Sky Sci-Fi (formerly Sci Fi Channel and Syfy) is a British
pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
channel service specialising in
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
,
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
and
horror shows and movies. It is owned by
NBCUniversal International Networks
NBCUniversal International Networks, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks and Universal Networks International, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast.
History
When NBCUniversal was formed in 2004, it owned many entertainment television ch ...
, a division of
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primar ...
and as of 2018,
Sky Group
Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe' ...
.
History
![SYFY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Syfy.svg)
It was launched in 1995 as a localised variant of the US network Sci Fi Channel (now
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. La ...
), with a similar programming line-up. It was on air each day from 8am until 2am, but only on cable as a lack of transponder space on satellite meant that it was only able broadcast for a few hours each day on that platform. It wasn't until the launch of Sky Digital in 1998 that the channel's full broadcast hours were available on satellite.
On 13 April 2010, Sci Fi Channel was relaunched as Syfy, as part of an ongoing global rebranding. The relaunch was accompanied by the premieres of ''
V'' and ''
Human Target''. The channel was given a new on-air look and a tagline of "Imagine greater".
Sky applied for a Sky Sci-Fi trademark on 4 May 2022. On 14 June 2022 Sky confirmed that the channel rebrand would take place at 11am on 26 July, accompanied by a refreshed schedule of new and existing content.
Programming
Programming in the channel's early years followed the US channel's model, then consisting largely of archive shows such as ''
Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'', ''
The Incredible Hulk'', ''
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', and films from the Paramount and MCA vaults. The channel was also notable for being one of the first UK television channels to show
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
movies and television series on a regular basis. These programming choices were supplemented by a few 1980s animated series shown in the mornings such as ''
Robotech
''Robotech'' is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985.
The show was adapted from ...
'', ''
Bionic Six
is a 1987 animated television series. It was produced by Universal Television and animated by TMS Entertainment, Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment) and distributed, through first-run syndication, by MCA Inc., MCA TV, years before the la ...
'' and ''
G-Force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...
'', although they were dropped as the channel's lineup became more independent of the original US channel.
Currently, most archive and anime programming have been phased out of the channel, which now concentrates on contemporary show, movies, and other programming. One original UK production was the late-night show ''Headf**k'', which featured excerpts from unusual TV shows, short films (including ''
Chris Barfoot
Chris Barfoot (born Christopher John Barfoot, 7 September 1966) is a British actor, writer/ director and producer of film productions.
Biography
Barfoot and Clother received an ‘Honorable mention’ at the Dragon Con film festival for ''The R ...
'' 'Phoenix' and 'The Reckoning') and music videos from around the world. Later episodes were presented by
David Icke
David Vaughan Icke (; born 29 April 1952) is an English conspiracy theorist and a former footballer and sports broadcaster. He has written over 20 books, self-published since the mid-1990s, and spoken in more than 25 countries.
In 1990, Ick ...
.
Programmes on the channel throughout more recent times have included UK premieres of big name US shows like ''
Heroes'', ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...
'', ''
Eureka'', and more recently ''
Knight Rider'', ''
Legend of the Seeker'' and Joss Whedon's ''
Dollhouse''. Also shown as of February 2007 are digitally remastered episodes of ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' (not to be confused with the remastered series with new CGI); in October the channel secured an exclusive deal with
CBS to air ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episodes, remastered from original film elements to current HD standards with new HD CGI sequences, and as of November 2012 have been broadcasting them in (mostly) chronological order.
First-run programming
*''
Day Of The Dead
The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...
''
*''
SurrealEstate
''SurrealEstate'' is a Canadian paranormal drama television series that premiered on July 16, 2021, on CTV Sci-Fi Channel.Greg David"SurrealEstate haunts CTV Sci-Fi Channel, July 16" ''TV, eh?'', June 16, 2021.
Premise
Real estate agent Luke Roma ...
''
*''
From''
*''
Chucky''
*''
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
''
*''
Monstrous''
*''
Quantum Leap
''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...
'' (coming soon)
*''Reginald the Vampire'' (10th January)
Repeat programming
*''
Alphas
''Alphas'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. It follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas.
The series ...
''
*''
A Discovery of Witches''
*''
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
''
*''
Dark Matter
Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ...
''
*''
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
''
*''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
''
*''
Fortitude''
*''
Human Target''
*''
Intergalactic''
*''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
''
*''
Lovecraft Country
Lovecraft Country is a term coined for the New England setting used by H. P. Lovecraft in many of his weird fiction stories, which combines real and fictitious locations. This setting has since been elaborated on by other writers working in the ...
