The rumours have been confirmed: Disney+ won’t be the global home of Doctor Who just two years after the long-running sci-fi show was revamped.
- Disney ends BBC partnership after just two years
- Viewing figures have struggled
The BBC confirmed today that Disney has exited the partnership that saw streaming service Disney+ become the global home of Doctor Who. It was meant to give the sci-fi series a boost in budget and global profile and become a potential template for future public-commercial partnerships at the BBC.
To mark the partnership with Disney+, Doctor Who reset its series counter to ‘season one’, its extra budget afforded better special effects and a new logo. As part of the deal, each episode was released overnight into Saturday on the BBC iPlayer, to coincide with its worldwide release on Disney+.
But Doctor Who has struggled to appeal to audiences not just in the UK, with viewing figures for the past two ‘Disney’ seasons subdued. Ncuti Gatwa, who was recruited to the main role left the sci-fi drama at the end of the last season after just two years.
The storyline left viewers wondering whether the BBC’s former hit show would have a future.
Not the end for Doctor Who
A Christmas Special will air in 2026 and spin-off show The War Between The Land and The Sea, starring Russell Tovey, is coming to BBC One and iPlayer this year. The last episode of Doctor Who shown earlier this year sawThe Doctor generating into a form resembling former partner Rose (Billie Piper).
Meanwhile, the BBC has declined to comment on whether it is seeking a new commercial partner to help fund the show going forward. It also was unable to confirm at this stage if a full series would be commissioned.
Worldwide broadcasters were sidelined by Disney deal
While the BBC retained the rights to the show for audiences in the UK and Ireland, the Disney+ partnership resulted in a number of broadcasters globally losing the rights to show Doctor Who. Notably in Australia, the Disney+ deal meant the show went behind a paywall as long-running broadcast partner ABC lost out. It remains to be seen if the Disney+ episodes will now become available to other broadcasters worldwide in due course.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: BBC