Posted on: Wednesday, March 30, 2005

'Lost' heats up airwaves overseas

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Viewers from around the world are discovering the joy of getting "Lost."

The ABC survivor drama, shot on O'ahu's North Shore, made the second-biggest debut in Australian television history when it premiered in January.

In New Zealand, roughly 43 percent of all televisions are tuned in to the show each week.

Norway may only have television in 85 percent of its homes, but more than half of them are set to "Lost" in any given week.

The show debuted in Latin America via cable and satellite provider AXN Latin America earlier this month. While those ratings haven't been reported yet, there was a spike in satellite TV subscriptions, according to Amy Astley, a spokeswoman for the show's international distributor, Buena Vista International TV.

The "Lost" fan base will continue to grow when the show hits the airwaves in major European countries over the next few months: Germany next month, France over the summer, and the United Kingdom in August.