SF (formerly Sci Fi Channel) was an Australian

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, a ...

channel that aired science fiction, fantasy and related programs. It was available on

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity was subscription television but it has also been involved with internet access and mobile phones. It was founded in 1995 under the name Community Entertainment Tele ...

and

Optus Television Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. History Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between Optus and Continental Cablevision, with small shareholdings by me ...

subscription platforms. In 2012 the channel rebranded from Sci Fi to SF. The channel used a world-exclusive version of the "Syfy" branding, SF being a joint venture between

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 ...

(the owners of the Syfy brand),

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

and

CBS Studios International Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...

. On 31 December 2013, SF ceased broadcasting and closed, being replaced by an Australian version of

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 ...

in 2014.

Programming

SF aired re-runs such as: ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

'', ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...

'', and ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcas ...

''. It has also had the first Australian run of shows such as ''

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

'', ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

'', '' Continuum'', ''

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and '' Ghost Hunters International''.

History

Sci Fi went live at 6 am on 1 December 2006. SF originally used the same branding and packaging as the United States Sci Fi channel of the same name but had its own schedule and programming. It aired popular shows such as ''Doctor Who'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', '' Buffy'', ''

'', the original and reimagined ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...

'' series, ''

'', and the ''Star Trek'' and ''

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen ...

'' franchises. Sci Fi switched broadcasting from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio on 1 December 2008. Sci Fi +2 went to air on 15 November 2009. On 18 July 2012, it was announced that as of 23 July 2012 Sci Fi would be rebranded as SF, using a world exclusive branding On 16 August 2013, it was announced that SF's carriage agreement with Foxtel was set to expire in December 2013, and that negotiations had failed to create a new carriage deal. With Foxtel being the sole subscription TV provider in Australia, this meant that it was expected that SF, and its sister channel TV1, would close. Foxtel announced that a science-fiction dedicated channel would replace SF and would continue to offer the main content currently on offer. SF later announced they were exploring options in which they could continue operations, such as launching their service on IPTV,

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...

, or

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancesto ...

services. On 30 September 2013, it was announced that

Syfy (Australia) Syfy was an Australian pay television channel dedicated to science fiction and fantasy television shows and movies. The channel was launched on 1 January 2014, replacing SF. On 31 December 2019, it was replaced with Fox Sci-Fi. History In A ...

wholly owned and operated channel) would replace SF on Foxtel as of 1 January 2014. Ultimately, SF closed at midnight on 31 December 2013.

Press coverage

On 22 November 2006, the ''

Adelaide Advertiser Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

'' reported about the demand for a science-fiction–themed TV channel in Australia. The official launch party of the Sci Fi Channel was held on 16 November 2006 at the Australian Museum in Sydney. Guests included Jacqueline McKenzie (from ''

The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky On ...

''), Gigi Edgley and

Matthew Newton Matthew Joseph Newton (born January 22, 1977) is an Australian actor, writer, and director, and son of TV personalities Bert Newton, Bert and Patti Newton. His acting career was interrupted by treatment in a psychiatric unit for bipolar disor ...

(from ''

Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was ...

'').

Media

In addition to subscription television, SF Channel Australia also operated the on the now defunct SF Australia website, where viewers could access television guides as well as video extras, full episodes, and the SF News blog. In 2013 they began producing their own web only pop culture news series Go Pop.

References

{{Authority control Television channels and stations established in 2006 Science fiction television channels Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Television NBCUniversal networks Paramount Global subsidiaries Television channels and stations disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in Australia Defunct Australian television channels

Programming

History

Press coverage

Media

See also

References