Series Three Coming to Sci Fi

Monday, 23 April 2007 - Reported by R Alan Siler

In a press release issued today, SCI FI Channel and BBC Worldwide Americas announced a major acquisition deal for the US premiere of the third season of Doctor Who. The series will debut on SCI FI in July 2007, kicking off with the Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride, guest-starring award-winning comedy actress Catherine Tate.

Chris Regina, Vice President of Programming, SCI FI Channel, said "Doctor Who has become a favorite among SCI FI audiences. We are happy to bring the show back for its third season and look forward to following the Doctor's continuing adventures with his newest companion."

Candace Carlisle, COO, BBC Sales Company, commented, "SCI FI Channel has been a fantastic platform for the Doctor Who series in the US. We're excited for the Season Three launch and think American audiences will simply love the Doctor's hip new companion."

BBC Video will continue to work with SCI FI Channel on joint marketing promotions to support the Doctor Who brand in the US.

Burton Cromer, Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, BBC Worldwide Americas said: "Our promotional partnership with the SCI FI Channel, both on-air and online, was a significant factor in the fantastic success we've had with the new Doctor Who. It's also helped drive awareness and sales of our 40 plus line of classic Doctor Who titles."

The second season of the new Doctor Who earned impressive ratings during its airing on SCI FI, delivering an average of over one million viewers each week.

Read the entire press release here.

FILTER: - USA - Series 3/29 - Broadcasting

Dalek Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 22 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

The earlier start combined with the hot weather across the UK, meant that the overnight ratings for Daleks in Manhattan were6.3 million, a share of 34.9%.

Although lower than the previous three weeks, the programme was still the most watched programme on British television, narrowly beating Casualty, which came second with 6.2 million.

Doctor Who comfortably beat its main opposition on ITV1, Vernon Kay's Game show Marathon, which achieved 3.8 million viewers.

Overall, with one day to come, the programme is the 16th most watched of the week.

On BBC3, Doctor Who Confidential achieved 486,000 viewers and was the third most watched programme on multichannel television.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Friday Ratings

Saturday, 21 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Friday night's BBC Three repeat of episode three, Gridlock, was watched by 328,000 viewers according to unofficial overnight ratings, a share of1.8% of the total television audience.

It was the 9th most-watched programme of the day on multi channel television.

Totally Doctor Who on BBC One had a rating of 0.7 million viewers.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Week 5 Schedules

Saturday, 21 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

For the transmission of episode five, Evolution of the Daleks, Doctor Who again moves its start time, this time to 6.45pm. Once more the programme is sandwiched between The National Lottery: The People's Quiz and Any Dream Will Do with Graham Norton.

ITV1 counters with the latest in Vernon Kay's Gameshow Marathon, this week recreating The Golden Shot.

BBC Two keeps Snooker addicts happy with three hours of second round of the World Championship 2007 while Channel 4 viewers can seeChannel 4 News followed by Prince Charles: The Bachelor Years, a programme recreating the days when Prince Charles played the field and dated a number of beautiful women.

Channel 5 has the film Blind Date postponed by one week.

FILTER: - UK - Series 3/29 - Broadcasting

Smith And Jones Shooting Script Online

Friday, 20 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The full shooting script for Smith and Jones has been put online at theBBC Writers Room.

Series head Russell T Davies gave the go-ahead for the script to be made available, according to the official programme website.

The Writers Room is used by the BBC to find and champion new talent.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to download the script.

FILTER: - Production - Series 3/29

Bloodtide At The Globe

Thursday, 19 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

According to the official exhibitions website, Bloodtide - one of the witches from The Shakespeare Code - will be appearing for a limited period at Shakespeare's Globe in London, where some of the Series Three episode was filmed, as part of the tour and exhibition.

Information on the Globe's website would suggest, however, that it is actually the Carrionite's costume that is on display at the exhibition rather than the actress who played Bloodtide, Linda Clarke, taking an interactive part.

FILTER: - Special Events - Series 3/29

Shakespeare Code final ratings

Wednesday, 18 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

According to the latest figures released by BARB, The Shakespeare Code gained an official viewing figure of 7.23 million, placing it 14thin the British television viewing charts for the week. It was beaten in the charts by all of the week's episodes of Coronation Street andEastEnders, and all but one episode of Emmerdale.

The figure places the episode 21st out of the 30 episodes of new Doctor Who for which the final viewing figures are known, withGridlock's final viewing figure due this time next week. The 14th position in the chart maintains the programme's extremely strong run in the top twenty. Since the return of the series two years ago, only The Empty Child has failed to make the top twenty, finishing 21st in its week.

In the multichannel charts, Doctor Who was the most watched programme of the week with an official rating of 1.039 Million viewers; an impressive achievement for a programme shown on BBC One the night before. Saturday's Confidential was 8th with 656,000 viewers, while Sunday's repeat was 22nd with 560,000 viewers.

