The BBC has sold last year's season of the revived Doctor Who to the Sci-Fi Channel, paving the way for the Dotor's new adventures to be broadcast in the US.

According to the two media organisations, the show's first 13-episode run will air Friday nights at 9pm next March, a year after they were shown in the UK and around the time the second series kicks off in Britain following the Christmas special's successful introduction of the tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. The Sci-Fi Channel has the option to show the 2006 season too.

The 2005 series, which stars Christopher Eccleston as the ninth incarnation of the Time Lord, won itself big audiences over here on its first run on BBC One, and has continued to gain new fans thanks to re-runs on the BBC Three digital channel and its release on DVD.

The DVDs were due to go on sale in the US next month, but thanks to the Sci-Fi deal, they've been rescheduled for a July release. The Canadian DVD release is still set for 14 February, apparently. The show has already been broadcast north of the border, and in Australia and New Zealand. ®

Related stories

• Doctor Who stars sign for Season Three (31 March 2006)
• Geek TV Dr Who bandwagon starts to roll (31 March 2006)
• Doctor Who reads out your TXTs (31 January 2006)
• Doctor Who secures 2005's top TV moment (28 December 2005)
• Stob Candid Dalek shares thesp titbits (1 December 2005)
• Letters IT projects collapse, space stations defunded and Dr. Who repells ex-pats? (15 November 2005)
• BBC unwraps new series' Cybermen (11 November 2005)
• Doctor Who Children in Need ETA revealed (8 November 2005)
• Doctor Who set to return on Xmas Day (4 November 2005)
• BBC launches Doctor Who spin-off (17 October 2005)
• Doctor Who to transmat onto PSP (5 October 2005)