Bell Media and BBC Worldwide North America Sign Exclusive Multi-Platform Deal for Doctor Who
Space extends its commitment as the exclusive Canadian broadcast home of Doctor Who, the highest-rated series in channel history
CraveTV™ acquires exclusive streaming rights in Canada, beginning Summer 2016
“Doctor Who is science-fiction that takes humanity’s finest points — our intelligence, curiosity and kindness — in every conceivable direction.” – Time
Toronto, Canada – Bell Media and BBC Worldwide North America announced today a new licensing agreement for Doctor Who, one of Canada’s most-watched TV series on entertainment specialty, that continues to position Space as the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of the iconic BBC series.
As a result of the new multi-platform agreement, CraveTV™ becomes the exclusive Canadian streaming service of Doctor Who beginning with Season 9 this summer. Seasons 1-8 will be available exclusively on the service by the end of 2016. Season 10 and additional upcoming Doctor Who episodes will also be streamed exclusively on CraveTV following their full-season broadcasts on Space.
“A ratings juggernaut, Doctor Who continues to be Space’s signature series,” said Tracey Pearce, Senior Vice-President, Specialty and Pay, Bell Media. “Along with our great partners at BBC Worldwide North America, we’re excited to continue to be the exclusive Canadian home of Doctor Who, and look forward to continuing to be a companion to The Doctor.”
“Bell Media and Space have done a phenomenal job with one of the BBC’s crown jewels, Doctor Who,” said Matt Forde, EVP Content Production, Sales and Distribution, BBC Worldwide North America. “They have nurtured it, and built it, and are now going to make it accessible to everyone on multiple platforms – exclusively. This longstanding partnership exemplifies dedication in giving the fans what they want, when they want it, and hopefully attracting loads more along the way.”
“One of the most iconic genre series in history, Doctor Who is a marquee offering for subscribers of CraveTV,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV. “An anchor of our Sci-Fi & Fantasy collection since the very beginning, we’re proud to establish CraveTV as the exclusive Canada streaming destination for this hugely successful series.”
Doctor Who on Space is Canadian entertainment specialty’s most-watched program in the key A25-54, A18-49, and A18-34 demos. Season 9 had an audience of 697,000 viewers in its Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET timeslot, becoming the most-watched season in series history on Space among the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos. Most recently, the 2015 Christmas special, THE HUSBANDS OF RIVER SONG, was the most-watched Doctor Who Christmas special in Space history with 856,000 viewers on December 25 at 9 p.m. ET, making it the most-watched program on Christmas Day on Canadian television among the key A25-54 and A18-49 demos.
Doctor Who returns later this year on Space with an all-new 2016 Christmas special, followed by the premiere of Season 10 in Spring 2017. Season 10 also marks the final season for critically acclaimed and famed writer Steven Moffat, who has served as head writer and executive producer since Season 5. Chris Chibnall, the creator of BROADCHURCH and previously a writer for Doctor Who, takes control of the TARDIS as the series showrunner in 2018.
With the addition of Doctor Who exclusively to the streaming service, CraveTV builds upon its strategy as Canada’s destination for premium television content. As one of the most iconic and longest-running series on television, Doctor Who joins a collection of cornerstone titles that includes HBO heavyweights THE WIRE, THE SOPRANOS, and SEX AND THE CITY; SHOWTIME hits including THE AFFAIR and PENNY DREADFUL; and franchise series such as SEINFELD, SOUTH PARK, and THE FLASH.
Source: Numeris
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About BBC Worldwide North America
BBC Worldwide North America is the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) operating in the U.S. and Canada. The company exists to maximize the value of the BBC’s assets for the benefit of the UK license payer and invests in public service programing in return for rights. The company operates four businesses in the territory – linear and digital content sales and co-productions, consumer products, BBC.com, and two production divisions – BBC Worldwide Productions, responsible for the smash hit Dancing with the Stars and the U.S. version of Top Gear; and Adjacent Productions, producers of Da Vinci’s Demons, Life Below Zero, and Ladies of London, among others. The company also owns a 50.1% share in cable channel BBC AMERICA through a joint venture with AMC Networks.
About CraveTV
Created for TV lovers and devoted to television, CraveTV is Canada’s premium TV streaming service, providing the most robust lineup of superior television content in the country. From TV’s most-acclaimed dramas and beloved comedies to documentaries, music, and factual programming, CraveTV features thousands of hours of premium non-kids TV programming, representing hundreds of unique titles including the entire off-air library of HBO’s iconic programming catalogue and hundreds of hours of acclaimed SHOWTIME series and specials. CraveTV is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet, as well as to customers of Eastlink, TELUS Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV, Access Communications, Northwestel, SaskTel, Cable Cable, Hay Communications, Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV, Tuckersmith Communications, Wightman Telecom subscribers, NRTC Communications, WTC Communications, Tbaytel, Execulink Telecom, and VMedia. Available through traditional set-top boxes, mobile apps on iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows 8.1, the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, and select Samsung Smart TVs, and CraveTV will soon be available via select game consoles. CraveTV is from Bell Media, Canada’s premier multi-media company with more than a decade of leadership delivering Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming across the Pay, Specialty, Digital, and Network TV landscapes. For more on CraveTV, visit www.CraveTV.ca.
About Space
Space is home to phenomenal programming including imaginative dramas, epic movies, engaging reality series, and the daily entertainment talk show INNERSPACE, the source for all-things genre, and Space original series after show, AFTER THE BLACK. Named “Channel of the Year” in 2013 by Playback Magazine, Space is also home to original series ORPHAN BLACK, BITTEN and sci-fi drama, KILLJOYS. Space content is always available at Space.ca, and on Facebook, @SpaceChannel, and other social media platforms. Space is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company.
About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada’s premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada’s #1 television network; 34 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada’s most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran. Bell Media is also Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, with 106 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out of Home, one of Canada’s most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 13,500 advertising faces in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites; delivers TV Everywhere with premium subscription on-demand streaming service CraveTV, as well as its innovative GO video streaming services including CTV GO, Discovery GO, TMN GO, and TSN GO; operates multi-channel network Much Digital Studios; holds an equity stake in digital startup Hubub; is partners in Cirque du Soleil Media, a joint venture with Cirque du Soleil; and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.