Doctor Who revealed as one of this year's top UK TV exports

A new report has named Doctor Who as one the UK's top TV exports. But is this a good enough indication of how well the series is doing overseas?
Doctor Who has been announced as one of the UK's top exports, in a new report from Pact.
Doctor Who has been announced as one of the UK's top exports, in a new report from Pact. / Credit: James Pardon/Bad Wolf/BBC Studios
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In a new report published by Pact, several of the biggest UK TV exports have been named. For BBC Studios, these include Planet Earth III, Series 3 of The Mallorca Files, and of course, Doctor Who.

Overall, UK exports have been doing extremely well in the US. In 2023, revenues from the US increased to $751m - a 13 percent difference from the previous year. This is potentially exciting news for Who, especially with the series now streaming on Disney+.

There has been a slight decrease in the worldwide figures, though. For 2023-2024, UK exports decreased by two percent compared to the previous year. And while this report gives a good indication of how UK TV is performing in general, does it provide enough of a picture of how well Doctor Who is doing?

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Doctor Who is one of the biggest sci-fi series in the world - but did it make enough of an impact for Disney+? / BBC

A top export (for BBC Studios, at least)

Doctor Who being one of the top 3 exports for BBC Studios isn't that surprising. However it's doing in the ratings, Doctor Who is still one of the most widely recognized UK and sci-fi shows in the world, and has long held a cult audience in the US. So being one of the biggest exports for BBC Studios is no real surprise.

There has also been a decent amount of promotion of the series being on Disney+. This may have helped Doctor Who to get decent figures on the streaming service.

Then again, as informative as the report is, there's no indication of how well Doctor Who is doing compared to UK exports overall. The report includes the top 3 exports for not just BBC Studios, but also Fremantle, ITV Studios, and All3 Media. And it lists each of those company's top exports separately.

Successful (but is it successful enough?)

The report is interesting to read for how successful UK TV is overseas in general. As a report for how Doctor Who specifically is doing, though? There are better indications.

The best example is this July article from Deadline. It reports that Doctor Who reached number 7 of the most in-demand series on Disney+. That sounds good, but is it good enough? Considering the amount of money that Disney has put into the new show already, not reaching number 1 or even the top 5 might not be good enough.

I'd like to see Doctor Who continue on Disney+. Season One might not have been perfect, but it still gave us some great episodes, especially "Boom". And Season Two of Disney Who is at least guaranteed and already filmed. But as for Season Three? We'll have to wait and see.

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