By Lisa Richwine
(Reuters) – Roughly 11.4 million people in the United States watched the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the first time TV cameras were allowed at the funeral of a British monarch, the Nielsen ratings agency said on Wednesday.
The figure represents the average audience on 13 cable and broadcast networks plus viewership in public places such as bars and restaurants. It does not capture all of the people who watched via streaming.
The service for the monarch, who died Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne, took place on Monday in London’s Westminster Abbey and was broadcast around the world.
The BBC said the majority of people in Britain tuned in to the event. Viewership across BBC networks and its iPlayer streaming service peaked at 22.4 million people. About 32.5 million watched at least three minutes, making it the biggest audience since the closing ceremonies of the London Olympics in 2012.
Analysts have attempted to estimate the size of the global audience for the queen’s funeral, but there is no standard industry measurement around the world.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
