By RORY MCCARTY

Senior Reporter

The cable network that heretofore has been known as the Sci Fi Channel will be changing its name in July to the presumably less nerdy “SyFy.” Although the name of the network will be pronounced the same way, it comes with an image change, as the station’s Saturn logo is swapped for the sterile white block lettering spelling out the new name. It also comes with the new slogan, “Imagine greater.” (NYTimes.com)

While Bonnie Hammer, president of the cable arm of parent company NBC Universal, said that the name change comes in part so that they could have a more ownable network name (the former name, “Sci Fi,” couldn’t be copywritten), you can imagine that the main reason for the switch is reinvention of the network. (TVweek.com)

For an allegedly science fiction station that increasingly incorporates shows like Ghost Hunting and Extreme Championship Wrestling into its programming, trying to lose its niche image is no surprise. And they’re certainly not the first to do it. The unified G4 Tech TV dropped the Tech TV part of its moniker and essentially tried to become another Spike TV by showing reruns of “Cops.” And not long ago, the National Geographic channel began insisting that people use the hip, street-slang version of their name, “NatGeo.”

Still the question remains: What the heck is a SyFy?