Guess viewers weren’t that upset about Matthew Crawley’s untimely demise after all: Last night’s fourth season premiere of PBS’ “Downton Abbey” delivered 10.2 million viewers, up 22 percent from last year’s season-three debut. Between 9 and 11 p.m. ET/PT, PBS managed to tie CBS as Sunday night’s most-watched network, based on weighted metered- market averages.
That’s the most viewers that have ever turned out for a PBS drama premiere.
“As this captivating drama continues, our audiences have been eagerly awaiting this new season to see what’s next for these beloved characters,” said PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger in a statement. “I’m so pleased that millions of viewers have returned to ‘Downton Abbey’ on their local PBS stations for what has become a post-holiday tradition.”
“I’m delighted to see that the Crawley family’s intrigue continues to beguile our viewers,” said Masterpiece’s executive producer Rebecca Eaton. “Julian Fellowes has written every word of all four seasons of ‘Downton,’ and I toss him a huge bouquet on behalf of his American fans.”
The new season will be available for free streaming on PBS station websites, the PBS Video Portal and PBS’ apps on Xbox, Roku and Apple TV for a limited time after each national broadcast. Over the past several months, fans have watched more than 2.3 million streams of previews and clips across all PBS platforms leading up to the fourth-season premiere, according to PBS and Google Analytics.
According to Nielsen SocialGuide, a Twitter audience of 2.9 million people saw 97,000 tweets during the premiere, generating a total of 15.2 million impressions and making it the #2 telecast, ranked by unique audience, across the whole day and excluding sports events.
PBS and Masterpiece insiders — as well as moderators from Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo), Jarett Wieselman of BuzzFeed (@JarettSays) and special guests including Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore) — will continue to host live discussions during each broadcast to connect directly with fans on social media.
To engage viewers in the series’ premiere, more than 135 local PBS stations hosted premiere screenings in December and January, collectively drawing tens of thousands of fans nationwide. Member stations created events ranging from high teas to dinners to cruises to involve community members in the excitement of the series.
“Downton Abbey” is a Carnival Films/MASTERPIECE Co-Production.
Brief Take: ‘Downton Abbey’ is a phenomenon on its own, but that hasn’t stopped PBS, its member affiliates, and Masterpiece from continuing to market it as if no one has ever heard of the show.
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