BBC America


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BBC America is a United States cable network owned and operated by BBC Worldwide. In 2009, it acquired first United States broadcast rights for both the revived Doctor Who. It also formerly held the US rights for the initial broadcast of Torchwood, until it lost them to Starz beginning with the 2011 series.

BBC America's focus is to broadcast primarily British — but not exclusively BBC —content to the United States. Because it is not run by the BBC proper, however, it has to pay for its content like any other American broadcaster. Its independent status also allows it to funnel some of its budget into new works, which has made it a co-production partner on several BBC shows, like Steven Moffat's Jekyll. In 2010, it became the first American network to pay for the actual production of Doctor Who since the FOX network's support of the 1996 telefilm, when it signed on to co-produce the two American-based episodes of series 6. It also created a large range of original video content for its official series 5 Doctor Who website, and was the sole producer of Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide.

Commercial network
The fact that BBC America is budgeted independently of the BBC has had some consequences for its audience. Most obviously, it has created the need for the channel to run advertisements in order to generate revenue. This, in turn, means that the programming has to be edited to allow for these commercials. In some cases — such as unusually long episodes of Doctor Who like Journey's End — BBC America has aired versions which are missing significant portions of the version that aired on BBC One. The need for the network to adopt a more traditionally American format can also play havoc with the original authorial intent of some of its shows. For instance, BBC America was the original American home of the ITV show, Primeval. However, to create the illusion of a more standard American season, the network combined the first two British series into what it called "Season 1". This has led to some initial confusion between people used to its airing on BBC America and those more familiar with its original ITV broadcast.

Despite these drawbacks, the commercial revenue stream has provided the company with profits that it can then use for the production of a limited amount of new programming. Initially fueled by a desire to offer its own coverage of the 2008 US Presidential election, it has begun to originate its own news programming, distinct from BBC World News. Several British shows have received backing from BBCA beyond just Jekyll. Robin Hood, The Mrs Bradley Mysteries, and Jam & Jerusalem (known stateside as Clatterford) are amongst the several projects that have received some BBCA funding. In 2010, BBCA funded not just Doctor Who, but also Primeval.

Nevertheless, BBCA is primarily a distributor, not a producer. As a commercial network, it must bid for the right to show BBC programming like any other network in America. It has not always won the right to debut BBC shows in America. It failed to receive the initial rights to the BBC Wales version of Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, for instance — but it was the original American home for Torchwood.

On May 28, 2009, it was announced that BBC America had won the initial US broadcast right to Doctor Who beginning with The Next Doctor and the 2009 specials. The length of their right to originate Doctor Who episodes in the US is unknown, but will continue at least through series 6.

On demand services
In some parts of the United States, BBC America runs a secondary service called "BBC America On Demand". For an additional fee, subscribers can receive largely commercial-free versions of the shows running on BBC America. Thus, in a sense the network does offer some BBC content in more or less the way it was intended to be seen.

Home media sales
Through a relationship with the BBC America Shop, headquartered in Pennsylvania, the network drives sales of Region 1 DVDs of its programs. Although the shop is not the only outlet for BBC Video sales in North America, it is the de facto "official provider" for BBC America, and a major supporter of the BBC America website.

More generally, the fact that the network provides an American home for some British shows creates a business rationale for releasing them to the Region 1 market. Shows like Torchwood and Jekyll would likely not have received a speedy Region 1 DVD release without the involvement of BBC America. Beginning with the DVD release of the Children of Earth miniseries, DVD and Blu-Ray release of Doctor Who and Torchwood product has now been occurring within weeks (sometimes even days in a few cases) of broadcast on BBC America.