‘Doctor Who’ season 9: Steven Moffat explains lower ratings
The ninth season of “Doctor Who” has been for the most part tremendous. The stories have been fantastic, the scripts creative, and we’d even argue that this past episode “Heaven Sent” is probably one of the best that the show has given us in years.
So why are the ratings down for the season as a whole? It’s a good question, but one that the Radio Times explain to showrunner Steven Moffat. Sometimes we find showrunners discussing ratings to be somewhat political, but we actually buy most of what he’s selling here:
“I don’t want to get on anyone’s case but that wasn’t our best-run launch. This year is not a new Doctor year, it’s not an anniversary, or a new companion year. We can just concentrate on making Doctor Who, which is quite nice in a way. But it’s dangerous when you don’t have that special extra bit to launch a show with. The way it always goes is our highest episode is the first one, but this is the first year we’ve gone up mid-season – after the rugby died down. Our ratings went up with episode five.”
One other reason that we think that the numbers are down for many shows now is simply a matter of recording devices. What’s the incentive to watch the show live when you don’t have to? Numbers are just measured differently than in years past. We’re still sure that with a new Companion there will be hype, and maybe that is a great way to boost numbers.
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Namnoot
December 3, 2015 @ 9:08 pm
Remember too that the BBC is not beholden to advertisers, so ratings are almost irrelevant. The series is the network’s #1 money-maker – that is official according to BBC Worldwide and has been the case for the last decade. With all the talk about budget cuts and losing the licence fee, it’s this fact alone that will keep Doctor Who alive. Plus the BBC understands that viewers watch the show differently now, which is why the numbers they pay attention to are the +7 numbers which often add a couple million to the total. If you take away reality and competition shows and the daily soap operas, Doctor Who is still usually in the top 5 of scripted dramas on British TV, never mind the BBC alone. Only a handful of shows are able to generate ratings of more than 10 million now. It’s not like the way it was 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. That’s why comparing Doctor Who ratings to 2005 is as useless as comparing them to 1977 when there were only a couple channels and no satellite networks to choose from. That’s not “fan excuse bingo” (to borrow a phrase from another site). This is hard fact and I’d be saying it if I hated the show and never watch it.
NC76
December 3, 2015 @ 1:08 pm
Sorry, but if River song becomes the next companion, I am done with Dr Who
Namnoot
December 3, 2015 @ 9:05 pm
She won’t. They’ve said the next companion will be a new character. River is just there to give a buffer between Clara and whoever comes next.