The BBC has defended the ratings for the latest season of Doctor Who against claims that it’s underperformed.
The latest run – the first full season to star Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor – was the first produced in collaboration with Disney Branded Television.
Part of that deal means that new Doctor Who episodes now premiere in the UK at midnight on Saturday on BBC iPlayer – about 18 hours ahead of their primetime terrestrial broadcast – to line up with when they drop on streaming service Disney+ internationally.
A piece in The Times has asked whether the future of the show is in doubt beyond the currently-filming season, citing low live TV audiences and Russell T Davies’ previous comments about overnight ratings. However, the broadcaster has argued otherwise.
A BBC spokesperson told the publication: “Overnight ratings no longer provide an accurate picture of all those who watch drama in an on-demand world.
“This season of Doctor Who premiered on iPlayer nearly 24 hours before broadcast, and episode 1 has already been viewed by nearly 6 million viewers and continues to grow.
“Doctor Who remains one of the most-watched programmes on iPlayer and is the BBC’s top drama for under-35s this year, making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters.”
Although Davies acknowledged during a recent BAFTA event that the show was “not doing that well” in terms of traditional live TV ratings, “it is doing phenomenally well with the younger audience that we wanted.”
The Times piece also notes that Doctor Who’s new streaming-first model “appears to have accelerated changes in viewing habits” and reports that while some viewers are staying up to watch when episodes land at midnight, more appear to be catching up after the live terrestrial broadcast on streaming.
While figures for how well Doctor Who is performing on Disney+ internationally might be harder to come by, the publication quotes Davies as stating that he’s confident further seasons will be greenlit under the BBC and Disney partnership, and is preparing scripts for a renewal.
Meanwhile, spin-offs (including one focused on UNIT) are in “active development”.
Doctor Who airs on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ elsewhere. Classic episodes of Doctor Who are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.