From Sci Fi to Syfy, what’s the difference?

According to Media Week, NBC is the latest company to exercise rebranding during this tough climate. NBC is rebranding its Sci Fi Channel to Syfy, which will be introduced first in the US in July, with UK activities due to follow suit at the beginning of Q3 this year.

Although I’m somewhat undecided about the so called “phonetic” name change, the company explains “the new spelling will allow NBC to have an ownable trademark that it hopes will gain greater recognition among consumers across new-media and non-linear digital platforms - such as Hulu and iTunes”.

Last year both Sky and ITV renamed their VOD services to Sky Player and ITV Player respectively, as posted here.