Doctor Who Fans Are MAD (Should They Be?) 

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I’m not watching Doctor Who at midnight; I’d never be able to stay awake. I can wait. Presumably, it doesn’t have to be a 17 hour wait; you can watch it at your leisure most of Saturday. Furthermore, I haven’t made myself medically reliant on the internet, so I can easily avoid spoilers. Not that I care about spoilers much either.

"I've never EVER EVER had Doctor Who on a Saturday before" - thank you Crispy Pro Max for putting into words the feeling that Australians have

“Doctor who fans are mad” fork found in kitchen!!!!

honestly i don't mind that much, since it's still being shown on BBC1 at a normal time the next day, so i'm not losing that evening doctor who premier with my family, we just have to avoid spoilers for the day, which is really not the end of the world.

I'm in the UK. I have two kids - 15yo, 12yo - and we've always watched the show together... once our schedules have aligned, which hasn't been 'live' for years.

For kids in the UK they can now watch Doctor Who on Saturday mornings on Iplayer, which is reminiscent of the cartoons that use to air on Saturday mornings!

It's just like when we used to get it on iView before it's "proper airing" 7:30pm that night.

Can't we have it on BBC One the day before (May 10th) and then it stream everywhere that midnight (May 11th)? that would surely leave everyone happy.

I'm American & I think much of our streaming content drops at 12AM PST/3AM EST. And if I can't watch at the time it drops, the way I avoid spoilers for my favorite shows (not that it actually matters)... I GO TO F***ING SLEEP AND WATCH IT IN THE MORNING!

I’m glad I can watch it at 9am Saturday. That’s when Sydney is getting it.

Me, who stays up all night " FINALLY IT PAYS OFF"

I was waiting for you to go "You get it in the middle of the night? Boohoo, I've had that for the last 15 years!" Honestly, my issue isn't the timings its the WhoTubers I watch, I don't mind if you do post a review before it airs on BBC one, just as long as the thumbnail and title aren't spoilers! I'm waiting for BBC 1 to watch it with my family! Also curious to see what you and Troy agree about post episode streams!

As someone who lives on the East Coast of the Americas, and who only streams content, I'm fairly neutral towards this (as I really do think TV is dead and I just stream whenever I choose and avoid reddit) but it does feel weird that the simul-drop isn't based around a convenient GMT time. And I doubt Disney+ will ever drop it all at once. They're not doing that for Star Wars, Marvel or Percy Jackson. Much as I wished they did.

Technically, it is still prioritising UK first by dropping midnight according to GMT as opposed to midnight PST like pretty much the rest of streaming television does. Also, almost no chance Disney pitched the 'drop the whole series at once' gimmick because they practically never do that (the only two exceptions I can think of were Tales of the Jedi and Echo, both shows that were

I'm still annoyed that we can't watch new Doctor Who for free on the ABC anymore. Used to be free, now I gotta pay for Disney+ if I want new Doccy Who. Sorry to hear that you used to watch it when it hit iview in the early morning, but I always watched it in the evening when it was broadcast. FOR FREE.

This is not a big deal... I mean Netflix drops their show at midnight in the US and I'm pretty sure Disney drops their shows at midnight in the US... works for us in Oz, cos it's usually 5pm here in Melbourne

7:03 "what 😂" 9am, wow Man i remember the days of reruns on the abc channel with matt smith at 8pm for free.

I'm going to preface this by saying I am a UK fan, I've been watching the show since the second episode of the second series of the revival, back in 06. With that in mind in regards to this issue, I couldn't. Care. Less. Watching it when it comes out has never been a priority for me, if it's on IPlayer at midnight, we'll still probably watch at dinner, stay away from social media till you can see it and everything will be fine. It honestly feels like people want to say "See, I said the Disney deal would ruin who" and so are latching on to anything they can complain about, as a Marvel fan, a DC fan, a Star Wars fan and a Transformers fan It's something I see a lot (obviously not always disney) I would say that I doubt they will go for the "drop the whole series at once" thing 'cause Disney+ is one of the few streaming services that _don't_ do that, instead dropping an episode a week like shows did in a pre streaming world.

