The UK broadcast of Oprah’s interview, Meghan and Harry, had 11 million viewers

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The 110-minute interview on ITV attracted an average of 11.1 million viewers between 9pm and 11pm, according to the station. The audience peaked at over 12.4 million people, or about a fifth of the UK population. More than half of the people watching TV in the UK at the time were in tune with the interview.

The television special produced serious revelations. Meghan said that in her time as a family member she experienced suicidal thoughts and that a royal king held racist conversations about the color of her baby’s skin. Harry spoke of the lack of understanding for the toll that real life had on the couple’s mental health and racist treatment by the media.

The ratings are a testament to the public’s curiosity about the royal couple, confidence in Winfrey as an interviewer and the enduring power of the television platform.

According to the station, it produced the largest ITV audience since the rugby World Cup final in 2019. Some 2.2 million people broadcast the program via the ITV Hub a la carte service and millions more could recover in the coming days.

Young Britons, who have a more favorable opinion of Meghan than the elderly, saw it en masse. ITV said 2.1 million people between the ages of 16 and 34 tuned in, or 71% of TV viewers in this age group.

Last year there were major television events in the UK. When Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first coronavirus blockade in the UK on March 23, 2020, 28.3 million people watched for seven days on TVs, tablets, PCs and smartphones, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board.

Meghan and Harry’s interview also attracted a large audience in the United States. CBS broadcast, citing Nielsen data, said the special had an average of 17.1 million viewers Sunday night.

One of the reasons Meghan suffered racist coverage in the UK: the media is not diverse

In the fragmented U.S. television landscape, 17 million viewers is a staggering number. By comparison, CBS garnered an average of 6.5 million viewers in prime time on the previous Sunday night. The interview attracted a larger audience than the most recent broadcasts of the Emmys and Golden Globes awards. The Super Bowl is in a league of its own, with nearly 100 million spectators.

Millions more people around the world are expected to watch the Oprah interview while it airs in other markets.

– Brian Stelter contributed the information.

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