24 Million people in the UK tuned in to watch Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II’s address to the nation and commonwealth across all the channels that aired it.
The UK’s main ‘traditional’ broadcasters saw the bulk of viewers, and as is usual with nationally televised addresses such as this one, BBC One was by far the most viewed.
Over 14 million watched Her Majesty address the nation and commonwealth on BBC One, whilst five million more watch on ITV.
Channel 4 and Channel 5 also aired the address with 2.5 million watching on the former. The BBC News Channel also registered for viewers, and Sky News’ coverage was simulcast across many of Sky’s other channels such as Sky One.
In the address, The Queen addressed the global nature of the challenge, saying; “While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us.”
It was the only the fifth time that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has addressed the nation outside of her annual Christmas broadcast.
Despite this, the five minute address which was pre-recorded at Windsor Castle saw slightly less viewers than the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on 23rd March, in which he announced that the country would be subject to tight restrictions in order to combat the Coronavirus.
27 Million viewers had tuned in to watch that address, however unlike The Queen’s message, the Prime Minister’s was not relayed globally to the Commonwealth of Nations.
The final viewing total for Her Majesty’s address will undoubtedly register in the Hundreds of Millions across all regions in which it aired.