6 ms·

This seems ridiculous... BBC America is airing this seasons opener on the same day as BBC1 in the UK! (http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/doctor-who-to-r

This seems ridiculous... BBC America is airing this seasons opener on the same day as BBC1 in the UK! (http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/doctor-who-to-return-to-bbc-america-on-september-1 http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/doctor-who-to-retu...) So why do we have convoluted workarounds in Australia if another ex-colony gets it fine?

mooism2 14y ago
Time zones. BBC America can show it on the same day as BBC1, and it's a few hours later. If ABC was to show it on the same day as BBC1, it would be several hours earlier. This might merely be embarrassing for the BBC, or it might cause a political row in the UK. "Why are TV licence fee payers paying for the new series of Doctor Who to be shown in Australia before it's shown in the UK?" "Brits paid for Doctor Who to be made, so Brits should get to see it first" etc.
- prydonius 14y ago
  It doesn't explain why it's shown a week later though. Why don't they just show it the day after?
  - arnsholt 14y ago
    Demographics and such, probably. The people watching TV Saturday evening aren't the same as on Sunday evening, IIRC.
  - Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
    I'm guessing because it will go out on Saturday in the UK and they want it to be in the same slot elsewhere in the world. The reality is that the loss of a relatively small number of people who'll watch online ahead of it's screening on TV is a small price to pay for the better viewing figures they'll get on a Saturday evening over a Sunday. I think they're to be commended for doing this - it's what we keep saying, make it available legally and most people will use that in preference to torrents and other more questionable mechanisms.
    - betterth 14y ago
      I disagree. This isn't just a tv show, it's a culture. For the fans who are willing to pirate, a week is ETERNITY. A week means avoiding Facebook and social media, avoiding forums and fan sites and blogs who will all be happily discussing the new developments. And the worst part is, when you finally see it: you have no one to talk to! The world already discussed, spent a week fanboying out about the episode! They'll spend the week discussing yet-another new episode, while you hide trying to discuss a week-old episode without learning new spoilers. It keeps you a week behind the world on discussion and prevents you from being able to use any fan media during an active season without having big plot points spoiled.
      - Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
        I'm not sure I understand your point - they're making it legally available via their website as soon as it's available world wide, they're just not putting it on TV until 6 days later. There's no need to avoid anything or pirate or whatever. Even if that weren't the case, I don't know about the rest of the world but in the UK, at least since the Russell Davis reboot, Doctor Who is mass market. Yes the people you're talking about exist, but they're not the majority, they're not even that big a minority (though they're very vocal). A network is always going to go where the money is and that's with the largest number of people.
        betterth 14y ago
        They're making it available in Australia one week after the release date in the UK and America. This is because of time zones and a desire to ensure the show launches on a Saturday. Thus, Australians have to endure an entire week of UK/US discussion before they can see an episode. I imagine many fans will continue to pirate.
        mooism2 14y ago
        Sorry, I don't understand. Why will Australian fans continue to pirate now that the show will be available legitimately on ABC's website 50 minutes after UK transmission? Yes, watching it on a PC/tablet/phone is not the same as watching it on a TV, but pirated versions suffer from this as well.
  - wisty 14y ago
    They show it at primetime - 7:30 Saturday. You can watch it free on iView just a bit after the BBC gets it, though.
  - xymostech 14y ago
    I'm pretty sure that all non-UK stations normally air things a week after they are aired on BBC, it just happens that the first episode of this season is bumped forward a bit for BBC America. I'm not saying this isn't weird, just pointing out that this happens for everywhere, not just Australia.
    - mindcrime 14y ago
      IIRC, BBCA aired Doctor Who the same day as the BBC last season. That hasn't been the case most years past, though. As far as I can remember, the "one week behind" thing has been the norm, at least for Doctor Who.
      - sageikosa 14y ago
        Since 2005, months at first, then weeks by the time series 5 rolled out (though the End of Time was only one week behind). A Christmas Carol was same day as was all of series 6. Indeed, the need to go online for new Who has decreased. (Although I would buy the season sets when they became available to pay my dues to ensure more were made). Back during classic Who, a few PBS stations aired some late season 1980s stuff before the BBC due to special agreements.
- goatforce5 14y ago
  Years ago the ABC showed the BBC show Absolutely Fabulous, IIRC, the same day that it was shown in the UK, which allowed enough time for UK papers to get details on the shows and publish spoilers in their newspapers. The ABC ended up being asked to delay transmission by a week to prevent spoilers getting to the larger UK audience.
  - pbhjpbhj 14y ago
    Don't TV columnist get previews anyway or are all TV listings blurbs provided by the producers/distributors?
    - goatforce5 14y ago
      I guess they say things like "John reveals a shocking secret!" rather than "John's secret is he's an alien who owns the cheese shop!"
danso 14y ago
Because you were the colony of criminals ;)
- kenj0418 14y ago
  And we (US) were the colony of religious nuts. Look who has recovered first. :-(

mooism2 14y ago

Time zones. BBC America can show it on the same day as BBC1, and it's a few hours later. If ABC was to show it on the same day as BBC1, it would be several hours earlier. This might merely be embarrassing for the BBC, or it might cause a political row in the UK. "Why are TV licence fee payers paying for the new series of Doctor Who to be shown in Australia before it's shown in the UK?" "Brits paid for Doctor Who to be made, so Brits should get to see it first" etc.

