With more than 2.2 million in worldwide ticket sales, the Metropolitan Opera set a record for its high-definition opera transmission program this season, the company announced Sunday. The program sold 1.8 million tickets during its previous season.

"The Met: Live in HD," which launched in December 2006, transmits the company's performances at the Metropolitan Opera House to movie theaters around the world. In its inaugural season, the series was broadcast to 248 venues in eight countries, selling 325,000 tickets. The company's general manager, Peter Gelb, said the high-definition distribution program has tripled the size of the company's paying audience, with five million tickets sold since the series's inception.

Mr. Gelb also announced that the program will expand by several hundred theaters next season, including venues in Spain and Portugal. Those additions will raise the total number of participating countries to 46.

Saturday's broadcast of Rossini's "Armida," staring Renee Fleming, was the final live transmission of the program's fourth season. It reached more than 600 screens in North America, and those showings grossed $2.2 million in earnings. The average ticket price is $20.

The fifth season, beginning October 9, will feature 11 transmissions, including a new production of "Das Rheingold.