Sci Fi channel to rebrand in April

NBC Universal's Sci Fi channel is to relaunched as Syfy in the UK in April, as part of an ongoing global rebranding. The relaunch as Syfy will take place on 13 April and will be accompanied by the premiere of US alien invasion series V and action drama Human Target. The channel will be given a new on-air look and a tagline of Imagine Greater. The idea of the rebrand is to allow the channel to avoid being typecast as a sci-fi channel and move into new genres such as fantasy, supernatural, reality, mystery, action and adventure. In the US the channel has already rebranded as Syfy. "The rebrand allows us to build on the fantastic heritage of the channel and loyalty of our fans whilst further broadening the appeal of our existing range of great content," said Laurence Dawkin-Jones, the UK managing director Universal Networks International, NBC Universal's channels division. NBC Universal is repositioning its pay-TV channels around five core brands: Syfy Universal, Studio Universal, Diva Universal, 13th Street Universal and Universal Channel. Sci Fi is available on the Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk pay-TV platforms and over the past year has given UK TV premieres to shows such as Dollhouse, Knight Rider, Warehouse 13, Legend of The Seeker and Eli Stone. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".