NBCU Licenses Downton Abbey into 100+ Territories

UNIVERSAL CITY: NBCUniversal’s drama series Downton Abbey has been sold into more than 100 territories outside of North America, with recent deals in Australia and the Middle East.

Set in an Edwardian country house in 1912, Downton Abbey spotlights the Crawley family and the servants who work for them. The series stars Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham; Hugh Bonneville as Robert, Earl of Grantham; and Elizabeth McGovern as Robert’s wife, Cora, Countess of Grantham. The cast also includes Penelope Wilton, Dan Stevens, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Lesley Nicol, Siobhan Finneran, Rob James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt and Rose Leslie.

Among the broadcasters that have picked up the series are Albanian Screen; Seven Network in Australia; VRT of Belgium; HRT of Croatia; DR Denmark; YLE in Finland; and Sky Deutschland in Germany. Further pickups were in Iceland (RUV); Ireland (TV3); Israel (I.B.A.); Japan (STAR CHANNEL); the Middle East (OSN); Netherlands (NPO); New Zealand (PRIME); Norway (NRK); Poland (TVN); Spain (Antena 3); and Sweden (SVT), among others.

“Downton Abbey was a tremendous hit out of the gate and we knew we had something very special on our hands,” said Belinda Menendez, the president of NBCUniversal International Television Distribution & Universal Networks International. “The series has been embraced by broadcasters all over the world and continues to establish loyal viewer following with each new launch.”

Michael Edelstein, the president of, NBCUniversal International Television Production, commented, “Downton Abbey is a perfect storm: a brilliant story, a talented cast and a high-level production that created a truly global phenomenon. Downton signals the type of innovative content that we are creating for the global marketplace. We are currently in production of the second season, which promises to continue to captivate viewers around the world.”