BBC and ITV viewing figures plummeted over the weekend as regular shows were pulled for blanket coverage about Prince Philip’s death.
Both broadcasters saw substantial declines in viewership according to Barb overnight ratings, with ITV losing 60% of its audience on Friday.
BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Scotland, BBC News, and BBC Alba were broadcasting identical feeds following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, with a number of scheduled broadcasts pulled.
The BBC has also had to set up a dedicated complaints page after being flooded with complaints over their wall-to-wall coverage, with MasterChef final and EastEnders among the programmes cancelled. That complaints page has now been removed.
According to the ratings, BBC One drew an average of 2.41m viewers between 7pm and 11pm, when it broadcast a two-hour Prince Philip special. The week prior, the channel drew an average of 2.56m viewers.
BBC Two, which showed the same Prince Philip special saw a steeper drop off with a 64% drop according to figures.
READ MORE: BBC flooded with complaints of 'too much TV coverage' of death of Prince Philip
ITV also made schedule changes following the news, leading up to an extended News At Ten at 10pm.
ITV coverage, between 7pm and 11pm, drew an average of 1.34m viewers – down from 3.39m viewers during the same time period the previous week.
Channel 4, who also faced criticism for not changing their broadcast schedule vastly aired the highest-rated show with Gogglebox amassing 4.2m viewers.
Channel 4 aired an obituary programme at 4pm and featured an extended 90-minute news broadcast at 7pm before returning to its peak time schedule for the final of reality show The Circle.
The BBC established a dedicated form on its website after receiving complaints about its coverage, which prompted a mixed reaction from viewers on social media.
It read: “We’re receiving complaints about too much TV coverage of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Please enter your email address below to register a complaint about this – we’ll then send you the BBC’s response as soon as it is available.”
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