Forget about the UK. Talk about how due to Northern Ireland, the republic is being royally screwed over. Can't watch it on Disney. Can't watch it on the BBC Iplayer. 😐

As an Australian I’m happy with this change though I can understand how it irks UK viewers. Though as I no longer can watch Dr Who free on ABC. Have to subscribe to Prime for later Nu Who series and have no access to Classic or early Nu Who series anymore . I await with trepidation to what the Disney influence will do next

As a uk viewer, my only problem is that it was kind of special knowing that all my family and friends or whatever where watching it at the same time, but now everyone could be watching it at different times. It feels like it takes something away, i know its not the end of the world but its just kind of disappointing

as someone who is part of another fandom that revolves around another boxy form of transport in the form of railways, this is the second time something like this has happened and it honestly feels like the US companies that get any foothold in on a british pop culture phenomenon just want to take over and claim it as theirs, eventually leading to americanisation, things being disconnected, barely any longstanding popular characters in favour of "this will make money if we show it once and never again" characters, and its just a bit sad theres also the big issue of, the US has never really had to keep spoilers back, where the UK and onwards have kind of gotten used to it, so as it airs around the globe usually by the end of sunday everyone can talk about it, but as you have noted theres a 17 hour gap between the proper way of watching it on TV and when it drops online, the fact its dropping on iplayer at all before properly airing, let alone the first 2 episodes is just criminal to say the least, now i have no issue with a US made show airing there first, yeah cool its their show after all, as do i not have an issue with neighbours airing in australia first, its your show and its made for you, so why does it have to be that a show made for UK audiences has to be moved to suit a country its not even made for? whether that be doctor who, thomas the tank engine, teletubbies, postman pat, fireman sam, eastenders, coronation street, emmerdale, the bill, holby city, bargain hunt, call the midwife or red dwarf, now i know a lot of these do air here first but the point is if all of them aired elsewhere first, then what would be the point? just make a US version like the office, we brits should get what is a part of us first, i mean hell i'd take an earlier or later timeslot airing if it meant things could be right, because if its 7pm in the US at midnight, surely a 5PM timeslot wouldn't be too much of a difference if it meant we got it at 10PM instead, like yes its not 7PM as it should be for us as that is doccy who time but i'm sure a lot of people would feel better having a later timeslot for a simulcast than having to watch something through iplayer at midnight just because if you wait till the true airing you are likely to be bombarded with spoilers which then will tank the live airings because everyone has already watched it so spoilers aren't given, plus if you want to watch it live you have to basically not be on social media at all and avoid people who have watched it at midnight and binged both episodes to avoid spoilers because they might let something slip and its just a fuckery of a situation, like i'm not angry at it i'm just disappointed in it because of all the turmoil it will cause, and really do we want to isolate ourselves from our friends and mutuals just to evade spoilers? because i sure as hell don't

I feel like UK content makers are the ones trying to get everyone else upset. But the comment section is like who cares? And I feel like spoilers only matter for specials. Not the every week tv show.

It feels weird that UK is getting the shorter end of the stick since live viewing should usually be first and then the streaming platforms. This was a good move for Doctor Who but a bad loss for BBC. As an Australian, getting Doctor Who on Saturdays is awesome and it nearly makes up for losing the Whovians aftershow

People are going on like its not on bbc one

As a fan from the Uk it doesn’t bother me, I’ll just watch at midnight when I can. I couldn’t care less about spoilers although I would see that would be a major problem for alot of people.

I think it should have been BBC One broadcast first and then Disney at midnight. Also what will happe. When there's a big plot reveals and everyone releases articles and videos on it before it's even broadcast? It could so easily ruin that for people.

Just to help you understand the UK license fee thing: Essentially every household that has a TV is "required" in quotes to have a license fee. The fee is essentially paying to allow you to watch channels on your TV, however the money only goes to two places: the BBC and the government. So "technically" if you didnt watch the BBC, you could stop paying for it, but then you get people knocking on your door asking a bunch of questions as to why you don't pay for it, and if youre caught watching TV (yes, even non BBC channels its that stupid) then you could get a large fine and even jail time if exploited to a serious degree.

