds very generic, sounds basic. Syfy sounds cool, cutting edge, ... the cool thing you want to be associated with."

I want to find this person and roundhouse kick them in the face.

I know I'm short. I'll find a stool.

Comments

[foenix.livejournal.com]

Are they REALLY so clueless that they think women will come to watch SyFy programming, but not Scifi?

Hell, if I was a woman, I'd be insulted that they think I'm that freaking stupid.

[aerynvala.livejournal.com]

I will bring a stool. And possibly a bat.

[angry-geologist.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm tall enough. And I can work out to make sure I can jump high enough.

You'll have to get his arms, though.

[morrighan-sai.livejournal.com]

Hee, I'm Polish and I almost died laughing when the articles started to appear all over the place. Now I can't see any other reason for this insanity than to cause a stir and revive people's interest in the channel. The argument about the new name appealing to more women is so ridiculous it's not even funny.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

I've got to admit, this is the most entertainly stupid concept to come from the channel since they greenlit Scare Tactics.

I still think everyone involved has a problem with their brains being missing.

[fragilistikal.livejournal.com]

I dunno. His answer was moronic and just...yeah, moronic, but Syfy is a more interesting and dynamic figurehead name and would probably lower those barriers there due to preconception for the wishy-washy nerd. BUT. He should have let the PR guy handle this interview, because he and his brand look like like a turd.

Obviously, he would be heading a different company if he didn't lack all form of social comeptency with women.... =/

[bethos.livejournal.com]

I find the whole thing pretty insulting, but since the channel is full of frankly shitty programming, I don't really care what it calls itself -- a diet of Ghost Hunters, wrestling, and a bunch of really crappy TV movies is what they have post-BSG and Farscape, so I probably wouldn't be watching their channel even WITHOUT their idiotic name change. And if they were to actually have a lot of quality science fiction programming, I would watch their channel despite their insulting and stupid marketing ploy to draw in more women (probably).

"Sci Fi" IS too general to be a strong legal trademark, it's true, but ... the solution is not SyFy.

You know what would draw in more female viewers? A well-written science fiction show with strong female protagonists and interesting relationships. You probably wouldn't even have to spend as much on special effects.

[medie]

Mo-r-ons. *facepalm*

[frito-kal.livejournal.com]

Aw, but if you're short and you roundhouse, you get him in the junk!

[elucreh.livejournal.com]

Okay, but here's the thing: 60% of my not liking "traditional scifi" is that I get really irritated by the one or two women per eight men, who will be pretty, smart, kickass fighters with no flaws or actual personality whatsoever. Or else they will be useless, flailing bimbos with no personality whatsoever. Either way, they will serve no actual purpose but merely be kept around for the sake of having unrequited love for the (smart, funny, flawed, interesting) male lead, or possibly to provide a spurious source of contention between two male leads. (*coughcoughAllisonblakecough*) Even if I love the guys and their relationships and the team, eventually I get so irritated by the generic, gratuitous woman that I have to stop watching. (This is why I get through half a season of SG-1 every six months.)

MAYBE the best way to appeal to women would be to get some INTERESTING WOMEN for them to watch! Maybe you could write plots about things that women are known to care about, like relationships between people!

To quote Jordan McDeere: "I swear to god, sir: the better our shows are, the more money we're gonna make."

[cmstephens.livejournal.com]

In ECW's defense, they did have two vampire characters (Kevin Thorn and Ariel) and a zombie character (who got his ass kicked in the show's premiere episode and was never seen again). So they at least half-ass attempted to fit in with the network...

The name change is still retarded, though...

[sabra-n.livejournal.com]

Didn't they cancel The Dresden Files because its viewership skewed too female? Oh, whatever.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Just speaking as a woman here, but what is supposed to attract me about Ghost-Hunters?

Really wondering if there's anything on the siphee channel I want to watch. Doesn't sound "cool" to me.

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Do you pronounce SyFy any different than Sci Fi??? If not... I'm not clear on how they can "sound" different.

*HANDS* Sci Fi - oh I'm sorry, SyFy - seems to be doing everything they can to LOSE fans. First they're losing BSG and SGA, replacing the latter with SG:90210, and now THIS?