Syfy facts for kids
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Comcast Building, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080p HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal Television and Streaming |
| Parent | NBCUniversal (Comcast) |
| Sister channels |
List
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| History | |
| Launched | September 24, 1992 |
| Founder | Mitchell Rubenstein Laurie Silvers |
| Former names |
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| Links | |
| Webcast | (U.S. pay-TV subscribers only) |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Streaming Services | fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream |
(requires subscription to access content)
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Syfy is an American TV channel that shows programs about science fiction, horror, and fantasy. It is owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, which is part of Comcast. The channel first started on September 24, 1992.
Syfy was originally called "Sci-Fi Channel," then "Sci Fi." The name "Syfy" is a new way to spell "sci-fi" that the channel can protect with a trademark.
As of January 2016, about 92.4 million homes in America could watch Syfy.
Contents
Channel History
In 1989, Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie Silvers came up with the idea for the Sci-Fi Channel. They were a husband and wife team who worked with cable TV.
They got 8 of the top 10 cable TV companies to agree to carry the channel. They also got special rights to show popular British TV series like Doctor Who and The Prisoner.
In 1992, Rubenstein and Silvers sold the channel to USA Networks. This company was a partnership between Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.
The channel was a good fit for classic movies and TV shows from these studios. This included Universal's Dracula and Frankenstein, and Paramount's Star Trek.
Gene Roddenberry, who created Star Trek, and author Isaac Asimov were part of the channel's first advisory board. Sadly, both of them passed away before the channel launched.
The channel officially started on September 24, 1992. The very first program shown was the movie Star Wars.
In 2004, the channel became part of NBC Universal. Later, in 2010, Comcast bought the whole company that owned Syfy.
A high-definition (HD) version of Syfy started on October 3, 2007.
In 2013, Syfy received a Pigasus Award. This award is given to channels for showing questionable reality programs about paranormal topics.
How the Channel's Name and Look Changed
From 1992 to 1999, the channel's first logo showed a planet with a ring, like Saturn. The words "SCI-FI CHANNEL" were written on it.
From 1999 to 2002, the logo changed to "Sci Fi," dropping the hyphen and "CHANNEL." The third "ringed planet" logo was used from 2002 to 2009. It came out with the TV miniseries Taken.
On March 16, 2009, NBCUniversal announced that "Sci Fi" would change its name to "Syfy." The reason for this was that "sci fi" is a general term for the genre. But "Syfy" is a unique spelling that can be protected by a trademark. This makes it easier to use the name for other products or services.
Many people did not like the name change at first. They would mispronounce "Syfy" to make fun of it. The new name officially started on July 7, 2009. Since then, Syfy has added more reality shows and moved a bit away from only showing science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Many of the international Sci Fi Channels also changed their names to "Syfy" or "Syfy Universal."
On May 11, 2017, Syfy changed its look again to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The new look aimed to bring the channel back to focusing on fans of fantasy and sci-fi. The channel also planned to focus more on its news section, Syfy Wire.
What Syfy Shows
Syfy creates its own movies, miniseries, and TV series. Under NBCUniversal, the channel has started showing more general programs, not just sci-fi. These have included crime dramas and professional wrestling shows like SmackDown.
Syfy has also shown sports events when its sister channels were busy. For example, in February 2022, WWE Raw and NXT aired on Syfy for two weeks. This happened because USA Network was broadcasting the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Animated Shows
In its early years, Syfy showed Japanese anime movies and series. On June 11, 2007, the channel started a weekly two-hour block called "Ani-Monday." It showed English versions of different anime series.
In July 2009, Syfy also added a two-hour block of horror anime to its sister channel, Chiller. Syfy stopped showing anime programs on June 9, 2011.
On April 20, 2019, Syfy launched a new late-night adult animation block called TZGZ. This block aired until March 13, 2021.
In October 2020, Syfy aired Monster House as part of its 31 Days of Halloween event.
Syfy Original Movies
Sci Fi Pictures makes original movies that are often called B-movies. These movies usually have a budget of $1 million to $2 million each. This idea started in 2001.
Syfy Online
Websites and Divisions
SciFi.com and Syfy.com
Syfy's website first launched in 1995 as SciFi.com. From 2000 to 2005, SciFi.com published original science fiction short stories in a section called "Sci Fiction." These stories won several awards.
On April 22, 2006, the site launched Sci Fi Pedia. This was a wiki about topics like anime, comics, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and paranormal subjects. Sci Fi Pedia was later shut down in 2009.
When the channel changed its name in 2009, the website address also changed to Syfy.com. Since 2010, Syfy.com has also shown webisode series like Riese: Kingdom Falling.
SyfyGames
SyfyGames.com is a website where you can play online games. It offers free-to-play MMO and casual games. Most of these games are sci-fi and fantasy themed.
In 2010, Syfy Games worked with a company called THQ to help make the game De Blob 2. They also helped make Red Faction: Armageddon.
Syfy Wire
Syfy Wire is a website run by Syfy that shares news about science fiction, horror, and fantasy. It used to be called Sci-Fi Wire and Blastr. In December 2016, it became Syfy Wire to be more connected to the TV channel.
As of March 2018, Syfy Wire releases five regular podcasts. These include shows that review TV series like The Expanse. They also have The Fandom Files, which features interviews with famous people about their favorite pop culture things.
Magazines
Science Fiction Weekly
Science Fiction Weekly was an online magazine that started on August 15, 1995. It covered different parts of science fiction, including news, reviews, and interviews. It later joined with Sci-Fi Wire in January 2009.
See also
In Spanish: Syfy para niños