As someone who works Saturday nights, I've had to watch Who on catch up for years, it's one of the reasons why I liked Chibnall moving the show to Sunday, so this decision doesn't bother me. The question is do I still wait till I get home to watch, before I leave in the morning or when it goes live, I suppose it depends on whether I can sleep/wait or if I'll be too impatient.

Interesting! As a UK resident here, I can't say it bothers me *at all*. I'll just stay off the Internet until I've seen the episodes: hardly a hardship!

Why can't it premiere online at the same time it airs on TV?

Also being an Australian and always hating that we a) get things spoilt from American/UK audiences on literally every TV show ever, and b) are always forgotten about about when it comes to releasing shows, I think it's about time we get something before others for once lol PS - annoying we cant get the new 'Doctor Who Confidential' shows on Disney+ or particular content when UK audiences get the main show and more, like, why not release all of that on Disney+ (or am I missing something)?

"I loved It's a Sin btw" is a line with too many layers

I may get it at 7pm on Fridays, I'm probably going to be more excited to pick up the Ncuti Gatwa collection of Doctor Who episodes in a few years. I just enjoy binging Doctor Who more and having it physically.

As a fan in the UK I don't like the idea that people are saying it's "only negatively impacting the US" - my issue isn't that the US get it at a reasonable time, I'm planning on moving to somewhere in NA so that wouldn't actually bother me in the long run, the issue to me is that they couldn't have picked a better timezone that is better for *everyone*. 7-8pm in the UK, early afternoon in the US, while still airing at a reasonable time for other people in Europe. It's still not ideal for AUS, as that would be 6am, but still

Why does nobody understand how it works in the UK? People in the UK don’t need to watch Doctor Who on Disney+, they will have it on BBC iPlayer, which is the BBCs streaming service. Every episode of Doctor Who, from the First Doctor onwards, is available. So, no VPNs needed. Secondly, the new episodes drop at midnight on BBC iPlayer and will be available 24/7, so no need to wait 17 hours until it airs on BBC1. Just pop it on Saturday morning while you’re eating your Weetabix and avoid social media. I hope this clears things up for you

the brits finally know my pain, i stayed up until about 4 in the morning to watch dw so staying up until 2am is nothing. i'm honestly sooo happy about the new schedule since it's at 7am now, which is muuuuuuuuch more doable than the previous 2:30am

I'm in the UK and I can't get particularly wound up. I won't watch at midnight and will just watch when it's on BBC1. Or if I'm busy I can watch it earlier in the day.

Doctor Who is for everyone who enjoys good old-fashioned science fiction. The BBC will have to consider the licencing of which everyone contributes if they sell the rights to their flagship series and consider the thing in full before dealing with Disney. But a lot is on how other BBC dramas could be affected due to Disney's investment in the British Broadcasting Company it seems there is more on that in the future. But don't forget the BBC has made it plane there's change in the air at the BBC, especially with the licence users changing to shares or something similar. The doctor has still a place in the corner of everyone's living room telly. And if Sky becomes a part of Disney? Badwolf at Disney has a lot to consider isn't there? Like Hammer Films merging with Disney or Doctor Who appearing ina Avengers film hang on that can happen? Anything the future has to offer is a change from the old. Disney isn't the only thing.

As an American fan I’m keeping my mouth shut, but I do think it’s dumb that the Uk is not being favored

Here in Sweden it'll be on from 1 AM, I can live with that. Then I can watch it as a morning show and after that, get into youtube and watch your reaction/review. Perfect 👌

It's not two options for when to watch. There is unlimited choice for when to watch over the weekend., because Midnight isn't an air time, it is a drop time. Ordinary UK families who don't follow the DW Xitterverse and so have no need to worry about spoilers only benefit from having more options of when to watch, with no downside. This isn't about "UK" vs "Rest of the Wolrd" It is about "UK fans who are constantly on DW Social Media" who risk seeing spoilers if they don't watch late at night of first thing in the morning vs "Everyone else, including most of the UK audience" who all benefit from greater flexibility.

