Yeah, that really does my head in. I rarely watch anything "live" as I have Sky+, but Saturday nights always cause problems with my recording as BBC cannot seem to be able to show DW, Casualty, etc. at the same time each week.

I mean it's been the same schedule they have most weeks of the year:-
- Final Score
- News
- Total Wipeout/Hole in the Wall
- Doctor Who/Merlin/Robin Hood (RIP)
- How do solve how Maria got over the f'n rainbow with oliver in a technicolloured coat
- Lottery show
- Casualty
- News
- Match of the Day

Apart from when a sport event runs into the evening schedule, how hard is it to run these programmes at the same time every week. Even if the sport does overrun, drop kick TW/HitW out of the schedule!

I am not saying it should fit around my time and am just saying it would do better at a later time. Its great to see the enthusiasm put into Doctor who since its relaunch. But I am sure its more politics behind the scenes at the BBC regarding tv line up. I bet Steven Moffat would prefer it a a slightly later time.

For all the good people who have done so much to get Doctor Who back on our screens I bet there are some high up at the BBC who just don't care.

As the link to the SFX article I posted earlier says it best.

"Annoying or what? Has the BBC stopped caring about Doctor Who, shunting it back into less prestigious time slots? Or maybe, with Over The Rainbow struggling in the ratings, and the fact that nearly two million people are recording Doctor Who every week to watch later (not to mention about a million are watching it on iPlayer) Doctor Who no longer needs to chase overnight ratings. And it is sensible not to schedule two vote/talent shows opposite each other. So we can see why the BBC has done it. Just seems a bit of a shame that the show is now seen as handy scheduling Pollyfilla."


Yes we all can work around the time they put Doctor Who on. Most of us have the internet and could watch it on the iplayer or have a recorder of some sort. Its just sad to think after all the "attention" from the people who have and do work on it that it does get treated as "scheduling Pollyfilla".

Ok so I don't think most the people at the BBC are "losing faith" in Doctor Who but the ones who make the decision in scheduling should give it some more love.

So its starting at 6 instead of 6.20ish...Wow. lets make a big deal of that

Doctor Who (and indeed any BBC Shows) don't have to chase overnight ratings because they are funded by the Licence Fee: that is the point. Commercial Shows do because they require viewers watching Commercials for funding.

How people watch a programme is irrelevant just so long as they do and dear Muttley bhas been beating her head raw against the archaic brick wall of this subject across several threads recently: the time slot does NOT affect the ratings of DW unless we're talking Christmas Day which clearly improves things as more people watch TV

For SFX to suggest DW is treated as "filler" is geek nonsense as in spite of alleged budget cuts it remains one of the most expensive Dramas produced by the BBC - what comes out of this thread clearly is that posters just don't like Talent Shows or that Talent Show - which to me smacks of plain selfishness in not considering the millions of other TV viewers that do.

I personally just dont like that particular show getting preferential treatment over Doctor Who which I feel is a quality show where as Over the Rainbow is probably fairly cheap to make in comparison.

Yes that is my opinion not the general consensus. I am sure lots of people think and feel differently. At the end of the day they are both just TV shows. It does not really matter what time a TV show is on in the great scheme of things, as life is more important.

I just get the impression that Doctor who is still looked down upon by some high up at the BBC. Much like your view of the SFX comment about Doctor being seen as scheduling Pollyfilla being "geek nonsense". I mean it may not be a neutral opinion but theirs is valid none the less.

I do think some at the BBC look down upon it with snobbery and see it as Geeky TV and that its not worth a better time. If that is the case then surely that snobbery is just as bad as any "Science fiction geeks" selfishness of a talent show taking up the prime time spot?

I think that is the real root of it for me and what bother me the most.

This is an archaism from the days of old Who - whilst I would expect there are those at the BBC that prefer to think of "Little Dorritt" and "Larkrise to Candleford" as proper Drama the fact remains that Doctor Who is produced by the Drama Department over at BBC Wales and has been a critical, ratings and awards success since its revival in 2005: whilst this continues, no unnamed Executive irrespective of personal opinion is going to change the status quo outside of monetary and allied considerations.

Old Who was exclusively broadcast between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on a Saturday Evening in conjunction with Final Score, The Basil Brush Show, The Generation Game and other family oriented shows to create a line-up that would have broad-based appeal - only as we headed into the days of declining standards and ratings were new formulas tried and yes, Michael Grade felt that the show had had its day and to be honest, at the time, that was true because the prohibitive costs of SFX (the effects not the magazine) meant it just could not compete with what was being produced elsewhere.

I get the distinct impression from alot of what I read on these threads that a big issue amongst older fans is that they actually do not like their little show achieving mainstream success in the way it has because in some way that takes it away from them - if this were not the case, a difference in 20 minutes which affects the show in no way whatsoever would not require a thread or an SFX article when we are looking forward to potentially one of the best two-part conclusions of a story in recent years this Saturday.

The fact that Doctor Who outrates Over the Rainbow is exactly why its on first. It's meant to (and does) get the evening off to a very good start and last week allowed BBC to beat ITV1 in overall primetime share despite the behemoth of Britain's Got Talent.

In an ideal world, I would like to see it scheduled at 7pm too - but looking at what the BBC has to place this Saturday night (and what the opposition for it on ITV will be) this is pretty much all they can do. For one reason or another - filming schedules, sporting events, west end dates - they've wound up with too much to air pre-8pm at this time of year. To air Who or OTR opposite Talent would be a disaster, so they have to get finished early and make the most of lesser opposition.

