'Downton Abbey' draws 7.9 million viewers for its PBS Season 3 premiere
ITV import rises 96 percent from last year's premiere
"Downton Abbey"
Credit: PBS
Are you a fan of TV Ratings?
Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.
Despite concerns that piracy might dampen ratings, "Downton Abbey" scored huge numbers in its third season return to PBS.
Sunday (January 6) night's two-hour premiere drew a whopping 7.9 million viewers for PBS, quadrupling PBS' average primetime ratings and improving on last season's premiere by 96 percent.
In its 9 to 11 p.m. initial airing, "Downton Abbey" made PBS the second most watched broadcast network on Sunday night, behind only CBS. Seattle, Boston, Austin and New York delivered the biggest local numbers.
"'Downton Abbey' continues to enthrall audiences nationwide, and this season is especially riveting with the addition of Shirley MacLaine to the cast and the lively interaction between her and Maggie Smith," blurbs PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger. "I’m so pleased that audiences have returned to ‘Downton Abbey’ on their local stations to continue to enjoy some of the best drama on television."
The third season of "Downton Abbey" premiered Across The Pond in mid-September and many observers wondered if rampant torrenting of the Emmy-winning drama might hurt its American audience. An equal number of observers, though, suggested that PBS' audience isn't exactly the audience most likely to be torrenting.
"The well-loved characters that made Season 2 the most-watched series in 'Masterpiece' history continue to delight us," states 'Masterpiece' executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "I’m thrilled to see so many viewers return to the Crawley family’s delicious drama and intrigue."
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
News From Our Partners
-
Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher in $10M Tug of War
'Captain America: The Winter Soldier': Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie Spotted in D.C. (VIDEO)
Katie Holmes Attracts the Wrong Kind of Attention on 'Mania Days' Set
-
What to Watch Tonight: The Season Finales of Arrow, CSI, and Supernatural
Grimm "The Waking Dead" Review: Dead On Arrival
CBS's 2013-2014 Season: New Nights for Person of Interest and Hawaii Five-0, More Comedy on Thursdays
-
The Telefile - TNT & TBS Upfront 2013: Reaping What Other Networks Sowed
The Telefile - Fall TV 2013: What's On When
The Telefile - New Girl: Wedding Do's and Don'ts
-
Best Alicia Keys Instagram Photos – Picture Perfect
Taylor Swift Fan Arrested for Swimming Near Her Rhode Island Beach House
Taylor Swift vs. Pink vs. Rihanna vs. Beyonce: Whose Tour Costume Do You Like Best? – Readers Poll
-
Hulu.com: 7 Things That Wouldn't Exist Without The Office
Larry Womack: In Defense of (the Original) James T. Kirk
'Storage Wars': Ivy Finds Giant Clam Shell
-
Tolerability Index: This week we're barely putting up with The Killing
TV Roundtable: When My Boys tested its prickly chemistry by inviting some new faces to the poker table
The Walkthrough: The New Girl showrunners on topping season two’s big kiss (Part 5 of 5)
-
In Pictures: The Stars of Star Trek Into Darkness
Digital Multiplex: The Last Stand, Side Effects, and More
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Ambitious, Time-Jumping Epic Cloud Atlas
-
'Riddick' Trailer: Vin Diesel Is What Goes Bump in the Night
'The Simpsons' Taps Kristen Wiig For Guest Arc As FBI Agent
CBS Fall 2013 Schedule: 'Mike & Molly' to 2014, More Comedy Thursday, and 'Hawaii' to Friday
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupDapper Dan
February 3, 2013 at 11:45PM EST Reply to CommentBravo PBS