20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Lost
18. It Ruined US TV In The UK Forever
When Lost arrived on Channel 4 in the UK it caused quite a storm. Introduced with a haunting trailer scored to Portisheads Numb, it was the channel's highest-rated imported show and, even though viewers almost halved as the first two series developed, it remained one of their biggest shows.
Enter Sky. The Murdoch behemoth swept in and swiftly snatched Lost from Channel 4 and the ratings shot down dramatically, available only to those who were subscribed to satellite channel Sky 1. And thus began an ongoing bid by Sky to snap up all quality US drama.
They got Mad Men from BBC and a couple of years ago bought rights to all of HBO's output. In theory getting more people to sign up to Sky, in reality it just limits the audience of these shows to those already subscribed, leaving everyone else to wait for the DVD. So while Lost heralded a new age of programming, be it mystery driven or serialised dramas, it also severely crippled its exposure in the UK.