Here are the statistics on viewers for Michael Jackson’s funeral this week.
(From Cynopsis)
Michael Jackson Memorial Coverage US Results:
- Nielsen reports 31.1 million US viewers watched coverage of Michael Jackson’s public memorial service on Tuesday. The event was carried live from approximately 1p to 4p ET on 18 broadcast and cable networks with a combined household rating of 20.6. The participating networks were ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Telefutura, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, HLN, BET, E!, MTV, VH1, VH1 Classic, TV Guide Network and TV One. Michael Jackson’s memorial coverage in the US trails that of Princess Diana’s 1997 funeral which totaled 33.2 million and Ronald Reagan’s funeral in 2004 with 35 million viewers.
Worldwide Michael Jackson Coverage also achieved stellar results:
- In the UK, approximately 6.3 million viewers on average watched Michael Jackson’s memorial on Tuesday over five channels with BBC2′s coverage garnering the highest share with an average of 4 million viewers. The overall viewer number did not come close though, to the 11 million UK viewers who watched Michael Jackson tribute shows over six channels on June 26.
And per Variety:
- In Germany, an estimated 20 million viewers watched over numerous channels with ProSiebenSat. 1′s N24 drawing the most viewers with its all-day coverage.
- Mediaset’s Italia 1 channel in Italy posted a 15.7% audience share or 15 million viewers.
- Spanish channel Cuatro delivered an 11.7% share and 1.1 million viewers with its special on Michael Jackson.
- In France, the memorial aired live on TF1, France 2 and M6 totaling a 51.2% audience share.



