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Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
Downton Abbey‘s third-season opener and closer on Masterpiece Classic strongly outpaced ratings for comparable Season 2 shows — the February 17 finale even beat all of its broadcast and cable competition in primetime. So, it’s no surprise that national household ratings for the entire season were record-breakers. In news that might make even Carson crack a smile, PBS and WGBH said today that a total of 24M viewers 
tuned in to visit with the Crawley family over seven weeks of Season 3 episodes. That’s a 7M-viewer increase from last year and makes the show PBS’ highest-rated drama ever. The season had a 7.7 average and an average season audience of 11.5M viewers, according to Nielsen Live+7 data. Those figures are up 64% and 65%, respectively, over Season 2. On the UK’s ITV, Season 3 was also the biggest so far and had an overall average of 9.7M viewers.
The figures are notable given the high-stakes spoilers that were parading around the Internet while the show was airing in the UK ahead of its U.S. broadcast. They also set up quite a challenge for Season 4, which is currently shooting with a series of new castmembers — and sans some important ones who ducked out last year.
Via PBS’ online and mobile services, full episodes of Season 3 have been viewed 9.7M million times, an increase of 2.1M views over Season 2. The Masterpiece website also had more visitors on the day after the Season 3 finale than any day in its history. And, the season has also been the No. 1 show on both iTunes and Amazon Instant Video since the January 7 launch.
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By comparison, American Idol had 11.7 million viewers for last week’s Tuesday episode. Downton’s audience is almost as large.
This is a surprise, compared to most of the garbage the networks and cable keep jamming down our throat, Downton stands head and shoulders above it. And then the TV execs scratch their heads, their behinds and think up the 10,000th reality show i.e. Honee Booboooo’s teddie’s Christmas in July.
Funny,
Many in the UK would put Downton Abbey at the level of Honey BooBoo. They think it’s a poorly-written soap.
If that’s true, then we have to get more of these shows over here!
Audiences follow the material wherever it is today. Not the network. And word-of-mouth is alive and well. Networks should concentrate on their traditional underpinnings : predictable in scheduling, reassuring in permitting an audience to build. And word-of-mouth might happen there again too. You shouldn’t need a flashlight, a hard hat, and a pick and axe to find a show you caught once and wouldn’t mind checking out again. “Big Bang Theory” proves that network can still do it (you know, come up with PBS ratings) with the right choices and consistent support that doesn’t undermine with erratic scheduling pathos and the inprecise promotion that will always be the end result of the foregoing.
Seems like Downton Abbey is getting close to Jump the Shark territory. Whatever you do, don’t have a baby. Bad things will happen.
I been watching Downton Abby since season 1 it is that good I got my family friends and co workers watching this
I know few male friends of mine who love this show too embarrased to admit it
Not a surprise – it’s a good show and this jane austen type stuff always makes money. Those BBC tv movies – I know women who own them on dvd and watch them over and over – ‘Wives and Daughters’ ‘Daniel Deronda’ etc. It’s always the same story – poor girl with no marriage ‘prospects’, young chiseled handsome guy with ’10,000 a year’ or an ‘estate in somerset’, comlications/misunderstandings/ forbidden love/passionate kisses then happy ending, cue music.
PBS should do a series based on the characters from emma or sense and sensibility or one of the other ones – ratings through the roof.
no brainer
I love Downton Abbey I think it is not only the best show on PBS but the best show ever. It has the best of the old nighttime soap operas like Knot’s Landing back in it’s heyday. It’s a period piece set in England and not only is the writing spot on but it’s costumes are awesome. The acting is A+, the cast makes you think that you are watching a really interesting and entertaining documentary. The facts etc are spot on. The characters are easy to love and what other show can make you care so much for a character in the 1st season that when she is killed off in the 3rd season(mind you that they are short seasons) that you cry your heart out? Yes Lady Sybill(sic). even when we were introduced to Matthew’s fiancé in the 2nd session and you knew she was going to split up him and Lady Mary when she passed on due to complications of the fever you still mourned her passing with Master Matthew and then you cheered when Lady Mary and Master Matthew got engaged, you were pissed off when Bates was sent to prision after he finally married his one true love & you even threw something at the TV(yes I did and thank God I missed or I would have missed when he was finally set free. Alas I sit here watching reruns waiting for Season 4 to come to the US because even tho I can watch the spoilers on YouTube I try very hard not too. I wish they could be on weekly and run 52 weeks a year like the daytime soaps or have their seasons longer. Oh well. Hurry up Season 4 we in the US love you as much as they do in the UK maybe even more.
Even though I tried desperately to avert my eyes from your post, knowing there’d be some spoilers, i just could not because i lap up any information I can about this amazing show. My husband (who adores Breaking Bad and The Shield, as do I) and I discus these characters and their exploits as though they were our friends and we had a stake in their well-being. I find their relationships and interactions wonderfully complex and fascinating, worthy of dissection. I feel a longing within me that I can’t explain.
So, now I know. Sybil dies. Bates is set free. I heard that O’Brian will leave. I’m sad. Will it spoil my viewing pleasure? I don’t think so. Has anyone noticed that Cora is aging? I love that! Never on American TV!
I’ll say it again – are these raiting translating into more support for PBS?
Doesn’t matter if the have the viewers if these people don’t support public television.
I don’t know. Hopefully it is. PBS is amazing.
I don’t know about pledges but I read that Downton Abbey merch (including DVD & Blu Ray) is making a killing for PBS.
I’m with you. I don’t watch much in the way of TV dramas or sitcoms as I haven’t found many worth watching. Watching Downton Abbey has provided the most television-watching pleasure I’ve had in years. I do hope it continues if it does so at the level it’s been at.
Here in the UK we certainly do not consider ITV’s Downton Abbey as a “Poorly written Soap” it is a Drama of the highest Calibre and is not seen, whatsoever as a Soap!