The question I have is whether or not we'd even have Dr. Who at this point if Disney+ hadn't stepped in and supported the show? Even if BBC was able to continue to produce it on its own (and the BBC's budget is decreasing), would it be able to keep producing it in 2027 when the TV license fees stop? I feel we are only going to be able to continue getting Dr. Who for as long as Disney+ supports it, and they get no benefit from the viewers in the UK. My concern is that if "Season 1" of Dr. Who doesn't get the views on Disney+ that Disney wants in order to continue support for Dr. Who we may never see "Season 3" (luckily canceling Season 2 wouldn't make any sense considering its current production status).

Mildly annoyed that it’ll come out at 1:00 here, since I love watching it live with everyone and will not stay up that late. More than that, though, I understand people in the UK being upset at this because they literally pay to have the show made. Simulcasts are fine, but if people in one country are funding a show, and the show is from there too, it should be at the most convenient time for them.

I'm just sad I wont be able to follow the live discussion. I have a class Saturday morning so I cant stay up and cant watch it until mid-day so theres also avoiding spoilers. I have to do it for most of the shows I watch, I thought since DW is british I wouldn't have to worry about that 😢

I live in Canada so it’ll be Disney for me on Saturdays. Also May 10th happens to be my birthday so no complaints here. Im from Britain and grew up with Saturday Who. When I moved to Canada accessing the new episodes has always been a minefield. Moving streaming platforms, (ill)legally downloading, always a hassle. The Disney + home is going to be consistent and I love it

I honestly don't mind it very much, but it was always nice to watch it live with my dad, who is normally very bad at scheduling his time and doesn't like most fiction so finding a show that i could watch with him without basically forcing him for an hour was always fun. I don’t live in the UK but close by, only an hour difference

I mean it’s a little annoying. That they’re prioritising their US audience and I’ll have to probably avoid the internet till I get round to watching it (occasionally working weekends), but seems a small price to pay. As someone who watches a lot of US shows, (waiting months for them to air over here sometimes) I’m probably more annoyed I no longer have a time advantage over them tbh ha

I'm in South Australia doe this means I get it at 8.30 am and which day of the week is it on Disney+.

This doesn't bother me at all because i work until 22:00 in the UK most days so it lines up pretty well with my personal schedule. Having said that, it's a step in the wrong direction and i wouldn't be surprised if, a few years down the line, the new series is only available on iPlayer for a limited time then is only on Disney+ or big finish never get the license to the new era or whatever. I understand people's skepticism.

The thing that confuses me most about this isn't the global simulcast, it's the time they picked, cause Disney+ stuff normally drops at 8am UK time which is I think Midnight in LA and 7pm or so in AU, so having it drop at midnight UK is such a baffling choice. Cause then the UK still gets it at a reasonable time, AU gets it at a reasonable time and the US get it at the same time they normally get their tentpole TV. Very strange choice indeed.

I am Canadian. I think we are just seeing the business deal as it stands. We've known since day 1 that Disney+ is handling all international (ie non UK) distribution, so Disney sets a time that it wants (May 10, 5pm EST) for its markets as a simulcast, so logically - it is up to the BBC to determine whether to follow through, and BBC decides to join in. So yes I do feel awful that this translates to a midnight drop time for the UK, but Disney is very well within its scope to set a time that it likes for its own markets.

I’m like you in Australia. We never got it until the next day in the past. It doesn’t bother me

When it was broadcast in the UK first all the fans in other parts of the world just pirated it rather than wait. This is why shows are now released worldwide at the same time now.

There's a phrase we have here in Australia - 'whingeing poms'. Some things never change.

This whole thing honestly scares me. It’s the first step in the direction of Disney taking over, and I get the feeling that once that happens… well, it’s not gonna be pretty. This whole situation sucks and ngl I’m scared. Dcfm.

As far as I can tell, the Beeb is not the only company with a financial interest in Doctor Who. Sony Pictures Entertainment owns a majority stake in Bad Wolf Ltd, the company that produces the great and wonderful show.

