ABC loses Doctor Who rights after BBC signs deal with Disney

The ABC has lost the rights to new episodes of the sci-fi series Doctor Who after the BBC signed a global deal with Disney Branded Television. It is the end of a 50-year partnership between the BBC and the public broadcaster in Australia and the end of the British series on free-to-air television in Australia.

Whovians will need an $11.99-a-month subscription to streaming service Disney+ to watch the show from 2023.

The ABC has had a long and close relationship with Doctor Who and a blue model Tardis still takes centre stage in the foyer of the ABC headquarters in Sydney’s Ultimo. A former ABC managing director, Mark Scott, was a huge fan, and hinted at the importance of the rights back in 2014.

“I believe that in the long history of the ABC, there has only ever been one program for which we believed the Australian rights must cover all time and space dimensions – and that is the magnificent Doctor Who,” he said.

Scott said on Wednesday he “never felt that the BBC quite understood the value and importance of a 90-year relationship with the sibling public broadcaster down under, when faced with bundles of commercial cash”.

From next year, however, all new seasons of the British hit show with the incoming Doctor, Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa, will stream exclusively on Disney+ outside the UK and Ireland.

“After a long friendship, spanning more than 50 years, the universe has called the Doctor in a different direction and Doctor Who will no longer appear on the ABC beyond the current season,” the ABC said on Wednesday.

“ABC audiences can currently enjoy past seasons of Doctor Who, including the recent centenary special, on ABC iview.

“We are incredibly grateful to the generations of Whovians who have enjoyed Doctor Who with us on the ABC.

“Everyone at the ABC wishes the Doctor well on their adventures and we hope the Time Lord will visit us again at some stage in the future.”

The announcement was made overnight by Gatwa during an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan.

In May the BBC announced Gatwa, 29, will take over from Jodie Whittaker and become the Fourteenth Doctor.

Sign up to Saved for Later

Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia’s culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

However, there was a surprise twist in Monday’s episode when Whittaker regenerated not into Gatwa, but into the returning Time Lord David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.

The president of Disney+, Alisa Bowen, said the show would be introduced to the next generation of audiences in more than 150 markets.

“The series is a perfect addition to our ever-growing catalogue of global content that continues to make Disney+ the home for exceptional storytelling,” Bowen said.

The series’ showrunner, Russell T Davies, said the deal combined the vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+.

“Together we can launch the Tardis all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK,” he said.

The BBC’s chief content officer, Charlotte Moore, said the broadcaster was committed to “ensuring that audiences across the globe get the opportunity to enjoy the Doctor’s epic adventures with the scale and ambition that they deserve”.