Never mind the ratings, it's an export hit...

Peep Show’s seventh series might have had an uncertain start on Channel 4 last week – but that hasn't stopped it being snapped up by broadcasters in Australia and Canada.

Distribution company Digital Rights Group has announced that the new season has been sold to the ABC in Australia and Super Channel in Canada, both of which already run the sitcom.

In addition, TV4 in Sweden and American online video service Hulu have brought the rights to series six.

Patrick Roberts, the senior vice-president of international sales at DRG, said: ‘At 42 episodes, Peep Show is now the longest running Channel 4 commissioned sitcom.

He added that the deal ‘underlines the export value of cool, modern comedies from the UK like Peep Show and The Inbetweeners’.

Peep Show has also been sold to Turner Broadcasting in Latin America, MTV (Poland, Finland, The Netherlands), NRK (Norway), Wowow (Japan), IRIB (Iran) and Fox International Channels (Africa).

The opening installment of series seven attracted just 885,000 viewers to Channel 4 on Friday night – half the audience of series six. The broadcaster’s decision to put the episode online a week before its TV debut is being partly blamed for the poor performance.

Published: 30 Nov 2010