'Doctor Who' breaks ratings records for BBC America and earns Guinness World Record
The 50th anniversary Doctor Who special, The Day of the Doctor aired on Nov. 23 and was an incredibly huge success with viewers, so much so that new records were set. The show made the BBC America's all-time ratings record.
When the first showing of the special came on in the U.S. at 2:50 p.m., 2.4 million viewers tuned to The Day of the Doctor. Then, when the encore aired later in the evening, viewership went up to a massive 3.6 million. That's just in the U.S. BBC America also hosted simulcast screenings in 11 cities and has claimed to have earned a Guinness World Record for the "largest ever simulcast of a TV drama," according to Entertainment Weekly.
We knew the anniversary show would be a big hit because of the loyal following, but this was probably even more than BBC America predicted. The Day of the Doctor aired in 94 countries at the same time during the global simulcast. The BBC said that in the U.K. 10.2 million viewers tuned in for the episode.
In addition to the actual show ratings, 1.8 million Twitter references were made about Doctor Who, which was more than any other cable show for the week. Fans were able to really get hyped up for the episode with the interactive, specially dedicated website for the episode and anniversary. Sneak preview videos and social media cues were likely a big part of why The Day of the Doctor did so well.
Doctor Who has been a legendary series through the decades. It's only right that it should win a Guinness World Record.