Doctor Who and Torchwood help BBC profits rise

International sales of shows including Doctor Who and Torchwood led to a year-on-year growth in BBC Worldwide profits.

The commercial arm of the BBC recorded an 8% rise in headline profit to £155m (2010/11: £144m).  Profit before tax of £104m (2010/11: £92m excluding gains on disposals) is up 13% on a like for like basis. The company grew headline sales by 5% to £1,085m in the 12 months to 31 March 2012 (2010/11: £1,030m).

Doctor Who and Torchwood - along with Top Gear, Frozen Planet, Spooks, Sherlock, Planet Earth and Natural World - were the top selling programmes, each of which sold in over 100 markets. International sales of BBC programmes as a percentage of the total increased by 9 percentage points to 64% (2010/11: 56%).

As previously reported, Doctor Who Series 6 was the most-downloaded TV programme on the US version of iTunes in 2011.

The 2012 Doctor Who Annual was the "stand out" performer in the Children's book category.

In overall terms of merchandise sales, Doctor Who now has around 100 separate licensees across a wide range of product categories and was the fourth biggest licence in the market for boys aged 5-14.

The top five brands - Doctor Who, Top Gear, Lonely Planet, Dancing with the Stars and BBC Earth – account for 30% of company headline sales.

3,000 fans attended the first Official Doctor Who Convention in Cardiff and BBC Worldwide hosted 7,000 fans at Comic-Con San Diego.

(Source: BBC Media Centre)