Millions Tune Into News Of Royal Death

News of the Queen Mother’s death prompted over 9 million people to tune into special news bulletins on BBC1 and ITV1 last Saturday and has caused traffic to the royal website to increase by 1200%.

BBC1 was one of the first terrestrial channels to broadcast news of the royal death with a special bulletin airing at 5.45pm. 5.3 million people tuned in to hear Peter Sissons break the news to the nation and despite attracting criticism for protocol which dictated that the newsreader did not wear a black tie, the bulletin achieved a 32.3% share of viewing. BBC1 continued its coverage of events throughout the evening temporarily suspending normal programming.

ITV1 aired a special news bulletin at 5.50pm, which was seen by 3.8 million and managed a 22.6% share of viewing. The broadcaster then returned to normal scheduling and aired an extended news bulletin at 8.40pm that evening, helping it to avoid criticism levelled at BBC1 for its uninterrupted coverage.

Research from online intelligence service Hitwise also shows that traffic to the official memorial website

According to Hitwise: “This dramatic increase in traffic is an indication of the popularity of such a remarkable lady whose death has touched the whole nation.”

Meanwhile, press reports suggest that two hundred million television viewers around the globe will tune in to coverage of the Queen Mother’s funeral next Tuesday, in what is being hailed as one of the most challenging events broadcasters have covered in years.

BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk Hitwise: 020 7483 9257 www.hitwise.co.uk ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.co.uk

Recent TV stories from MediaTel NewsLine: ITV And BBC Seek ITC Permission For World Cup ITV Revenues Down 12% In H1, Visibility Still Limited Analysis: Sport, Not The Draw It Used To Be?

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive