‘Doctor Who’ Could Reportedly Move To Disney+

This post may contain affiliate links*

The new Doctor Who series, featuring Ncuti Gatwa, could reportedly end up on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, following talks between Disney and the BBC.

The new series, which also features the return of Russell T. Davies as a showrunner and writer, is expected to return sometime in 2023.

According to Bloomberg, the talks between Disney and the BBC are in the early stages, with Disney looking to acquire the streaming rights for the new Doctor Who series.

Ncuti Gatwa
Ncuti Gatwa – Next Doctor Who (Photo: BBC)

If an agreement is reached, Doctor Who could stream on Disney+ around the world, while the BBC would remain the show’s home in the UK (although, past seasons of Doctor Who were available on the BBC and Netflix UK at the same time, so we may see something like that again).

This sort of agreement would, most likely, just give Disney+ the streaming rights, without any direct influence over the content of the show – but many worried Doctor Who fans have already taken to social media to express their concerns (see below).

Doctor Who has been airing on the BBC (with breaks) since 1963.

In 2005, a successful reboot was created by Russell T. Davies, featuring Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor, and the show became more popular than ever around the world, with Jodie Whittaker being the latest incarnation of the Doctor, until Ncuti takes over next year.

Doctor-Who-jodie-whittaker
Photo: BBC

In recent years, with the growing popularity of streaming services, the new episodes of Doctor Who were available to stream on a variety of platforms around the world.

In the UK, the classic Doctor Who episodes all became available on BritBox, the streaming service from ITV and the BBC (which is now owned solely by ITV).

Doctor Who Britbox

The modern Doctor Who episodes, however, were available in the UK on both BBC iPlayer, and on Netflix. Then, in 2020, Doctor Who was removed from Netflix, with all the episodes now freely available on iPlayer.

Doctor Who Coming To Disney?

Disney+ (see our full review) can be streamed on most streaming devices and Smart TVs in the UK and around the world, and includes content from the worlds of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star – which is Disney’s general entertainment category for more mature audiences.

Disney Plus on phone

In the UK, Disney+ costs £7.99/month or £79.90/year – and you can subscribe directly via this link.

With the rumours of talks between Disney and the BBC over the future streaming rights of Doctor Who, many worried fans have taken to Twitter to either express their concerns – or try to calm down fellow fans.

Of course, getting more money for Doctor Who’s coffers could potentially be a good thing for the show.

Yet many are still worried…

It remains to be seen whether this deal even moves past the rumour stage – and if it does, what implications this could have (if any) on the production and budget of the show.

For example, on BBC iPlayer, we don’t even get 4K versions of Doctor Who (except for one Christmas special). Perhaps a Disney+ deal will give us more access to 4K versions of the show.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

man watchin streaming tv on tablet

Get Cord Buster's Free UK TV Streaming Cheatsheet

FREE

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get TV And Tech News

Get Bonus Streaming TV Guide