I would understand the outrage if Disney+ were known for dropping their new episodes of American shows during U.S. primetime, but things like Mando & Marvel shows drop at California midnight. Midnight drops for whatever country a show comes from, it's consistent

That’s because everything we have is being got rid of until we have nothing not even our Country

I hope the show can literally become more international. Why not ship the lead actors around the world to film with local crews and actors? So we don’t have to keep pretending Cardiff is New York/Hong Kong/ or wherever.

Australia used to have licence fees, until Whitlam got rid of it (as well as introducing colour TV) and getting rid of military service, the Vietnam war, etc … fees for hospitals, universities … okay I need to stop now before I get depressed Anyway the upshot is that the ABC "licence fee" is just part of general tax and revenue, but essentially the same. For about 30 years it seemed like the UK might have made the right choice because it ensured the independence of the BBC … but we're getting to the point now where smart TVs and "I'll watch on my laptop" are really killing the revenue model, and the entire fee is giving it an extra-special prominence as an extra "tax" that people get to complain about. That's a bit of an American flavour if I'm honest - you know how they always talk about the sales tax separately when you buy something? "Oh my 99¢ pizza slice is $1.08, what why?" and the entire system is built so the buyer and seller end the conversation by blaming the government, or taxes in general. That's what the BBC licence fee has done. In Australia we barely think about the money we spend on the ABC, and that's how it should be. It's only 8¢ a day or its equivalent anyway, and for those who pretend to care, I have some much larger numbers that prove you don't. You don't care. Stop virtue signalling your economic "conservatism" Oops I've done it again, there I've gone arch-political twice in one comment. Sorry.

Don't get it. I'm from the UK and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I don't watch it, but the BBC has been doing this for Eastenders for a while. It's just the direction media is going with streaming these days. If I'm able, I'll watch it on Friday nights, if not then I'll just avoid social media until Saturday evening. It's hardly difficult. Then again, I did a fair bit of travelling before the pandemic, so I'm already used to weird scheduling for my regular shows? I've experienced staying awake until 3am in Australia for premieres, and watching American shows in *totally legit* mediums as soon as they drop, so maybe I'm just used to it.

So I’m British and I love that we have Doctor Who it’s a British staple. It is weird that they’re prioritising worldwide audiences particularly America but ultimately I’m not that bothered. Staying up till midnight at the weekend when I’m not working is fine and knowing my habits I’ll probably watch it at midnight and then watch it again on TV Saturday evening. I do think this is an utterly bizzare decision and I think RTD agrees because he’s liking all the comments that say it’s a bad idea but I think this ultimately is the price we have to pay in order to have some of that Disney money pumped into it, from the footage we’ve seen it’s never looked better so we just need to to wait and see how it does ratings wise in the UK and worldwide to see if this was a good call or not

I have to say, even though I'm also Australian I'd be pretty pissed if I was in the UK right now for obvious reasons. I think it's just plain wrong. Why couldn't they at least make a better time frame? But really this is what I thought right from the start all along ... Doctor Who is getting Disneyised & until disney is kicked out of the equation, we're gonna have to expect more of this crap to come. It's about the mighty $'s not the dedicated fans point blank! If I personally don't see enough to keep me interested & not disappointed, I'll be ending my disney+ sub without hesitation & I'm sure some others will follow suit too. Thanks Crispy for your info & insights.

people need to remember russel doesn't control doctor who, while we have been taught to imagine a showrunner who doesn't have the bbc constantly breathing done thier neck, even if there is some truth in this, definetly doesn't mean russel has or has ever had any control about the air schedule. I doubt he would have been involved with the negations with disney beyond maybe a consultant, who has no say in the matter.

