PERRYMAN - BBC transmedia strategies

• A factory that can fashion 
• a single world 
• under a collective roof 
• to create distinctive -yet linked - programming, 
• spanning platforms, audiences and channels 
• is now regarded by the BBC’s hierarchy as a template 
• for all major television commissioning decisions in the future.

Doctor Who and the Convergence of Media : A Case Study in `Transmedia Storytelling'
Neil Perryman
Convergence 2008 14: 21
DOI: 10.1177/1354856507084417

Abstract
The British science fiction series Doctor Who embraces convergence culture on an unprecedented scale, with the BBC currently using the series to trial a plethora of new technologies, including: mini-episodes on mobile phones, podcast commentaries, interactive red-button adventures, video blogs, companion programming, and ‘fake’ metatextual websites. 

In 2006 the BBC launched two spin-off series, Torchwood (aimed at an exclusively adult audience) and The Sarah Jane Smith Adventures (for 11-15-year-olds), and what was once regarded as an embarrassment to the Corporation now spans the media landscape as a multi-format colossus. 

This article critically explores many of the transmedia strategies the BBC has employed in relaunching this property. Has it resulted in a richer and more entertaining experience, or is it merely an economic exercise in merchandising and branding? Can these media really work together to create a coherent and satisfying whole?

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