BBC America To Air 'Doctor Who' 50th Anniversary Pre-Show Special

BBC America along with YouTube will air a pre-show event prior to the Nov. 23 premiere of the network’s  Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor, the network announced Tuesday.

The Doctor Who 50th Live Pre-Show special will air on BBC America and will be streamed on BBC America’s YouTube channel on Nov. 23 at 2:30 p.m., 20 minutes prior to the premiere of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary documentary, said network officials. The pre-show, hosted by Veronica Belmont, will feature fan-created content from celebrations around the globe.

“Doctor Who has an amazing social media following and is enormously popular, with millions of views on YouTube,” said Perry Simon, general manager of BBC America. “Partnering with YouTube on an innovative pre-show will enable fans everywhere to join our celebration of this groundbreaking series’ 50th anniversary.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.