“One hundred and sixty million Chinese are watching Downton Abbey, which is more than double the number of people who live in the UK,” said Chancellor George Osborne on Radio 4’s Today programme, phoning from China.
The Londoner salutes the Chancellor on being able to double the British population correctly, but is the 160 million viewing figure correct?
The last time Downton Abbey announced its international figures, just this summer, it claimed an official global audience of 120 million. Over in China, the porcelain and starchy jokes of Downton have indeed been a success. The show has been airing for a while through online video site Youku Tudou. But when it announced its figures this summer, it was just 700,000 viewers tuning in for the latest exploits of Matthew Crawley and the Countess of Grantham. Chinese state TV also began showing Series One in April but no viewing figures have been released.
So where did the 160 million figure come from? A Chinese media analysis company Entgroup put out a report recently saying it expected British dramas, including shows such as Black Mirror, Sherlock and Downton, to have a collective audience of 160 million over the next two to three years.
When the Londoner called this morning to check the statistics, the Treasury apologised, saying there were some communication problems of a more fundamental nature dogging the department: “The Treasury is having trouble with its telephones today.”
