50th Anniversary Simulcast

The Sun is claiming that the 50th Anniversary Special is going to be simulcast to 200 countries around the world on November 23rd.

Global broadcasters yesterday agreed to the “simulcast” to avoid plot leakage.

The 3D episode goes out here on November 23 and is expected to air at 8pm on BBC1, so fans in LA will watch at noon while it airs in Sydney at 7am the next day.

It has been sold to 200 countries and is expected to reach more than 100 million viewers, making it the biggest-ever global drama simulcast.

The BBC have also issued a statement, saying that

It’s always been our ambition to work with our broadcast partners so that international Doctor Who fans can enjoy the 50th-anniversary special at the same time as the UK. We’ll have more details soon about our very exciting global plans for November.

A few potential problems have already been pointed out. First of all, Doctor Who is currently only broadcast to about 48 different countries, so they'd be sending it to countries that have never seen it before. The only events to have been broadcast on such a scale before are the Olympics and World Cup. Second, the BBC would have to get it to these countries a month beforehand in order to get the episode dubbed. This would provide plenty of opportunity for leakage. Third, it's the Sun.