Doctor Who Christmas Special Crowns BBC AMERICA's Record Year

DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL CROWNS BBC AMERICA’S RECORD YEAR

New York – January 2, 2014 – Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor delivered record-high ratings for BBC AMERICA, bringing the channel’s record-breaking year to a triumphant close. The Christmas Day special (9:00PM-10:25PM) was the channel’s best ever Live+SD telecast, delivering 2.472 million total viewers and 1,261,000/1.52 A25-54, up 72% from last year’s Christmas special in total viewers and up 56% among A25-54. The special totaled 3.02 million Live+SD total viewers - combining the 9:00PM premiere with 12:05AM and 3:00AM replays. Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor was Matt Smith’s finale as the Doctor and featured the regeneration into the next Doctor played by Peter Capaldi. 

BBC AMERICA, SVP Programming, Richard De Croce, said: “Steven Moffat’s first season as showrunner with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor was the first new Doctor Who season to premiere in the US on BBC AMERICA. It feels like yesterday we were launching the first episode at a screening in New York’s East Village. But almost four years on, thanks to the incredible stories, performances and the most passionate fans in the world, both Doctor Who and BBC AMERICA have never been bigger. Matt will forever be a part of the BBC AMERICA family and we look forward to teaming up with him again.”

As 2013 has come to a close, BBC AMERICA had its best quarter ever in 4Q13 in Live+SD and is on pace to celebrate its highest ratings year ever. As well as Doctor Who, BBC AMERICA’s dramas Orphan Black, Broadchurch and In The Flesh have been ranked in many year-end best TV lists. Atlantis delivered record ratings for BBC AMERICA’s Supernatural Saturday and has already been picked up for a second season. In addition, Doctor Who received an Institutional Peabody Award and BBC AMERICA earned three Golden Globe^® nominations for Luther, Orphan Black, and Burton and Taylor. The channel tied with AMC for the most nominations for a basic cable network. Burton and Taylor’s Helena Bonham Carter also received a SAG Award nomination and Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany earned a Critics’ Choice Award, a Television Critics Association Award and a Young Hollywood Award.

In 2013 on social media, BBC AMERICA was the first network to offer in-Tweet branded videos synced to an entertainment TV series. Top Gear in-Tweet videos took fans closer to the action than ever before and offered new perspectives on the world's biggest car show. The channel followed it up with a Twitter Amplify campaign around the Doctor Who 50^th Anniversary Special and will roll out new campaigns in 2014. On Twitter, several BBC AMERICA series ranked organically as trending topics and were top TV series during their runs. On Tumblr, BBC AMERICA set a record with the highest level of activity of any televised event ever with its Doctor Who 50^th anniversary special, surpassing the Super Bowl and MTV’s Video Music Awards. The channel’s Doctor Who Tumblr is one of the biggest brands on the platform. 

BBC AMERICA’s upcoming 2014 premieres include the new drama mini-series about the creator of James Bond, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, on January 29, the second season of Ripper Street on February 22, the return of Orphan Black on April 19 plus new drama series The Musketeers, new original series Intruders and new seasons of Wild Things of Dominic Monaghan, In The Flesh, Top Gear, Atlantis and The Graham Norton Show.