Ratings from Labor Day weekend are in, and BBC America’s Doctor Who and new original drama Copper scored huge. The seventh season premiere ofDoctor Who, “Asylum of the Daleks,” was the channel’s highest-rated, most-watched telecast in its history, bringing in 1.555 million total viewers “Live + Same Day.” Among non-sports programming, it was No. 1 among cable networks in the crucial 25-54 demo (with 723,000) during its timeslot on Saturday, September 1. Adding in big ratings for Sunday’s third episode ofCopper, this past weekend was the highest-rated in the channel’s history.
Meanwhile, the August 19 premiere of Copper — which already reigns as BBC AMERICA’s highest-rated series premiere ever — has now broken another record. With a full week’s worth of DVR viewing accounted for, the premiere is now the channel’s highest-rated telecast within “Live+7″ viewership, scoring 1.805 million total viewers and 859,000 within the demo. (With re-airs factored in, Copper‘s first episode cumulatively delivered 2,754 million total viewers and 1.273 million in the 25-54 demo.) More than a million viewers watch the series each week, making it the channel’s highest-rated drama.
Perry Simon, General Manager of Channels at BBC Worldwide America, says: “The one-two punch of our returning hit series Doctor Who and our first original drama Copper combined to set a new weekend ratings record and deliver our most watched telecasts in our history. Taken together with our most-ever Emmy nominations and our increased distribution, it feels like BBC AMERICA is clearly a network on the move.”
