Christmas Official Ratings

Monday, 4 January 2016 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song, had an official rating of 7.69 million viewers.

The final rating includes those who watched the programme within one week of transmission. It is an increase of nearly 2 million on the initially reported figure.

Christmas Day saw some impressive timeshift figures. The top programme of the week was the final episode of ITV's Downton Abbey, which increased its audience by four million to finish with an official audience of 10.92 million.

A substantial timeshift was also achieved by the BBC's highest rated programme, Mrs Brown's Boys, which finished with 9.49 million watching. Other BBC programmes doing well included Call the Midwife with 9.3 million, Stick Man with 9.28 million, and Strictly Come Dancing with 8.54 million. The Boxing Day showing of the Agatha Christie mystery And Then There Were None also scored highly with 8.61 million viewers.

The Queen's Christmas Broadcast to the Commonwealth had 6.35 million watching on BBC One but, once ITV's figures were added, it just edged above Doctor Who with 7.76 million viewers.

Doctor Who was 8th for the week and 7th for Christmas Day. It achieved higher ratings than the ubiquitous soaps Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale.

Since the series returned in 2005 there have been eleven Christmas day episodes, the most successful being the 2007 episode starring Kylie Minogue, Voyage of the Damned.

In the United States The Husbands of River Song achieved a 1.242m Live+ SD Rating on BBC America.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - UK - USA

Doctor's Notes - BBC America

Sunday, 3 January 2016 - Reported by Marcus

BBC America is to rebroadcast Doctor Who Series 9, complete with commentary from Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook.

Starting Saturday January 30th each episode will be shown annotated with inside facts, fan art and comments.

Doctor's Notes

FILTER: - Series 9/35 - USA

The Underwater Menace: North American Release Update

Friday, 4 December 2015 - Reported by Dan Collins

In a previous article Doctor Who News reported that The Underwater Menace would be getting a January 19, 2016 release date in North America. At the time BBC Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video, the North American distrubutor for Doctor Who, hadn't confirmed a release date. Tvshowsondvd.com is now reporting that Amazon.com has updated The Underwater Menace page to show a March 1, 2016 release. No official confirmation has been received from the BBC or Warner Home Video so all release dates will be considered tentative.

FILTER: - Canada - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD - Patrick Troughton - Second Doctor - USA

Underwater Menace gets North American Release

Saturday, 21 November 2015 - Reported by Dan Collins

North American Doctor Who fans may be able to purchase The Underwater Menace in the new year.

Tvshowsondvd.com has reported that it will be on sale January 19, 2016. The BBC has not yet confirmed the date. No cover art or special features for the R1 version have been announced yet.

The R2 version of The Underwater Menace was released October 26 2015. It featured previously missing episode two whose recovery was announced in December 2011, the extant episode three as well as reconstructions of episode one and four.

FILTER: - Canada - Blu-ray/DVD - Second Doctor - USA

Christmas Special to be shown in US Cinemas

Wednesday, 11 November 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC Worldwide have announced that the - as yet unnamed - Doctor Who Christmas Special is to be shown in cinemas across the United States in late December.

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH THE DOCTOR ON THE BIG SCREEN
2015 DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL IN THEATERS
DECEMBER 28 & 29 NATIONWIDE FOR THE FIRST TIME

BBC Worldwide North America and Fathom Events announce the return of the longest running sci-fi television series, Doctor Who, to the big screen with a special theatrical event of the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas Special starring Peter Capaldi and featuring the return of Alex Kingston as River Song. The event will be in theaters on December 28 & 29, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. local time and feature an exclusive interview with Alex Kingston, as well as a 15-minute behind-the-scenes “making of” featurette starring Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat and more.

Tickets for the 2015 Doctor Who Christmas Special can be purchased online beginning Friday, November 13 by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or participating theater box offices. The event is expected to show in nearly 300 movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

It’s Christmas Day in the future and the TARDIS is parked on a snowy village street, covered in icicles, awaiting its next adventure. Time traveler River Song meets her husband’s new incarnation, in the form of Peter Capaldi, for the first time this Christmas. River Song made her first Doctor Who appearances in 2008 in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead and has appeared in 15 episodes to date.

Soumya Sriraman, EVP Film, Home Entertainment and Licensing for BBC Worldwide North America, said:

The return of River Song will be an incredible treat for Whovians heading to the theaters this December to celebrate the holiday season with their Doctor Who community.

Fathom Events CEO John Rubey said:

The Doctor Who fans always come out to movie theaters in full force and we expect nothing less for the first-ever big screen showing of the Christmas special. Experiencing this anniversary event as part of a community is the best kind of viewing party!

The Doctor Who Christmas Special premieres on Friday, December 25, 2015 on BBC AMERICA.

