EastEnders
"EastEnders" is broadcast around the world in many English-speaking countries. New Zealand became the first to broadcast "EastEnders" overseas, the first episode being shown on 27 September 1985. This was followed by the Netherlands on 8 December 1986, Australia on 5 January 1987, Norway on 27 April, and Barcelona on 30 June (dubbed into Catalan). On 9 July 1987, it was announced that the show would be aired in the United States on PBS. BBC Worldwide licensed 200 hours of "EastEnders" for broadcast in Serbia on RTS (dubbed into Serbian); it began airing the first episode in December 1997. The series was broadcast in the United States until BBC America ceased broadcasts of the serial in 2003, amidst fan protests. In June 2004, the satellite television provider Dish Network picked up "EastEnders", broadcasting episodes starting at the point where BBC America had ceased broadcasting them, offering the series as a pay-per-view item. Episodes air two months behind the UK schedule. Episodes from prior years are still shown on various PBS stations in the US. Since 7 March 2017, "EastEnders" has been available in the United States on demand, 24 hours after it has aired in the United Kingdom via BritBox, a joint venture between BBC and ITV.
EastEnders Live
On 15 September 2009, the BBC announced plans to broadcast the first ever live episode of "EastEnders", to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary. The air date was set for 19 February 2010, with the episode to be broadcast from the BBC's Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. "EastEnders" executive producer Diederick Santer initially refrained from discussing the episode's plot, but commented that it would resolve a "big storyline" which would "keep the audience (as well as the cast and crew) guessing until the very last moment." "EastEnders" storylines saw Archie Mitchell, landlord of The Queen Victoria public house murdered on Christmas Day 2009, with many characters considered potential suspects in the crime. Santer confirmed that the killer would be revealed in the live episode, and that their identity would be kept secret until the night of broadcast, even from the cast member playing them. Another aspect of the episode is the remarriage of characters Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen). Santer deemed it the "soap wedding of the year—and perhaps the soap wedding of the decade", commenting that playing the romance against the "thriller" of the "whodunnit" storyline provided a balance he hoped audiences would be "gripped by and satisfied with."