Deadline; BBC Content Chief On ‘Doctor Who’ Future: “The Tardis Is Going Nowhere — With Or Without Disney”

Story from Deadline:

The Time Lord will not be teleporting away from the BBC anytime soon.

La Liga in the UK

1. Premier Sports - Up to 9 games per week via Linear TV or Streaming

Advanced Television: Disney+ UK scores La Liga deal

Story from Advanced Television:

Disney+ has confirmed it will stream live La Liga football in the UK and Ireland through a new three-year agreement.

RUMOUR - X: Are Comcast and Sky UK set to buy ITV PLC?

The following was given by an Media Boy UK follower on X:

Just had a Sky engineer out to replace the dish, he told me don’t be surprised if Sky buys ITV in the future, he said its really attracted to its ITV Studios, but also wants a top channel slot to feed viewers to its pay channels like in the us with NBC.

Advanced Television; Data: UK SVoD nears 20m subs

Story from Advanced Television:

Worldpanel by Numerator has found that paid-for ad supported streaming services are on track to surpass ad free services in UK households by Q2 2026.

Deadline; ‘Doctor Who’: BBC Studios Chief Says Disney Is “Key Partner” As Co-Pro Deal Hangs In Balance

Story from Deadline:

BBC Studios is “really committed to Doctor Who and is continuing to look at ways in which we can bring the show to fans,” according to its CEO Tom Fussell.

Variety: Disney and ITV Strike ‘First-of-Its-Kind’ Deal to Share Select Content Across Streaming Platforms

Story from Variety:

Disney and U.K. network ITV have signed a pact billed as a “first-of-its-kind initiative” that will see them share a curated selection of content across their streaming services.

Variety: U.K. Government Formally Rejects Streaming Levy, Doubles Down on Mixed Production Ecology

Story from Variety:

The U.K. government has firmly rejected calls for a 5% levy on streaming platforms and mandatory IP retention rules, instead emphasizing the benefits of a “mixed ecology” that welcomes both international investment and local production in its formal response to parliamentary recommendations on British film and high-end television.

Advanced Television: Disney+ resurrects Blind Date; orders The Rooneys

Story from Advanced Television:

Disney+ has announced a raft of reality commissions including the return of the iconic dating series Blind Date, reimagined for a contemporary audience.

Deadline: BBC Pledges To Be “Mindful” Of Spoilers After Irate Viewers Complain About ‘Doctor Who’ Reveal

Story from Deadline:

The BBC has promised to be more “mindful” of spoilers in news stories after viewers complained about an article reporting on Ncuti Gatwa’s final Doctor Who episode.

Variety: ‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Says ‘We Don’t Know What’s Happening Yet’ Amid Uncertain Future, but Insists Series ‘Will Never End’

Story from Variety:

“Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T Davies is addressing the series’ uncertain future.

Deadline: ‘Doctor Who’ Animated Series Heading To BBC

Story from Deadline:

The Doctor Who tardis is heading to BBC pre-school channel CBeebies.

Deadline: BBC Director General Floats Concerning Vision Of Future Where “People Don’t Care” About Nation’s Oldest Public Broadcaster

Story from Deadline:

The BBC makes the UK front pages almost every day but Director General Tim Davie isn’t so worried about that.

Variety: Ncuti Gatwa Leaves ‘Doctor Who’ at Disney+ and the BBC in Twist Regeneration Sequence

Story from Variety:

Ncuti Gatwa is exiting the Tardis.

Sport Business: Disney need to sublet The Uefa Women’s Champions League to European Broadcasting Union

Story from Sport Business:

''The Uefa Women’s Champions League will be streamed across Europe to Disney+ subscribers during the 2025-30 cycle, while a European Broadcasting Union deal will ensure a level of free-to-air exposure, SportBusiness understands.''

Daily Mail: Ncuti Gatwa 'to leave Doctor Who days after pulling out of Eurovision gig' and show to be 'put on pause' amid falling ratings and 'woke' storylines

Story from Daily Mail:

Ncuti Gatwa will exit Doctor Who after just two series as woke storylines saw ratings for the much-loved show plunge, it was claimed today.

BBC News: How can traditional British TV survive the US streaming giants?

Story from BBC News:

Just before Christmas, in a private dining room in the upmarket Charlotte Street Hotel in the heart of London's Fitzrovia area, the BBC's director general gathered some of the UK's leading TV creatives and executives for lunch.

Advanced Television; Report: UK advertising records £42.6bn spend in 2024

Story from Advanced Television:

The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report shows that the UK’s ad market recorded a 10.4% increase in investment to a total of £42.6 billion in 2024.

Variety: U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Rules Out Streamer Levy

Story from Variety:

British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has firmly rejected proposals for a levy on streaming platforms operating in the U.K., despite recent recommendations from a parliamentary committee suggesting such a measure could help support the country’s television drama sector.

Advanced Television; Data: Prime Video, Apple TV+ lead new subs in Q1

Story from Advanced Television:

Kantar, the marketing data and analytics company, has revealed growing adoption of ad-supported streaming, strong competition between Prime Video and Apple TV+, and a breakout performance by Mubi, which recorded its best-ever quarter in the Entertainment on Demand (EoD) GB streaming market data.