Chen Sijie, general manager of SMG Pictures, said: "China is going through a time of tremendous growth and rapid market development. Everyone here is curious about popular cultures around the world. At the same time, they want to share their Chinese culture and values."
He said Doctor Who, with its long television history and iconic place in popular culture, is "a great representative of British pop culture".
"We hope that this partnership with BBC Worldwide will enable both parties, as well as Chinese and British fans, to share and exchange ideas and learning to grow the universe of Doctor Who in China," Chen said.
The Doctor Who deal is the latest development in a deepening partnership between SMG and the BBC. BBC Worldwide has previously worked with SMG's fi lm business unit Oriental Pearl Group on the theatrical release of Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, a 90-minute special episode from the BBC's TV series Sherlock that stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. SMG ran the episode in cinemas across China, where the British fi ctional detective is hugely popular.
SMG and BBC Worldwide also co-produced the upcoming film One Amazing Day, a sequel to the film Earth, which took $112 million at the box office in 2007. A Disney and BBC co-production, Earth chronicled the lives of wild animals through the changing seasons. One Amazing Day will follow animals in several different habitats during a 24-hour period.
The English-language version of One Amazing Day will be narrated by US movie star Robert Redford, while Chinese screen legend Jackie Chan will narrate the Mandarin version.
The entire catalogue of the BBC's popular motor show Top Gear, as well as five series of Top Gear USA, six series of Top Gear Korea and both series of Top Gear China have also recently been launched on BesTV, SMG's linear television service. There has also been a programming block for children's channel CBeebies on BesTV since 2014.
