Series 8 Is A “Ratings Flop” (Apparently)
Yes, the Mirror are back with another unsubstantiated rumour! And this time they’re claiming “Doctor Who to move to new slot after ratings flop”.
They state:
Doctor Who’s time travel to a later slot has left the sci-fi show with its lowest audience since 2010.
The BBC decided to move Doctor Who an hour later to an 8.30pm start in September to make way for Strictly Come Dancing. Bosses said it was following in the pattern set by Merlin and Atlantis. But many parents argue that Doctor Who appeals to children who cannot stay up until 9.15pm – and those who are too young to watch the show alone on a tablet. The figures for the 12-part series, starring new doctor Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, seem to confirm their concerns.
Only an average 5.3 million people watched on the night – the lowest figure since the relaunch in 2005 – and overall there was an average of 7.37million viewers for each episode, 80,000 less than last year.
Mum Paula Reily said online that complicated plots and the new slot suggested the BBC no longer thought of the show as being for children. She said: “This series seems to be trying to move away from being accessible to young kids and the new start time just adds to that feeling. I know the producers want to move on because of the popularity with adults but you can’t take our money in merchandising and branding aimed at young kids all these years and change it.”
Another parent added: “The BBC is wreaking havoc. Not only have they produced something unsuitable for much of the target audience in terms of violence, but now they want to put it on when parents want their children in bed.”
The BBC argued that families now watch Doctor Who in different ways with many choosing to watch on iPlayer later.
But dad Paul Childs said that did not work, “if your kids have activities on a Sunday morning where all the other kids are talking about last night’s Doctor Who”.
A BBC spokeswoman said the figures showed a rise of 39% in viewers who recorded the show to watch it later – and an average of 1.6 million had requested to view episodes on BBC iPlayer.
So we already know we can discard “Ratings flop” headline straight away with BBC openly and proudly declaring Series 8 a massive triumph. Really that should tell you everything.
We also don’t even need to mention the fact that nowhere is there any evidence that the BBC are considering ‘moving’ the show to a new slot, least of which in this ‘report’.
