31 million watch Jackson memorialTelecast of event was carried by 18 networksJuly 8, 2009, 03:35 PM ET
Although a staggering audience for a midweek morning after the Fourth of July holiday, the number falls shy of the linear viewership for the 2004 burial of Ronald Reagan (35.1 million) and the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana (33.3 million). But it's still a larger number of domestic viewers than those who watched the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II (8.8 million). A stunning 18 cable and broadcast networks carried the three-hour telecast, ranging from news outlets to such entertainment channels as MTV and E! ABC and CNN tied as the most-watched networks for the event, averaging 5.3 million viewers apiece. NBC was second with 5.1 million, CBS drew 3.9 million, Fox News had 2.2 million and MSNBC earned 1.4 million. Millions of additional viewers watched online and overseas. Given the steep increase in Internet viewing each year, it's likely that more U.S. viewers watched Jackson's memorial overall than Reagan's or Diana's if all forms of viewing were tallied. For instance, MSNBC.com (19 million streams) and MSN.com (9.7 million) broke their all-time streaming video records with Tuesday's event. ABC's digital network delivered nearly 6 million streams. Memorial organizer AEG Live told the Los Angeles Times that it expects that 1 billion people watched worldwide; the BBC estimated 2.5 billion worldwide for Diana. In the U.K., more than 6 million people watched the live primetime broadcasts of the service. The memorial was screened live on BBC 2, which attracted an average of 4 million viewers and a 19% audience share, according to unofficial overnight figures. The audience peaked at 5.2 million toward the end of the service at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Channel Five's coverage had an audience of 1.2 million and a 5% share between 6:30-9 p.m. in the U.K. And Sky News had an average audience of 897,000 for its coverage. In Germany, more than 20 million people -- almost one-quarter of the country's population of 83 million -- saw the live transmission as well as other reports about the funeral on more than 10 TV stations, according to market research company Media Control. On the main national terrestrial channels in France, about 10 million people watched coverage of the memorial, more than a 50% audience share, according to audience measurement company Mediametrie. Billboard's Andre Paine in London contributed to this report. 31 million watch Jackson memorialTelecast of event was carried by 18 networksJuly 8, 2009, 03:35 PM ET
Tuesday's over-the-top Michael Jackson memorial was seen by 31.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Although a staggering audience for a midweek morning after the Fourth of July holiday, the number falls shy of the linear viewership for the 2004 burial of Ronald Reagan (35.1 million) and the 1997 funeral of Princess Diana (33.3 million). But it's still a larger number of domestic viewers than those who watched the 2005 funeral of Pope John Paul II (8.8 million). A stunning 18 cable and broadcast networks carried the three-hour telecast, ranging from news outlets to such entertainment channels as MTV and E! ABC and CNN tied as the most-watched networks for the event, averaging 5.3 million viewers apiece. NBC was second with 5.1 million, CBS drew 3.9 million, Fox News had 2.2 million and MSNBC earned 1.4 million. Millions of additional viewers watched online and overseas. Given the steep increase in Internet viewing each year, it's likely that more U.S. viewers watched Jackson's memorial overall than Reagan's or Diana's if all forms of viewing were tallied. For instance, MSNBC.com (19 million streams) and MSN.com (9.7 million) broke their all-time streaming video records with Tuesday's event. ABC's digital network delivered nearly 6 million streams. Memorial organizer AEG Live told the Los Angeles Times that it expects that 1 billion people watched worldwide; the BBC estimated 2.5 billion worldwide for Diana. In the U.K., more than 6 million people watched the live primetime broadcasts of the service. The memorial was screened live on BBC 2, which attracted an average of 4 million viewers and a 19% audience share, according to unofficial overnight figures. The audience peaked at 5.2 million toward the end of the service at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Channel Five's coverage had an audience of 1.2 million and a 5% share between 6:30-9 p.m. in the U.K. And Sky News had an average audience of 897,000 for its coverage. In Germany, more than 20 million people -- almost one-quarter of the country's population of 83 million -- saw the live transmission as well as other reports about the funeral on more than 10 TV stations, according to market research company Media Control. On the main national terrestrial channels in France, about 10 million people watched coverage of the memorial, more than a 50% audience share, according to audience measurement company Mediametrie. Billboard's Andre Paine in London contributed to this report.
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