The weekend was very, very good to “Doctor Who” and the “American Music Awards.”
Saturday night’s 50th anniversary “Doctor Who” special, “Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor,” pulled in big numbers on the BBC and BBC America — while Sunday’s “American Music Awards” hit a four-year high on ABC.
The “Who” special — simulcast in 90 countries and screened in movie theaters (including six in Manhattan) — averaged 10.2 million viewers on BBC One in England — its best viewership since the show’s 2010 Christmas special — and grabbed a network record 2.4 million viewers on BBC America at 2:50 p.m.
The “American Music Awards,” meanwhile, averaged nearly 13 million viewers on ABC, that show’s best TV numbers since 2009.
The show was highlighted — or lowlighted, depending on your opinion — by Katy Perry’s questionable opening performance of “Unconditionally,” in which she and her backup performers were dressed as Japanese geishas.