As the dust settles on Series 14 of Doctor Who, one aspect of the latest run of episodes that’s already subject to analysis is the show’s performance on streaming services.
In addition to seeing the debut of Ncuti Gatwa’s incarnation of the Time Lord, Series 14 also marked the first time the programme has launched online (via BBC iPlayer in the UK, Disney+ worldwide) prior to transmission.
Russell T Davies has revealed that, whilst the show’s ratings have been less than was hoped for, he’s more than happy with the numbers watching on iPlayer. In another significant development, Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary in 2023 saw over 800 episodes, plus spin off shows, made available on iPlayer.
It’s clear that streaming services have a big part to play in the programme’s future, but what does that mean for the people who make the show? A clue that it won’t lead to big bucks for writers and performers comes in the form of a recent tweet from Charlie Higson, the author and comedian probably still best known for the 1990s BBC sketch series The Fast Show.
Higson shares a recent royalties statement showing that he earned a total of £18.94 from The Fast Show from iPlayer from April to December 2022. It should be borne in mind that Higson was both a writer and performer in the series.
It’s unusual for people to share this type of information so publicly, and it won’t be possible to judge how this compares to what’s on offer to Doctor Who writers and cast members of yesteryear without some of them opting to follow Higson’s lead (which they’re under no obligation to do, of course).
But it does at very least provide a useful pointer to how difficult it is to make a sustainable living from television, as well as serving as a reminder that, whilst streaming is most certainly here to stay, it may only be of very limited use to those involved in making the programmes in terms of income.