prydonius 14y ago
It doesn't explain why it's shown a week later though. Why don't they just show it the day after?
- arnsholt 14y ago
  Demographics and such, probably. The people watching TV Saturday evening aren't the same as on Sunday evening, IIRC.
- Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
  I'm guessing because it will go out on Saturday in the UK and they want it to be in the same slot elsewhere in the world. The reality is that the loss of a relatively small number of people who'll watch online ahead of it's screening on TV is a small price to pay for the better viewing figures they'll get on a Saturday evening over a Sunday. I think they're to be commended for doing this - it's what we keep saying, make it available legally and most people will use that in preference to torrents and other more questionable mechanisms.
  - betterth 14y ago
    I disagree. This isn't just a tv show, it's a culture. For the fans who are willing to pirate, a week is ETERNITY. A week means avoiding Facebook and social media, avoiding forums and fan sites and blogs who will all be happily discussing the new developments. And the worst part is, when you finally see it: you have no one to talk to! The world already discussed, spent a week fanboying out about the episode! They'll spend the week discussing yet-another new episode, while you hide trying to discuss a week-old episode without learning new spoilers. It keeps you a week behind the world on discussion and prevents you from being able to use any fan media during an active season without having big plot points spoiled.
    - Tyrannosaurs 14y ago
      I'm not sure I understand your point - they're making it legally available via their website as soon as it's available world wide, they're just not putting it on TV until 6 days later. There's no need to avoid anything or pirate or whatever. Even if that weren't the case, I don't know about the rest of the world but in the UK, at least since the Russell Davis reboot, Doctor Who is mass market. Yes the people you're talking about exist, but they're not the majority, they're not even that big a minority (though they're very vocal). A network is always going to go where the money is and that's with the largest number of people.
      - betterth 14y ago
        They're making it available in Australia one week after the release date in the UK and America. This is because of time zones and a desire to ensure the show launches on a Saturday. Thus, Australians have to endure an entire week of UK/US discussion before they can see an episode. I imagine many fans will continue to pirate.
        mooism2 14y ago
        Sorry, I don't understand. Why will Australian fans continue to pirate now that the show will be available legitimately on ABC's website 50 minutes after UK transmission? Yes, watching it on a PC/tablet/phone is not the same as watching it on a TV, but pirated versions suffer from this as well.
- wisty 14y ago
  They show it at primetime - 7:30 Saturday. You can watch it free on iView just a bit after the BBC gets it, though.
- xymostech 14y ago
  I'm pretty sure that all non-UK stations normally air things a week after they are aired on BBC, it just happens that the first episode of this season is bumped forward a bit for BBC America. I'm not saying this isn't weird, just pointing out that this happens for everywhere, not just Australia.
  - mindcrime 14y ago
    IIRC, BBCA aired Doctor Who the same day as the BBC last season. That hasn't been the case most years past, though. As far as I can remember, the "one week behind" thing has been the norm, at least for Doctor Who.
    - sageikosa 14y ago
      Since 2005, months at first, then weeks by the time series 5 rolled out (though the End of Time was only one week behind). A Christmas Carol was same day as was all of series 6. Indeed, the need to go online for new Who has decreased. (Although I would buy the season sets when they became available to pay my dues to ensure more were made). Back during classic Who, a few PBS stations aired some late season 1980s stuff before the BBC due to special agreements.
goatforce5 14y ago
Years ago the ABC showed the BBC show Absolutely Fabulous, IIRC, the same day that it was shown in the UK, which allowed enough time for UK papers to get details on the shows and publish spoilers in their newspapers. The ABC ended up being asked to delay transmission by a week to prevent spoilers getting to the larger UK audience.
- pbhjpbhj 14y ago
  Don't TV columnist get previews anyway or are all TV listings blurbs provided by the producers/distributors?
  - goatforce5 14y ago
    I guess they say things like "John reveals a shocking secret!" rather than "John's secret is he's an alien who owns the cheese shop!"

danso 14y ago

Because you were the colony of criminals ;)

kenj0418 14y ago
And we (US) were the colony of religious nuts. Look who has recovered first. :-(