So the BBC have finally announced the start date for Series 11 and, as rumoured way back in the Spring, the show is moving from its traditional Saturday night slot to a Sunday one - commencing October 7th. This is probably the only date not considered lately - with various bloggers and vloggers assuredly informing us that it was going to be Sunday 23rd, or Saturday 29th, or Saturday October 6th, or Saturday 13th October (as it is the debut of the 13th Doctor).
Regarding that last one, it would be daft of the BBC to launch a totally fresh start for the show with a reminder that this is actually the 13th incarnation of the character, so I never bought that date at all.
We still don't know what time slot of the evening it will fill, but the word "early" is noticeable in the press release. ITV don't field much competition in the early part of Sunday evening - often it is a movie which has been screened at least once before. You could almost call it their Harry Potter Slot.
For those of us watching it air in the UK, this announcement is no big deal - the show has moved away from a Saturday in the past, when it was recklessly pitched against the ratings giant Coronation Street during the Davison and McCoy eras.
There was concern regarding Sundays that a later evening slot would mean that younger children would not be able to view, as they have to get up for school the next day. This shouldn't be a problem if they go with something around the 6 - 7pm mark.
The Saturday evening slot was really damaging the series over the last three seasons - being moved backwards and forwards, being on far too late for youngsters, and being placed against that other ratings giant The X-Factor.
Personally, I don't have a problem with the move.
Where problems may lie are with US and Australasian viewers. BBC America have already stated that the show will air concurrently with the UK broadcast - so on the Sunday afternoon. Lots of fans may be out and about on a Sunday afternoon, so many might not watch live and so record it or use on-line catch-up. Doctor Who has given BBC America its biggest ratings on a Saturday, so they are likely to register a negative impact.
The problem of a Sunday broadcast hits the Antipodes the hardest. If you want to watch it at the same time as the UK in the Far East or Australasia, it means staying up very late on a Sunday night / early hours of Monday morning. When you have to go to school / work in a few hours time... Lots of people simply aren't going to be in a position to do this. The TV companies might decide to wait and broadcast on the Monday evening - but will die-hard fans really want to avoid the internet all day and wait that long? When Chibnall said he wanted everyone to see it at the same time - apropos the BBC's near hysterical clampdown on spoilers - he clearly wasn't thinking beyond the borders of the United Kingdom.
So, there's a female Doctor, but the evening the show airs on is the big concern?
ReplyDeleteIt's Doctor Who - fans have to fuss over everything... I think the air date has been obsessing people so much lately because it is the debut of a female Doctor, and we all want to know if it is going to work or not.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC is living in the past if it’s thinking about ratings battles with ITV. The days of people sitting together to watch programmes at the same time are last century. Mr Chibnall is not a Time Lord and can’t turn the clock back. There are not only many more alternatives to the BBC/ITV, but many more ways of watching programmes than sitting in front of them when they’re aired. Also the BBC is taxpayer funded and really shouldn’t be basing its output on ratings. It’s supposed to be free of that commercial outlook. Well, das kapital rules after all it seems. However ITV is commercial, and knows its stuff where ratings are concerned, and it broadcasts nothing of consequence at that time on a Sunday because it knows the audience isn’t there. I really don’t see the logic.
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