Top Twenty Programmes w/e 8th April 2007

1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) 13.07
2 CORONATION STREET (MON 1934) 11.76
3 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) 10.10
4 CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) 10.05
5 EASTENDERS (MON 2000) 9.22
6 EASTENDERS (TUE 1930) 9.06
7 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1929) 8.36
8 EASTENDERS (FRI 1959) 8.26
9 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) 8.14
10 EMMERDALE (TUE 1901) 8.08
11 EASTENDERS (THU 1930) 7.94
12 EMMERDALE (WED 1858) 7.29
13 EMMERDALE (FRI 1903) 7.27
14 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1859) 7.23
15 THE ROYAL (SUN 2001) 7.10
16 EMMERDALE (THU 1900) 6.75
17 MY FAMILY (FRI 2030) 6.65
18 LIFE ON MARS (TUE 2100) 6.39
19 CASUALTY (SAT 2112) 6.35
20 GEORGE GENTLY (SUN 2059) 6.33

Multi Channel Top Twenty

1 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2001) 1,039,000 - BBC3
2 EASTENDERS (Thu 2200) 958,000 - BBC3
3 MY BIG BREASTS AND ME (Thu 2100) 946,000 - BBC3
4 EASTENDERS (Tue 2159) 835,000 - BBC3
5 LOST (Sun 2201) 824,000 - Sky 1
6 60 SECONDS (Sun 1959) 766,000 - BBC3
7 FILM: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) (Tue 2249) 692,000 - ITV2
8 DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL (Sat 1946) 656,000 - BBC3
9 ENTERTAINMENT NEWS UPDATE (Tue 2248) 653,000 - ITV2
10 FILM: THE MUMMY RETURNS (Thu 2023) 653,000 - ITV2
11 60 SECONDS (Thu 2157) 647,000 - BBC3
12 BONES (Thu 2101) 647,000 - Sky 1
13 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (Wed 2302) 633,000 - E4 In
14 HOLLYOAKS (Tue 1859) 623,000 - E4 In
15 AMERICAN IDOL (Fri 2131) 620,000 - ITV2
16 FILM: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) (Tue 2205) 607,000 - ITV2
17 THE REAL HUSTLE (Thu 2229) 593,000 - BBC3
18 EASTENDERS (Mon 2200) 589,000 - BBC3
19 HOLLYOAKS (Wed 1859) 574,000 - E4 In
20 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (Mon 2100) 573,000 - Living TV

Source BARB

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Gridlock AI, Sunday Ratings

Monday, 16 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who got an audience of 780,000 viewers for the Sunday-night repeat of Gridlock. This made it the third highest programme on Multichannel TV for the day, and the highest-rated programme on BBC3. Doctor Who Confidential got 480,000viewers.

With overnight figures now available for the whole week, Gridlock is currently the eighth most watched programme. Final consolidated figures will be released by BARB in about nine days time.

Doctor Who was once again one of the most appreciated programmes of the week with an Appreciation Index or AI figure of 85, once more pushing the programme into the excellent category.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Radio Times Dalek Cover

Monday, 16 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who is featured on the cover of the new Radio Times listings magazine, out in shops from the 17th April. The cover features an exclusive photograph from the forthcoming two-part Dalek story, but be warned that the photo on the cover is a major spoiler. To see it, click on the Radio Times spoiler thumbnail below.

Also with the magazine are free Doctor Who stickers, which will also feature in the next two issues of the magazine. According to Radio Times

In issue 17, Radio Times is giving away the first of three packets of free Doctor Who stickers. Sticker packets will be free inside every copy of the magazine and will accompany exclusive editorial coverage of Doctor Who. Some of the stickers free in Radio Times are exclusive to the magazine, the others form part of Merlin's new sticker collection.

Free Doctor Who sticker album
As well as free stickers in the magazine, Radio Times readers can claim a free Doctor Who sticker album from WHSmith. The in-store promotion, a tie-up between Radio Times and Merlin will be featured in Discovery Zones in selected WHSmith High Street stores from Thursday 19 April for two weeks. Readers can also send off for the sticker album directly through the magazine if they cannot get to a WHSmith store.

FILTER: - Series 3/29 - Magazines - Radio Times

Gridlock - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 15 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who was once more top of the charts with unofficial overnight figures showing that episode three, Gridlock, was watched by 8.0 million viewers, a 39.5% share of the total audience.

The programme was the most watched of the day by nearly two million viewers, beating Any Dream Will Do, which gained 6.2 million.

The programme had almost double the viewers of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? on ITV1.

In terms of share it was fourth, just being beaten by the sporting events of the afternoon.

With one day to go, this makes the programme the seventh most watched of the week, beating three episodes of EastEnders, and gives Gridlock a high probability of bringing Doctor Who once more into the week's top ten.

Doctor Who was again top of the children's top ten, with 1.4 million under 16s watching, double the second placed Any Dream Will Do.

Doctor Who Confidential was top of the multichannel charts, with a rating of 0.56 million viewers, over 50% more than the second placedInspector Morse

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Previous 10 Stories

Series Three Coming to Sci Fi

Dalek Overnight Ratings

Friday Ratings

Week 5 Schedules

Smith And Jones Shooting Script Online

Bloodtide At The Globe

Shakespeare Code final ratings

Gridlock AI, Sunday Ratings

Radio Times Dalek Cover

Gridlock - Overnight Ratings

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