The streaming wars are in full swing. The different streaming services are trying very hard to make sure their service provides the best value for the money. And so, each of them is always looking to add exclusive content that people will want to subscribe to their service for.

Exactly what a streaming deal would look like for Doctor Who is unclear. The show would still, obviously, air on BBC and BBC America. Currently, Doctor Who streams on AMC+ and on HBO Max, although there is a one-season lag on HBO Max. Presumably, Disney would insist on a deal where the more up-to-date episodes were on their streaming service.

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It is a good time for Disney to begin negotiations for the streaming rights. With the 60th anniversary special coming next year and the newest incarnation of the Doctor, recently announced as Ncuti Gatwa, set to make his appearance soon, it’s a fresh start for the show and a good time for such negotiations.

Doctor Who is Possibly The Longest Running Continuous Science Fiction Story on TV

     BBC Studios

Doctor Who premiered in 1963 with William Hartnell in the title role. The original version of the show spanned 26 years, ending in 1989. Over the course of that time, seven different actors assumed the role of the Doctor, a time traveler who can regenerate into a new body when his body dies.

The story goes that the regeneration aspect of the character was introduced to Doctor Who early on when Hartnell became too ill to continue on with the role. Since then, it has been used to great effect to refresh the character.

After going off the air in 1989, many people thought that was the end of Doctor Who. However, the story continued in a movie in 1996. Doctor Who: The Movie featured the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, and was supposed to be the start of a new series, but such a series never happened.

It would not be until Russell T. Davies launched the new Doctor Who series in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston taking over the controls of the TARDIS for McGann, although we do not see the regeneration into Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor to start the series. But all of these, the original series, the movie and the new series, all tell one continuous story, which is nearing its’ 60th year.

The new Doctor Who series has not been without its controversy. The Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, has had her time in the TARDIS plagued with complaints about the actress and about the writing. There were many that called for a boycott of the series as soon as Whittaker was announced as the newest actress to play the Time Lord. Time will tell how the fans will treat the Fourteenth Doctor when he arrives in the TARDIS soon.

Doctor Who airs on BBC and, at least for now, streams on AMC+ and HBO Max.