News / Society

BBC hit by record number of complaints over saturated Prince Philip coverage

Tuesday, 13 April 2021 4:08 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 11 May 2021 7:59 AM ]

The BBC's crisis-ridden relationship with the British public is set to deteriorate following the state broadcaster's intense coverage of Prince Philip's death

The British state broadcaster (BBC) continues to come under fire for its wall-to-wall coverage of Prince Philip’s demise.

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According to the tabloid newspaper The Sun (April 13), the state broadcaster received more than 100,000 complaints about the scale and depth of its coverage of Prince Philip’s death, a record in British broadcasting history.

The BBC cleared its scheduling on Friday (April 09) to cover the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, a move that was immediately met by a chorus of complaints.

The state broadcaster tried to mollify the complainants by setting up a dedicated webpage for viewers to lodge their grievances, but it seems that effort backfired, as demonstrated by the record number of complaints.

According to the Sun, many complainants were incensed at the BBC’s decision to continue wall-to-wall coverage of Philip’s death for an additional 24 hours, with the state broadcaster’s entire network of TV and radio channels mobilized to put on a string of special programs chronicling the Duke’s long life.

Viewers were angry that their favorite shows – notably the MasterChef final – were canceled to make way for special tribute programs dedicated to the Duke’s demise.

The previous record for public complaints about BBC output centered on the screening of Jerry Springer: The Musical in 2005, which attracted 63,000 complaints from the general public.

The BBC’s wall-to-wall coverage of Prince Philip’s death is widely expected to add to the state broadcaster’s woes, possibly intensifying public demands for the abolition of the license fee.

Growing calls for scrapping BBC license fee

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk