BBC Worldwide Americas has licensed a second season of DOCTOR WHO to SCI FI kicking off with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 29, 2006, that will include the Christmas Invasion special in which David Tennant (HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE) was introduced as the 10th Time Lord.
The Doctor returns with his feisty young companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), and together they will travel through time and space battling new and returning aliens and monsters.
Our audience has clearly embraced DOCTOR WHO and it has delivered a significant increase in viewers in the time period," Chris Regina, vo of programming, SCI FI Channel. "We are looking forward to keeping the momentum going with David Tennant as the new Doctor.
Exec producer/lead writer Russell T Davies promises laughs, new heartbreak and some terrifying new aliens in season two.
Lisa Hofer, director co-production & sales, BBC Worldwide Americas, brokered the deal with the SCI FI Channel. The first season of the new DOCTOR WHO proved a huge success for SCI FI Channel, delivering an average of 1.5 million viewers each week.
BBC Video and SCI FI Channel will continue to work together on joint marketing promotions to support the DOCTOR WHO brand in the U.S.
Burton Cromer, svp, consumer products, BBC Worldwide Americas said: DOCTOR WHO: THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES has become our best-selling DOCTOR WHO title ever, thanks to Russell T Davies for his brilliant reinvention of DOCTOR WHO for the 21st century and to the SCI FI Channel for the incredible on and off-air support they gave the season one DVD release. We look forward to working with them again on Season Two."
Exec produced by Davies (lead writer) and Julie Gardner, the second season of DOCTOR WHO was the most popular program Saturday nights when it aired on BBC ONE in the U.K. DOCTOR WHO is a BBC production in association with CBC in Canada. It has also been sold to more than 25 territories internationally, including Japan (NHK), Thailand (Channel 7), South Korea (KBS2), Australia (ABC), New Zealand (Prime), France (France 4), Spain and Portugal (People & Arts), Denmark (Danmarks Radio), Sweden (SVT), Holland (NOS, Channel 3), Italy (Canal Jimmy), Finland (YLE) and Norway (NRK).
BBC Worldwide (www.bbc.co.uk) is the commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC. The company exists to maximize the value of the BBCs assets for the benefit of the licensee and invest in public service programming in return for rights. The company has seven core businesses: Global Channels, Global TV Sales, Magazines, Content & Production, Home Ent., Children's and Digital Media.
SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic website (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.
