'DOCTOR WHO' Premiere Is BBC America's Highest Rated Telecast Ever

Doctor Who, in a new era for the iconic series, broke BBC AMERICA ratings records with its season premiere this past Saturday, April 17, delivering 1.2 million viewers in Live + Same Day - BBC AMERICA's highest rated telecast ever. Additionally, it was the best Live + Same Day A25-54 delivery ever and ranked BBC AMERICA #2 among all ad supported cable nets in its time period (9-10:10PM) among coverage rating. Doctor Who is also currently the #1 TV series in the iTunes store. This outstanding achievement follows a slew of critical acclaim leading up to the premiere and a launch week that saw new showrunner, Steven Moffat, new Doctor, Matt Smith, and his trusty companion, Karen Gillan, greeting thousands of fans over a series of events and screenings in New York and Los Angeles.

The reboot of this BAFTA-winning series, whose predecessor delivered record ratings for BBC AMERICA earlier this year, takes viewers on a stunning journey through time and space. The Doctor (Matt Smith) and his new travelling companion, the enigmatic Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), together explore sixteenth century Venice, France during the 1890s and the United Kingdom in the far future, now an entire nation floating in space. But, the Doctor's enemies are never far behind him including old nemeses the Daleks and Weeping Angels, plus new foes such as alien vampires, humanoid reptiles and a silent menace that follows the Doctor and Amy wherever they go. Doctor Who airs every Saturday, 9:00p.m. ET/PT.

Notes to Editors:

-The Doctor Who premiere on Saturday, April 17 was BBC AMERICA's best Live + Same Day P2+ rating (.68) and delivery ever (1,196,000).

-The Doctor Who premiere on Saturday, April 17 was BBC AMERICA's best Live + Same Day A25-54 rating (.89) and delivery ever (682,000).

-In Live + Same Day coverage rating, BBC AMERICA premiere beat SYFY's season premieres for Doctor Who seasons 2-4 in P2+ and P25-54.

-The .89 in P25-54 coverage rating for the Doctor Who premiere on Saturday, April 17 ranked #2 among all ad supported cable nets in its time period (9-10:10PM).

Source: Nielsen NH1, 4/17/10 Live and Live+ Same Day.