Royal Wedding Watched By 29.2M People: Nielsen

By
( )
last updated

An estimated 29.2 million people woke up early Saturday morning to see TV actress Meghan Markle marry Britain’s Prince Harry, according to Nielsen.

The total topped the last royal wedding, when Prince William married Kate Middleton in 2011. That event drew 22.8 million viewers.

Back when Princess Diana married Prince Charles, Nielsen only counted households. That 1981 wedding was watched in 14.2 million households on the three networks available. The latest royal wedding was seen in 23.7 million homes.

Related: A+E Royal Wedding Movie Sold in Over 30 Territories

Nielsen’s total includes viewing between 7 a.m. and 8:15 am ET on : ABC (inclusive of Freeform simulcast), BBC America, CBS, CNN, CNNe, E!, Fox News Channel, HLN, MSNBC, NBC, PBS, Telemundo, TLC and Univision.

On cable, Fox News Channel’s coverage drew nearly 2 million total veiwers, topping 1.92 for CNN and 1.01 for MSNBC. In the key news demo of adults 25-54, CNN was tops with 650,000 versus 416,000 for Fox News and 234,000 for MSNBC. CNN also led in young adults 18 to 34 with 125,000.

E! Network claimed its coverage of the royal Wedding delivered 111 million total engagements across TV, digital and social platforms. It was E!’s biggest event of 2018.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.