Now we're dealing with semantics. But the difference is, rebranding means there's still a channel there, otherwise, there's nothing. A niche channel owned by a bigger conglomerate will more likely be rebranded, rather than just disappear.
The first and not the last ,of many niche channels that will be either going away or consolidated together in the future. The 90's expansion of hundreds of niche channels is now in reverse. I look for many of them to go away as skinny bundles, add on packs and full on ala cart starts becoming the norm , instead of the exception.