The 60th anniversary of Doctor Who has sparked confusion regarding where to watch the entirety of the show. This ironically follows the creation of the Whoniverse, which is meant to collect every Doctor Who series and special. Unfortunately, this option is only available to viewers in the United Kingdom.
Doctor Who fans in the U.K. have access to the new BBC iPlayer. This digital archive is meant to collect all the televised adventures of The Doctor. In addition to the original series, the Whoniverse also streams spin-offs like Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and Class. It will also feature new original series, starting with Tales of the TARDIS.
How to Watch Doctor Who in America
Fans of Doctor Who the United States have a more difficult journey ahead of them. Disney+ has the exclusive rights to broadcast the new adventures of the Doctor outside the U.K. However, it does not have the streaming rights to the original series, nor the existing seasons of the 2005 relaunch.
In the U.S., the 2005 relaunch is only available through Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service. Max has had the streaming rights to the new Doctor Who series since May 2020. It will continue to own the American streaming rights to the modern series and its spin-offs until July 27, 2025.
Accessing the Classic Doctor Who series, which ran from 1963 to 1989, was equally problematic. The streaming rights to the classic series are currently controlled by BritBox. They can currently be accessed via a stand-alone app, or a Prime Video channel. However, many classic episodes were just released to the free streaming service Tubi TV.
There is also a Doctor Who Classic channel on the free Pluto TV app. However, that channel acts as a traditional broadcast channel, and does not allow for on-demand streaming. In either case, Americans will need to subscribe to three different services to get the same catalog as the Whoniverse. International audiences will face the same problems, until the current contracts with the BBC expire and Disney+ can negotiate a new deal.
The Whoniverse is now streaming on BBC iPlayer.
