Hot on the heels of the Netflix deal reported last month, Amazon-owned LoveFilm have now signed deals with the BBC and ITV in order to be able to stream video-on-demand content to subscribers, dipping into both the archive and new programming including Doctor Who, Spooks, Marchlands, Cold Feet, Prime Suspect and Above Suspicion.

The company has also signed up BBC Worldwide, enabling access to their portfolio of shows, including Whitechapel, Life on Mars and Planet Earth. BBC Worldwide's UK/Ireland Sales and Distribution Head Lisa Rousseau said:

The deal will enable recent shows from both broadcasters to be accessed via the LoveFilm Instant online service, available on PC, Apple iPad, Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and internet-connected TV platforms.

The two companies will be in competition to encourage subscribers to their services; LoveFilm's announcement indicates an advantage over Netflix currently, who have yet to link up with ITV.

The Doctor, the Widow and The Wardrobe has debuted in Australia to solid ratings. TV Tonight reports that Doctor Who averaged 749,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It came second in its time-slot, was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's top-rating drama of the day and the thirteenth highest rating programme of the day overall.

Meanwhile ABC2 will repeat the entire run of the new series, Mondays-Fridays at 7.30pm, starting with Rose on Monday 2 January 2012.

BBC Worldwide have announced a deal to provide programming content to Internet streaming service Netflix in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company already streams BBC programmes including Doctor Who and Torchwood in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said:
Steve Macallister, President and Managing Director for Sales and Distribution at BBC Worldwide, said:
Shows like Doctor Who are already available online in the UK through Internet Service providers like BT Vision and Virgin Media (and of course recent programming domestically through the BBC's own iPlayer service); Netflix's service also opens out programming to a number of internet-enabled platforms including the Xbox360, Nintendo Wii, and Sony PS3, plus a variety of blu-ray players, televisions, and mobile devices.

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The BBC have also announced an enhanced content service with Virgin Media, bringing what they term as next generation BBC TV services to the cable provider's Tivo platform. Jane Weedon, Controller of Business Development, BBC Future Media said:

BBC Radio 4 Extra has begun broadcasting The Hornet's Nest, the BBC Audio Play which saw Tom Baker return to the role of the Doctor after nearly 30 years.

The series will be broadcast in 10 parts over the next two weeks and thanks to the BBC iPlayer it will be available globally for 7 days after each transmission. Each episode is first broadcast at 1800GMT and 0000GMT.

The series from BBC Audiobooks is written by Paul Magrs and also stars Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Rula Lenska as the Hornet Queen and Stephen Thorne.





Hornet's News will be followed by the BBC Audiobook version of Pyramids of Mars, read by Tom Baker.

Originally piloted for Western Europe, the BBC's iPlayer application has now been extended to iphone users in Canada. Jana Bennett, BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer said:
The Canadian subscription fee is $8.99 a monthly or $84.99 annually. The service has also been made available in Australia, costing $9.49/$89.99 respectively. New users can test the application through carefully selected free content before subscribing.

As a special introduction, those who download the app this month can access a "free piece of festive content" every day until Christmas Day without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription.


Unlike the UK iPlayer, the global version provides both online streaming and downloading for offline viewing of programmes, with archives of popular shows available such as Only Fools and Horses and Spooks and of course Doctor Who - which is also a subject in the app's range of specially curated collections of programmes:

(newslink: BBC Worldwide Press Release)

BBC America have confirmed that the 2011 Christmas Special, The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe will Premier on the channel Christmas Day at 9pm ET.

The episode has already been confirmed for transmission in the UK on Christmas Day at 7pm and for transmission in Australia on Boxing Day.

The sixth series of Doctor Who has arrived in Spain, with Syfy España broadcasting episodes on Monday evenings, dubbed into Spanish; the series kicked off last Monday with El astronauta imposible and continues tonight with El dia de la Luna at 9:30pm (CEST), repeated tomorrow at 5:00pm and Saturday at 11:00am.

More details can be found from SyFy's Doctor Who page, and channel information is also available via Facebook.

(Series Six Trailer, Syfy-España, via their Doctor Who website)
Series Description:
El Doctor Who es un extravagante aventurero capaz de viajar a través del tiempo y el espacio. En cada uno de sus viajes, Who y su compañera Amy vivirán fascinantes aventuras que les llevarán a enfrentarse a todo tipo de alienígenas y monstruos.	Doctor Who is a flamboyant adventurer able to travel through time and space. In each of his travels he and his partner Amy will go through exciting adventures that lead them to face all kinds of aliens and monsters.
Vuelve la serie más longeva de la television con todos sus protagonistas. En esta sexta temporada, tras la boda de Amy y Rory, recibirán 3 misteriosos mensajes que les urgen a congregarse en una localización en el desierto de Utah. Allí descubrirán un secreto que marcará sus destinos. Las nuevas aventuras del Dr. Who les llevarán a conocer al presidente Nixon, viajarán en un barco pirata, descubrirán que en el futuro la humanidad hace uso de la clonación y vivirán uno de los momentos clave del siglo XX en la Europa previa a la segunda guerra mundial. La sexta temporada conmemorará el 50° aniversario de la primera emisión de Doctor Who, una serie de culto que ha entretenido a generaciones con una mezcla de fantasía, ciencia, historia y aventura. En esta temporada, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) y Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13), serán dos de las estrellas invitadas. Además, el escritor Neil Gaiman, ha sido el encargado de escribir el cuarto capítulo de la temporada, que se emitirá en España el día 7 de noviembre y será uno de los momentos más esperados por los fans de la serie.	The longest running series returns to television with all its players. In this sixth season, after the wedding of Amy and Rory, they will receive 3 mysterious messages that urge them to congregate at a location in the Utah desert. There they will discover a secret that will make their destinies. The new adventures of Dr. Who will lead them to meet President Nixon, travel on a pirate ship, discover that in the future mankind makes use of cloning, and live through one of the key moments of the twentieth century in Europe prior to the second world war. The sixth season will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who, a cult series that has entertained generations with a mixture of fantasy, science, history and adventure. In this season, Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Mark Sheppard (Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13) will be among the guest stars. In addition, the writer Neil Gaiman has been commissioned to write the fourth chapter of the season to be broadcast in Spain on 7th November, and will be one of the most anticipated moments for fans of the series.

Next week sees the Doctor encounter La maldicion del punto negro.

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As well as the most recent series, Syfy España is also currently showing Series Three episodes daily.

Meanwhile Boing has just completed a run of the fifth series (with La Pandorica se abre/El Big Bang currently available to watch online), and commence a new run of episodes next Saturday.

In New Zealand, The Wedding of River Song and Torchwood: Miracle Day, End of the Road (both on Prime) rated 80,490 viewers and 58,320 viewers respectively.