(6th January 2023)
*''
Merlin''
*''
Project Blue Book
Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, O ...
''
*''
Wynonna Earp
Wynonna Earp is a horror Western comic book miniseries created and owned by Beau Smith. The series was initially published by Image Comics, and from 2003 by IDW Publishing.
Plot summary
Wynonna is a present-day descendant of the famous ...
''
*''
The Leftovers''
*''
Manifest
Manifest may refer to:
Computing
* Manifest file, a metadata file that enumerates files in a program or package
* Manifest (CLI), a metadata text file for CLI assemblies
Events
* Manifest (convention), a defunct anime festival in Melbourne, Aus ...
''
*''
Westworld
''Westworld'' is an American science fiction-thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populate ...
'' (season 1 and 2)
*''
Watchmen
''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
''
*''
Killjoys
''Killjoys'' is a Canadian space adventure drama series that aired on Space (now CTV Sci-Fi) in Canada. Primarily a science fiction series, ''Killjoys'' follows a trio of hard-living bounty hunters—Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Johnny (Aaron As ...
''
*''
The Outpost
Outpost may refer to:
Places
* Outpost (military), a detachment of troops stationed at a distance from the main force or formation, usually at a station in a remote or sparsely populated location
* Border outpost, an outpost maintained by a so ...
''
*''
Pandora''
*''
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels''
*''
Siren
Siren or sirens may refer to:
Common meanings
* Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies
* Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology
Places
* Siren (town), Wisconsin
* Siren, Wisc ...
''
*''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''
*''
Star Trek: The Next Generation''
*''
Star Trek: Enterprise
''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...
''
*''
Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrigh ...
''
*''
Stan Lee's Lucky Man
''Stan Lee's Lucky Man'' is a British crime drama television series, produced by Carnival Films and POW! Entertainment for Sky 1, which follows the story of Murder Squad detective Harry Clayton (James Nesbitt), who is granted the power to cont ...
''
*''Spides''
*''
Stargate Atlantis
''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper ...
''
*''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...
''
*''
Trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
''
*''
The Librarians''
*''
Star Trek: Voyager''
*''
True Blood
''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development.
The serie ...
''
*''
V''
*''
Vagrant Queen
''Vagrant Queen'' is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on March 27, 2020. The series, co-produced by Blue Ice Pictures, is based on the Vault comic book series written by Magdalene Visaggio and illustrated by ...
''
*''Stephen King's It''
*''
Infinity Train
''Infinity Train'' is an American animated television series created by Owen Dennis, previously a writer and storyboard artist on ''Regular Show''. four seasons have aired, plus a series of short episodes.
The pilot for the series was releas ...
''
Viewership and reach
As of April 2008, the channel reached an average of three million UK and Ireland households a week, appealing equally to male and female demographics.
Initially, the channel shared its analogue satellite
transponder
In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''.
In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...
with no less than five other channels, limiting its output to early evenings and late nights with the rest of its continuous daytime programming (including cartoons) restricted to cable customers. With the launch of Sky Digital in the UK the channel eventually expanded to exclusive broadcasting on its own channel and now broadcasts round the clock most days each week.
Most watched programmes
The following is a list of the ten most watched shows on Syfy (previously Sci-Fi), based on Live +7 data supplied by
BARB
Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to:
People
* Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves
* The Barbs, a band
Places
* Barb, ...
up to 10 September 2017.
BARB
Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to:
People
* Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves
* The Barbs, a band
Places
* Barb, ...
, vi
/ref> The number of viewers does not include viewers from Ireland, repeats or airings on Syfy +1.
HD feed
A High-definition television, high-definition simulcast channel was launched on the Sky+ HD
Sky+ HD was the brand name of the HDTV service launched by Sky plc on 22 May 2006 in the United Kingdom and Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky to be viewed. For the first two years after launch, the service was branded Sky H ...
service as the 31st high-definition channel on Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
. A range of high definition movies, including Sci Fi Channel original production ''Ba'al: The Storm God'', aired on the channel along with ''Eli Stone
''Eli Stone'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series, named for its title character. The series was created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also served as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, wit ...
'', '' Tin Man'' and ''Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
''.
It was added to Virgin Media
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...
on 1 April 2010.
See also
*List of science fiction television programs
This is an inclusive list of television programs with science fiction as principal theme, or which contain at least one significant element of science fiction, even if some cross over into other genres.For television programs with fantasy, horror ...
*
References
External links
*
{{Media in the United Kingdom
Syfy
English-language television stations in the United Kingdom
British science fiction
Television channels and stations established in 1995
Sky television channels
Science fiction television channels
1995 establishments in the United Kingdom