Without further introduction, Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel announce name and logo changes are in the works in an attempt to expand its scope and own its trademark and possibly stop being associated with… geeks.

For years, television viewers, journalists who write about TV and services that compile listings have wondered how to refer to the cable network, Sci Fi Channel, Sci-Fi Channel, SciFi Channel or SCI FI Channel.  

"The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular," said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.

A lot of time has been invested in trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is why it was called Sci Fi rather than Science Fiction. However, Sci Fi became too limiting.

As of July 7, the science fiction and fantasy network will morph into the phonetically identical but grammatically dubious "Syfy Channel" as an effort to give the 16-year-old network a distinct brand identity and the flexibility to wriggle outside its tight science fiction parameters.

"What we love about this is we hopefully get the best of both worlds," Mr. Howe said. "We’ll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we’ll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand."

The new name will be accompanied by the slogan "Imagine Greater," which replaces a logo featuring a stylized version of Saturn.