25 Million Watch Wills and Kate Tie The Royal Knot
The combined average audience for the Royal Wedding on April 29th was 25 million, according to figures from the BBC and ITV. In line with other state occasions and national events, the BBC attracted the bulk of the audience, with 19m tuning into its channels and 6m preferring to watch on ITV1. All told, the BBC estimates that 34.7m people watched at least part of the event, with 1m watching via iPlayer.
The BBC’;s Deputy Director-General Mark Byford said: “The huge audience is a testament to all those involved in producing such high-quality and distinctive coverage, and proves once again that the BBC is the broadcaster of choice for audiences during big national events.” All told, the BBC had 550 staff working on the event, at a cost of £2m.
One interesting footnote: Sky has captured some 3D images of the wedding and will be showing them on its HD channel. Originally, Buckingham Palace had ruled out 3D coverage but appears to have relaxed its position enough to allow Sky to produce a short film based around footage from Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.
Sky 3D chief John Cassy said: “Sky 3D”s Royal Wedding film will capture the essence of one of the biggest events ever witnessed on the capital”s streets, as seen through the eyes of members of the public. We”ve always said 3D lends itself to event TV and we”re delighted to be able to use our 3D leadership to capture one of the TV events of our time.”
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