FILTER: - Cinema - Special Events - Specials - USA

US Release for Dark Water / Death in Heaven in 3D

Saturday, 26 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide America have released a Blu-ray + DVD Combo release of the 3D version of last year's season finale of Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven

The release comes hard the heels of the recent cinema event, Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven 3D, which saw the two-part season eight climax shown in movie theaters across the United States.

Special features on the Blu-ray 3D + DVD combo pack include The Doctor’s Meditation – the special prequel scene to the first episode of season nine – and a 45-minute extended interview with Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, hosted by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame.

Order on Amazon

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - USA

Season Premiere Breaks Records in the United States

Monday, 21 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor in The Magician's Apprentice (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)

Doctor Who The Magician's Apprentice was Doctor Who's biggest ever première in the states for the key demographic of Adults aged 18-49.

Overall the episode had 2 million watching, with 1.1 million being between 18-49, nearly doubling the S8 average, making BBC America the third most watched channel in that demographic for the timeslot.

The channel beat the big 4 broadcast networks and ranked only behind college football on ESPN and the finale of Sábado Gigante on Univision. Out of 100 returning dramas, Doctor Who is one of just 14 dramas to show any growth from its prior season premiere.

Sarah Barnett, President of BBC AMERICA said

Doctor Who is unlike anything else on television, a storied franchise that is as fresh and contemporary as ever, with brilliant writing and superb performances. We couldn’t be more thrilled that new and returning Doctor Who fans tuned into the live première in record numbers and we look forward to bringing more of the Doctor to this passionate audience.

All tracked demographics showed increases from the season 8 average with the most significant increases seen among the younger viewers.

The episode was the #1 most social drama of the night based on ListenFirst's Digital Audience Ratings for Television. It was the #1 TV brand on Tumblr, the #1 drama on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and the #2 drama on Instagram, following The Walking Dead. It was the #1 most social drama of the week.

TV by the Numbers

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 9/35 - USA

New York Symphonic Spectacular shows cancelled

Monday, 24 August 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward

The two Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular shows set for New York have been cancelled. The shows were scheduled for 7 October 2015 at Barclays Center in New York and were to be hosted by Michelle Gomez.

An email was sent to ticket holders with the following message:

Vision Nine regrets to announce that the two Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular shows scheduled for October 7 at Barclays Center have been cancelled.

All Ticketmaster online and phone orders will automatically be refunded. Remaining refunds will be available at point of purchase.

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to see you at a future event at Barclays Center.

A message on the Barclays Center website states: "there are no plans to reschedule them at this time."

(with thanks to Geekboypress)

FILTER: - Music - Special Events - USA

BBC America confirm time for The Magician's Apprentice

Friday, 14 August 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

BBC America have now confirmed that they will broadcast the premiere of the next series of Doctor Who, The Magician's Apprentice at 9:00pm Eastern time (8:00pm Central) on Saturday 19th September.

Doctor Who returns on 19th September at 9/8c (Credit: BBC America)

BBC America is the first to announce a time for the episode, which sits in its now traditional evening prime-time slot on the channel; the BBC One premiere itself is unlikely to be confirmed until a couple of weeks before transmission, but is expected to be broadcast either before or after the channel's other big Saturday evening show, Strictly Come Dancing.

FILTER: - BBC America - Series 9/35 - USA

3D Cinema Event for the US

Wednesday, 29 July 2015 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who fans in the United States will get a chance to relive the climax of series 8 with a special 3D screening, in selected movie theatres, of last year's two part finale, Dark Water / Death in Heaven.

The event, organised by BBC Worldwide North America and Fathom Events will see the return of Doctor Who to the big screen for just two nights in a special theatrical event. In the two-part finale, the Doctor comes face-to-face with the mysterious Missy, and an impossible choice looms. With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies, and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role.

Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven, will be presented in RealD™ 3D and Dolby Atmos sound (where available) on September 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. (local time), just before the launch of Series Nine on BBC America the following Saturday.

The event will feature The Doctor’s Meditation — a special prequel scene to the first episode of Season 9 — and an exclusive interview with Doctor Who stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, hosted by Wil Wheaton (Big Bang Theory, Star Trek: Nemesis).

At present there are no plans for the event to be screened in UK Cinemas. BBC Worldwide told Sci-Fi Bulletin

Due to the number of events taking place for Doctor Who this year including the Symphonic Spectacular and the Doctor Who Festival, we decided against showing the episodes in UK cinema.

It is expected that the two episodes will be released on Blu-ray in 3D at the end of September.

Tickets for Doctor Who: Dark Water/Death in Heaven in 3D can be purchased online starting Friday, July 31 by visiting FathomEvents.com, or participating theatre box offices. The event will be shown throughout the U.S. in approximately 700 movie theatres through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network.

FILTER: - Series 8/34 - Special Events - USA

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