Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sci-fi Wire now Blastr

Syfy (pronounced sifee) has done it again.  They want to distance themselves from science fiction.  Their newsite was actually a great place to get scifi news and now they are rebranding it.  It will encompass more.  I am sure it will eventualy cover reality TV and have a recipe page.  It will probably start out covering wrestling news.
Press release after the jump.
POPULAR SCI FI WIRE EXPANDING AS BLASTR.COM


RECORD GROWTH CONTINUES WITH A NEW SOCIALLY CONNECTED SITE, A HOST OF NEW GUEST BLOGGERS AND REGULAR WRITERS, AND TREND-SETTING NEW FEATURES



New York, New York - July 14, 2010 – Following a record-setting year featuring traffic growth of more than 50%, Sci Fi Wire, the premiere online destination for entertainment news about science fiction, fantasy and horror, is poised to get even bigger. Sci Fi Wire will relaunch as Blastr.com on July 15, expanding its scope from a news site to a daily curated smorgasbord of news, features, images, popular science, videos and guest bloggers, it was announced by Craig Engler, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Syfy Digital.



"Blastr.com is the next step in the evolution of Sci Fi Wire, which has grown from a site solely about news to a daily curated experience about all things related to science fiction, fantasy, horror and the imagination," Engler said. "We've been testing new features and ideas, crowd-sourcing concepts with our readers and lining up some fantastic guest writers, all of which will culminate with the launch of Blastr.com on July 15."



The new Blastr line-up will include:



* A series of guest writers starting with fan favorite actor Jewel Staite from Firefly and Stargate: Atlantis, and another Atlantis alum, actor and director David Hewlett

* A regular guest blog by well-known astronomer and Discover Magazine writer Phil Plait, who will write about the intersection of popular science and science fiction

* A regular feature where Syfy executive Craig Engler tells viewers who Syfy works behind-the-scenes and answers their questions

* A series of in-depth looks at popular trends, such as a "remake tracker" that keeps tabs on 135+ sci-fi, fantasy and horror TV and film remakes that are in the works, and the definitive list of "101 sci-fi things you have to do before you die"

* New social networking tie-ins that let Blastr visitors read and share stories on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and on devices like Android phones and iPhones.



The launch of Blastr will continue the momentum of record-setting growth Sci Fi Wire has enjoyed in the first half of 2010. In May, Sci Fi Wire capped three months of increases by reaching one million unique visitors for the first time in history. Then in June, Sci Fi Wire shattered that record by growing another 40% to reach 1.4 million unique visitors, along with a 31% increase in page views.



Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. Syfy. Imagine greater.

6 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I wonder how this will affect the feed I receive through my iPad app?

TS Hendrik said...

SyFy played a marathon of Greatest American Hero on the 4th of July. I can forgive them for this and, yes, even for spelling it 'SyFy' so long as they do it again next 4th and so long as they never stop playing Twilight Zone marathons.

Budd said...

Alex-you are going to get tweets from the psychic housewife and recipes.

TS- they have nuggets of goodness, but it is surrounded by ghost shows and wrestling. I like wrestling, just not on Syfy.

SteveB said...

The sad part is that SyFy (which is stupid, but like you I can find a way to get past it) -- has gone for high volumes of cheap crappy programs over fewer, better ones (that I suppose would have to be repeated more often?) -- or old movies/series that would maybe still draw an audience, but not be "fresh".

Too bad.

DEZMOND said...

yep, they are losing us big time :(((

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