The NY Times reports that Sunday night’s season III premiere of “Downtown Abbey” on PBS was seen by nearly 8 million viewers, more than any network shows that night, except “The Good Wife” on CBS, which attracted 10 million viewers. It is one of the first times known that the audience for a public television program has exceeded that of programs on the traditional networks.

Last month, on December 3, the Times reported that consecutive episodes in season III of the zombie apocalypse series “The Walking Dead” on AMC, a cable channel, were routinely attracting more viewers than any network shows on the same night, in excess of ten million viewers.

Clearly, the TV viewing world has been changing for decades, ever since cable began and the marginalization of the traditional networks began, but it seems we’re entering new territory nowadays.