It's not about serving Over the Rainbow, and its not about serving Doctor Who - its about making the Saturday schedule, as a whole, perform as best it can. Sadly for some fans here, that involves airing Doctor Who at 6.

From what do you get that opinion? Just the changes in scheduling?

Why did I figure I'd find you here?

As has been pointed out here and by other posters, it's because the BBC has such high regard for Doctor Who that they occasionally change the scheduling times. DW works! It pulls in extremely high ratings for it's time slot and sets the Saturday night up well for the BBC.

The BBC are working to make the 7-9pm slot work more effectively - while 5m for OTR is okay, Britain's Got Talent has shown the potential of this slot with 10m+ ratings. Hence, the BBC are playing with the schedules to help make OTR as successful as possible.

It's like DW is the older big brother, looking out for it's younger brother OTR who's getting a bit bullied by BGT.

Sorry if this has been asked before...or is a really thick question....but how do they determine viewing figures?

Hi Pawprint - check this out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadca...Research_Board

interesting!
So unless any of us have a box-its irrelevent if we watch DW or not?

thank you for the link.

Personally i'd like it after 8.30 as thats when I get in from work. But I know that is never going to happen, thank goodness for Iplayer. Who really cares about 20 mins?

Essentially you're right - unless you have a BARB box then you won't have a direct influence over the ratings. I'm not sure if everyone realises this as a lot of people do think they're contributing to the ratings.

Obviously the sample they use is representative of the UK so in theory, they'll be a number of big DW fans who do have a box who are in effect representing us. (if you see what i mean!!)

Of course, if you watch it on iPlayer you'll be counted.

Or maybe from the fact that they ooooh based all their Christmas idents about it, Doctor Who is clearly Nothing to the BBC.... Seriously Auntie loves the Doctor. Maybe not as much as us lot but we are somewhat obsessive byt he very fact we are posting on here.

Obsessive? OBSESSIVE? OBSESSIVE? Never: so I do a bit of Who now and then: I can handle it...

...are we nearly there yet?

Yes we should!! Its a family show, not just a kids show! How many familys are all together at 6 o'clock!!

BBC!! *Shakes Fist*

Is it an hour long? Because if not 6pm is impossible as Confidential cannot air immediately afterwards as BBC Three isn't on air at 6.45pm!

Well clearly it's not "impossible". Just "unusual".

Yes, so changes would have to be made. My point is that IMO Doctor Who should be the key in the schedule, the show that's given the best opportunity and the best slot. It'd have to be moved away from Britain's Got Talent/the World Cup admittedly, but that's to benefit the show. For me, the likes of the Lottery (which does take the flak of Britain's Got Talent) and the reality TV shows should have the weaker parts of the schedule, and Doctor Who should be at the heart.

It's just an opinion, though.


I think the BBC care a lot about Doctor Who - I just don't think their scheduling for it is the best.


Taken from the ratings thread - The Time of Angels' five minute breakdown:

18:15 - 4.57m
---
18:20 - 5.61m
18:25 - 5.99m
18:30 - 6.27m
18:35 - 6.41m
18:40 - 6.53m
18:45 - 6.71m
18:50 - 6.77m
18:55 - 6.94m
19:00 - 7.01m
---
19:05 - 4.81m

A constant increase right up to 7pm. The Time of Angels made up over 1m viewers in just 25 minutes.


Yes, 20 minutes isn't that much in the grand scheme of things. My beef with it is that it should (generally) be later.


OK, I used the word 'filler' so I guess I best explain what I meant.

Doctor Who is being moved forward in the schedule to create more room for Over the Rainbow. If Over the Rainbow was being moved for Doctor Who I'd say Over the Rainbow was the filler. By that parameter I feel Doctor Who is being used as a kind of filler so Over the Rainbow cna have the preferred slot.

I don't think the BBC view Doctor Who as filler; they love the show and want to support it to an extent. IMO not enough - but as I said above, it just an opinion.

(BTW, I watch Over the Rainbow too, so it's not that I hate it and love Doctor Who. Well I do love Doctor Who but... )

My niece started watching New Who aged 4 and that was before it became the ratings success it has - are you honestly suggesting that because you would prefer it to be shown at 7pm that it should be denied children whose parents actually care about their homelives, their bed-times and associated schedules? Unbelievable selfishness.

And how about people who work and don't get home until gone six thirty and miss it because of it? Isn't it selfish to say they should miss it because you prefer to have it on early? Isn't that unbelievable selfishness?

It works both ways. Doctor Who's scheduling has been something of a discussion point since it's revival (aided and abetted by Russell T. Davies trying to force the point home) and I don't think it'll go away. For every argument there's a counter argument.

But you're not making an argument: you're saying you would prefer DW on at 7pm. That's a personal choice based on nothing aside from what you want...nothing to do with schedule changing, ratings or any of the other silly points mentioned above.

RTD was vociferous in attacking the new time slot and just as quick to say how wrong he was that the new time slot did nothing to alter the show's ratings.

In 2010: with VHS/DVD/HardDrive recorders, iPlayer, repeats, Catch-Up/TimeShift it is disingenuous to point to a 20 minute change in one week's scheduling of a single programme as the basis for any kind of problem for anyone = should the BBC schedule DW at 9pm next week because I have a dinner engagement to attend?