as an american i think my biggest problem with alot of people talking about this is that alot of people like Harbo are assuming that just because it is a British show that means the highest amount of fans are there and they are being ignored because disney is in america and money talks. with a quick check on google the new show times favor all of north america (not just the US) and Oceania as a whole. by population alone thats a little over 9 times the population size of the UK. (4.8 times for us alone and 8.5 times for NA alone). i dont know about alot of people but now more than ever the most people ive met here in america already know what doctor who is as a concept and because of it coming to disney plus alot more are interested in watching. i understand that you want it to be the way it was but doctor who as a whole is in a major flux (no pun intended) right now. with how badly the previous seasons went its not really surprising that they are trying to favor to a larger audience. alot of the people that watch dr who in the UK are going to watch it anyway no matter what time just as i did any many more fans did here when you had the better schedule. if they cant watch it the second it comes out you can save it for when you can. this isnt a new thing. alot people have to do it anyway because of job scheduling. at least this way there's a whole new market of people including people that have heard of it but had bad access to it untill now, or the new generation that hasnt been brought up in that culture. i know this is a bit of a ramble and to be honest this is all based on statistics that would be impossible to prove efficiently, its just what keeps coming to my mind everytime i see someone complain about it like disney kicked their dog. you'll live, enjoy the show as much as you can, and know that for the few people that stay up to watch it as it drops there are 9 people new and old to doctor who that might be watching with you.

Only thing I'm im worried about is fantasy elements they say going more into,,, With recycled stark tower 😅, and the sonic forcefield Tennant had,, I just don't want too much fantasy,, I like or prefer dark real, I hated Chibnalls run, but rosa and punjab are i consider the best for dr who,, along with midnight, empty child and into dalek,, dalek I like these types of episodes real, some fantasy

I'm in the UK. I'm 61 years old, been watching Doctor Who since 1966 and have NO problem with the new series episodes being dropped on BBC IPlayer at midnight. This is 2024, the way programmes are being shown these days is a growing trend of slowing moving away from traditional broadcasting habits. If British folks want to watch it later with their families they can still do that, and for those whining about avoiding spoilers it's really quite simple. Switch off your social media until you've caught up. Also I have an utter loathing for 'live tweeting' when watching a tv show or film for the first time. Show some respect for the folks who made the damn thing by giving your 100% attention, then chat about it after. A fun video Crispy, and happy for you that you finally get to watch the show on a Saturday! And yeah, I think all the eps from season 2 might get dropped in one go, depends on the reaction and live/streaming viewing figures for this one. And if they do, they'll get no objections from this old fart!

I’m a uk fan and i honestly don’t see the problem it’s no different from when game of thrones was airing on Sunday nights in the US and in the uk we’d have to stay up until 1am to watch it with everyone else or wait until 9pm on Monday nights to watch it and I’d always managed to avoid spoilers.

While people will say times have change it's basically in the Friday night slot of death AND it's technically a summer show - the C list of schedules in America. Soooo many bad omens going off here.

been watching Who for 50 years in the UK, and this timing doesn't bother me - I haven't watched it live for years, as with a family trying to get everybody round the TV at a precise time never works, so it's been Iplayer for years - and even more so now that the Iplayer version will be 4k/HLG (terrestrial isn't). Actually looking forward to staying up and and watching it late. As for sympathy for those who miss live tweet alongs/text with their mates - turn the phone off for a change and watch the episode !!! There's a comment from an OAP !!! :)

What bothers me more is that all the new de who stuff is under their new doctor who banner but none of the previous doctor who stuff is on there. It would be such a nice place to have classic who, new who and all spinoffs accesible to the entire world.

The UK has a unique & compared to Australia, weird system. In the UK you need to have a liscence to have a TV. It was established when black & white TVs became available & never was rescinded. It's part of the reason Mary Whitehouse in the 70's & 80's had so much sway on what they did on Doctor Who because of the requirements of the BBC as a publicly funded broadcaster. The closest we have in Aust is the ABC being govt funded so having fewer adds, but that's still really not the same. - The rant was cute, although we in Aust did have it over the UK once upon a time too. Back in the 70's & 80'S Doctor Who was played every week day from the 3rd Doctor onwards, they'd start with Spearhead from Space & keep going to what ever the current episode was. There would be 2 of 4 shows cycled every weekeday after school, Doctor Who along with Monkey, The Goodies & the Kenny Everett Video Show (which explains a lot about those of us who were kids in the 70's & 80's). Where as, in the UK, each episode was screened once & if you missed it too bad (until in the late 80's the BBC finally realised they had been sitting on a huge revenue stream & started releasing Doctor Who on video). There was a sci-fi convention black market of pirate video being sent from Aust to the UK for many, many years. So yeah, the BBC have screwed over UK viewers of Doctor Who before & been completely unapologetic about it.

