The final 7-day ratings for an episode of Doctor Who season 14 are in, with the season finale, Empire of Death, being watched by 3.69 million people across the period.
The episode was originally watched overnight by 2.25 million people, but this didn’t account for iPlayer viewings, which as a proportion have been up considerably this season, due to the show’s new release schedule.
This 7-day consolidated rating leaves the episode in around the middle when it comes to viewership this season, with it getting more viewers than Boom, Dot and Bubble, Rogue and The Legend of Ruby Sunday.
It got less viewers than Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord, which were both released on the same day on BBC iPlayer, and 73 Yards, which was the season’s high-mark when it comes to viewership.
Showrunner Russell T Davies and the BBC itself have both commented on the show’s recent ratings, with Davies saying that “it’s not doing that well in the ratings, but it is doing phenomenally well with the younger audience that we wanted”.
It got less viewers than Space Babies and The Devil’s Chord, which were both released on the same day on BBC iPlayer, and 73 Yards, which was the season’s high-mark when it comes to viewership.
I’m not surprised that the viewership dropped after those episodes. The first two were a bit weird and Disneyfied, with talking babies and a musical number, and 73 Yards was a nothing episode - it felt like a lot of build up for a big letdown.
I’ve been a bit disappointed with the season. Ncuti Gatwa is a fantastic doctor, but the stories just haven’t been great. Hopefully it’s just the reboot easing new viewers in, and they’ll get stronger for the next season 👍
