What is so awful about "scuttlebutt"? In the old days, when ships were wooden, real sailors were pressed, etc., etc., every ship had a water container available to the sailors -- a water butt -- bigger than a puncheon but smaller than a tun. So sailors would share gossip (probably about how misguided their management was) -- scuttle -- around the water butt, hence "scuttlebutt".

Where's the "awful"?

eta: Exactly what we today refer to as "water cooler chatter/gossip"

Having never been in the old days, the word scuttlebutt isn’t in my vocabulary, but I do know scuttle (scamper) and butt (buttocks). Scampering buttocks, the meaning I would surmise in the absence of your history lesson, is indeed an awful choice of name if the network is aspiring for general appeal.

In the US military “scuttlebutt” refers to gossip. So that’s my first reaction to this name.

You sound like the same person who could never work on a ship as there is a "poop deck", and you could of course never refer to it as such, poop is a bad word!

Also, never try archery as some people might try to use the word "prickshaft" towards you. The horror.