"Empire" Is the Biggest International Television Hit Since "The Cosby Show"

Empire won’t stop setting trends. The show wrapped its season one finale back in March, but people all over the world are still catching on. The hit Fox show has become the first since The Cosby Show to be a hit all over the world, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Empire is now sold out in virtually every major territory worldwide. Big terrestrial broadcasters like Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1, Network Ten in Australia and France’s M6 — networks with market positions similar to Fox’s in the U.S. — have acquired the series. In the U.K., where U.S. shows of any kind have a hard time getting on major networks, it went to E4, Channel 4’s smaller digital pay TV outlet. Fox International Channels, which is a smaller pay TV player in most foreign territories, has picked up the show for multiple global markets including Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Empire has even conquered Asia, a notoriously difficult market for U.S. shows, with deals for such key territories as China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.

The best part about it all is that it’s happening to other Black television shows, like How to Get Away with Murder, Power, and Black-ish, as well. Power‘s second season will be seen in France, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with more countries to be added later. Global networks are finally catching on that even people in Germany might want to catch a sitcom with –surprise! – black people.

Similarly, one German buyer tells THR when she first saw the pilot of Black-ish, “I thought it wouldn’t work on a major German network, not because of the cast but because it seemed a very niche comedy. But after a few episodes it’s become clear the show is much broader. It’s a real family sitcom of the kind that could easily work here on primetime.”

article by Ariel Cherie via blackamericaweb.com