Fans looking for the 11th Doctor on SyFy will be disappointed.
The good Doctor is moving–at least for his first-run on American shores. BBC America has won the rights to show the upcoming fifth season of “Doctor Who” according to web site IGN.
Previous seasons were shown first-run on the SciFi Channel (now SyFy) and later broadcast again on BBC America. However, with the latest series of specials, BBC America was able to get the first-run rights to them. And that trend will continue with series five.
BBC America is looking to capitalize on the recent success of the spin-off series “Torchwood” on the network. the mini-series event “Children of Earth” garnered 3.3 million viewers and gave the channel its highest ratings ever.
And even more good news is that episodes of the fifth series of “Doctor Who” could air only a few weeks after their UK debut as part of the new deal.
This saddens me (since I don’t get BBC America) but also, I’m not the least bit surprised, given the direction that the channel formerly known as Sci-Fi has taken.
This is actually a very good thing as BBC America has also promised not to edit the episodes, but rather to show them complete unlike the channel formerly known as SciFi that likes to cut em up for commericals.
~P
And…..I just spoke with Dish network and they will be adding BBCA’s HD channel to the lineup..they’re just not sure yet exactly when that will happen. Luckily they still have regular BBCA.
Sweet Tinkerbell Jeebus, they can be taught! I imagine this will cut down on bootlegging / pirating by a good bit if we don’t have to wait six extra months, so it’s definitely a smart move by The Beeb.
It makes me sad for The Channel Formerly Known As SciFi, but a lot of what they’ve done this year has had that effect, so whatever. They’ve still got my loyalty for Eureka, Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, and the Stargate and Galactica franchises. At least now I won’t have to deal with the Ghost Hunters guys taking up a third of the screen with their ads during Doctor Who anymore. :-\