People are so triggered. UK fans aren’t superior to other countries as an Australian who just simply avoids twitter for 10 hours or so. Been doing it for 10 years it’s not hard

As someone who often works Saturdays, I'm unlikely to be tuning in at midnight. I'll have to wait until I get home anyway. I used to like it when it aired on Sundays, that way it was guaranteed I'd be able to watch on time. I'm not surprised people are upset though. While technically the UK viewers can watch at the same time as everyone else, it's not the best time. I assume most families tuning in, will do so for the evening slot. At least we get 2'episodes.

It all depends on how much importance the BBC place on their broadcast ratings because this kind of strategy is certain to kill those as only the very limited number of people who either don't have access to the iplayer or who don't have the chance to watch it somewhere between midnight and Saturday afternoon will be likely to bother watching it when it's shown on the regular BBC channel. Personally I'll be watching as I eat my Saturday breakfast.

Lets walk through this. Lets say I'm in the U.K. - It's May 10, and Doctor Who episodes 1&2 drop at midnight. Let's say that I'm off work the next day just to make it simple. I got to bed at a respectable 10:30 PM and wake up at a respectable 7:00 AM. Hey look! Doctor Who is on iPlayer. I'm gonna watch it now, and I don't have to wait for the broadcast at 7 PM. Hey it is now 9 AM ish and I watched Doctor Who. Time to hop on twitter, facebook, youtube, whatever and discuss it with my fellow fans. Awesome. Lets say I'm in the U.S. it's May 10th at 8 AM. OH BOY Doctor Who drops at 7 PM on Disney tonight. And unlike with the 60th I don't have to dodge spoilers all day, because it drops everywhere at the same time. ---- It is now 7 PM, I watch Doctor Who, 2-ish Hours later, I'm done. I have enough time to get ready for bed and by tomorrow morning. By the time I wake up, Most people across the world will have seen it. So I can go and discuss it on my Social Media platform of choice. Sounds like a win-win, to me.

According to rumours, (so take this with a pitch of salt); RTD wasn't happy with this schedule dispute and speaking of Disney, I bet he's feeling a lot like Lando from Empire right now; imagining that this deal is getting worse all the time. To be honest, I know you listed your positives for being an Australian... However, they should've just launched the series episodes as soon as it aired at 7pm or whenever in the UK on broadcast and then activate the streaming episodes around the world countries go around that time, or just activate the Streaming episodes at 7pm around the world GMT, because surely it'll be around mid afternoon for America then. Americans aren't exactly tight lipped and giving them a head start allowing for spoiler sharing is a little ick.

I'm a night owl myself so this change doesn't bother me! If ever their was an Olympics for being mad or angry Whovians would win first prize every year.

I cannot express how insanely how frustrated I am with this decision, as a UK fan. The BBC is funded by a TV licence (which costs £159 per year, so more than a Disney+ subscription). Our TV licence has funded Doctor Who for 60 years. Now Disney+ has come in swinging their big American dicks around and pushing our beloved show around. Prioritising the US, when no one in the US even knew or cared about Doctor Who until about 15 years ago, is ridiculous. And this isn’t the last decision that will affect it, I can guarantee it. I’ve said it before - the reason for the ‘rebrand’ to ‘Season One’ is part of Disney’s whole thing about rebranding series every few years so they can claim it’s a ‘new’ show and they can pay cast and crew less for their involvement. Disney+ is not just distributing this; they have provided money and clearly have a lot of influence over how the show is run. They will have everyone on tight three-year max contracts so they can rebrand every three years and keep costs low. Now, granted, for Doctor Who actors that’s not too terrible because Doctors and companions don’t last very long anyway, but for the crew? Writers? That could be devastating for their careers.

Hate to break it to you Crispy... but you won't be watching it on a Saturday at all - you'll be watching on Sunday. Released on iPlayer midnight Friday i.e. first thing Saturday in UK so you are ahead so Sunday it will be for you :-) And yes its not great the the UK are disadvantaged here but theres more to it than Disney - I think Disney just lucked out here. There are 9 time zones in the USA and they arent all getting it at a nice time. iPlayer usually will early release something at midnight on the day its due to be broadcast so this is hardly a break from the norm....

