Downton Abbey season four drew 10.2 million viewers on Sunday.
The Sunday premiere of the fourth season of Downton Abbey turned the series into the highest drama debut in the PBS history, as reported by The Wrap. There was an average of 10.2 million viewers who watched the season premiere which shows a 22 percent increase from the premiere of the last season (7.9 million viewers).
After each national broadcast, the fourth season will be available for free streaming for a limited period of time on PBS station websites, the PBS Video Portal and PBS’ apps on Xbox, Roku and Apple TV. According to Google analytics, there have been more than 2.3 million streams of previews across all PBS platforms.
Paula Kerger, the PBS President and CEO said that, “As this captivating drama continues, our audiences have been eagerly awaiting this new season to see what’s next for these beloved characters,”. SHh also added “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.”
In the U.K., Downton Abbey season four aired in the fall with an average of 9.6 million viewers on British network ITV and the numbers represented the biggest-ever audience for a season premiere, as reported by Vulture.
ITV and PBS have already ordered the fifth season of Downton Abbey.