I’m a UK fan - have been since the Sixth Doctor’s era back in the mid 80s and I can honestly say this does not bother me at all. If the US were getting it before us then I may feel differently however the world is getting it simultaneously- and it’s a Saturday too so for most of us that means no work so yes I’ll be staying up until midnight to watch on the BBC IPlayer. Traditional linear TV is becoming more and more a thing of the past, this is the future.

I've been in this fandom for 41 years. Doctor Who fans, particularly British Doctor Who fans, are ALWAYS mad about something.

It’s a television show. Let’s all reach a sense of proportion. Globally speaking it’s irrelevant. Stay up. Get up early and watch it for breakfast. Wait for the tv air time. Maybe watch or read some news while you’re waiting

I’ve no issue with it airing online at the same time but why can’t it be the same time as it airs. As someone who’s at work all sat and has a group of friends who watch it and work with people who watch it. So I’am screwed.

My issue is that almost all of the shows, Bad Batch currently, air at like 8/9 AM in the UK and that would be a perfectly acceptable time so I don't see why this is suddenly different.

I mean BBC pays for production, they control production. Disney pays for distribution right, they get final say on distribution. None of us want them to switch functions, do we?

I feel like Apple TV, HBO MAX and Netflix would've been a better format. The money and VFX teams are WAYYYYYY better, Apple TV's professionalism and writers for most shows outshine Disney and Netflix + HBO Max has a global audience of all kinds and not just Disney. Sure, the BBC can lease out the property to Apple TV and Netflix but it would've been so much better. Plus, the writers and directors those two platforms bring in is INSANE. Spielberg is close with Apple TV after Masters Of The Air launched and NCUTI IS IN IT!! He can finally re-connect with the Whoniverse after literally saving it in 1996 (hang on,,,) bc without him, we would've gotten a full reboot, and would never have lead into the 2005 revival. And we would've never gotten Paul as 8! Not saying these big time A-List writers have to write for DW, but it'll be on their radar.

Honestly, when aren't they mad? They've been angry since Matt Smith became the Doctor and the anger only increased with Capaldi, got worse during Whittaker's era and at this point, I just ignore it and enjoy it for myself.

I will watch it at midnight if im awake or whenever I get up followed by watching again before Eurovision. This is a non problem and yet it's a fun episode Crispy.

You know what people? NOBODY GIVES A F*CK! Just wait untill the next day! It's not that difficult! You can even use a VPN! I mean literally, where I lived Doctor Who DIDN'T EVEN AIR so I had to use a VPN on Iplayer. But yeah, I guess it's frustrating for some, but keep in mind Americans always got DW after the British. So yeah. Mixed feelings.

I think the Britt’s are taking this too hard, and seriously, not the end of the world. They have access to the show and more Disney content than any other country.

I'm in the UK and for a while now I've been watching it afterwards (sometimes the next day or more) online rather than the live broadcast just because it fit my schedule better, so I'm used to avoiding things and won't be too different for me personally. I can understand the people who are angry and the others who are happy about it, but at the end of the day I don't think it's as big a deal as it may seem as long as people don't go out of their way to spoil it for others.

Us aussies got it so good now

As an American fan, I would have stayed up till midnight to watch it. Much love to our British friends.

People in the US? Only on the east coast. 4pm on the west coast. Not that any of that makes it better for the UK. But dropping it on BBC I player at midnight might be the BBC acknowledging that TV broadcast is going the way of radio drama, and realizing iplayer is the way to go. Disney does NOT do season drops like Netflix.

I agree with what you're saying, I don't think this was the best idea, even though I benefit from this since I don't live in the UK.

To me Doctor Who died after Peter capaldi and Steven Moffat left. To me it goes from William Hartnell to Peter Capaldi, and that's it. I respect other people's opinions but to me Chris Chibnall killed the show, and I'm not a fan of Russell's new era

I'm happy it's finally in an accessible place for me. I had to HUNT channels to watch live.