I’d guessed that the Jackson Memorial coverage would top 30 million viewers, and it just barely did.
A memorial service held in honor of Michael Jackson drew more than 31 million television viewers in the U.S. The event was carried live from approximately 1pm ET to 4pm ET on 19 networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Telefutura, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Headline News, BET, E!, MTV, VH1, VH1 Classic, TV Guide Network, and TV ONE.
via -nielsen wire.
Update: Here is some additional data from nielsen wire.
Update: And via MSNBC link from commenter RG, here’s some reference cumulative audience comparisons to other recent big televised events.
Obama Inaugration, January, 2009 – 38 million (multiple networks)
2008 (August) Summer Olympics (Opening Ceremony) – 34.2 million (one network)
2009 (May) American Idol finale – 28.9 million (one network)
Does this number include live internet streams?
of course it doesn’t include internet. that’s why the 31 mill is amazing. tons more watched online. i also read 20 mill in germany, 6 mill in UK, 50% share in france.
the day the earth stood still
Kay, we have several items on Internet streams, like:
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/07/07/michael-jackson-funeral-video-streaming-second-only-to-obama-inaguration/22458
Given the fact that MJ’s funeral took place at 1:00 p.m. EST; 10:00 a.m. PST those are quite impressive #’s. However, I don’t believe these figures (ratings) include cable viewership. In addition to being broadcasted on the ‘Big 3′ networks, MJ’s Memorial Service was being covered on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, BET, MTV, VH1, E, Univision, etc. To me, sounds like #’s are unquantifiable when you also include video streaming & international viewership.
Bryan, the 31 million is across 19 broadcast and cable networks. More info here:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/31-million-watch-michael-jackson-memorial-service-on-tv/
I added the table images from the post Robert linked to directly into the post above.
Given that both Diana’s Funeral and Reagan’s Buriel were both held when people would not have been at work, I must say that 31 Million U.S. watchers is a tremendous amount of viewers.
I watched on the internet live
Who else could get over 30 million today…Bill Clinton?
dollhouse, I’m not sure that anyone today could get more people on television, and with the increasing availability of streaming, I’d bet that this level won’t be reached again for something like this.
That’s a lot of eyeballs! But it proves Michael Jackson was a true icon! Amazing!
Does this take into account the crowds watching this at restaurants, offices, theatres, and so on…
I was Downtown and all the bars and restaurants were packed with dozens of people each, the crowds crawling outside into the sidewalks watching it from the streets. People gathered all over the place and its almost impossible to take the large crowds into account.
Then you take into account the millions of online stream and this might as well be the largest audience for something like this ever. MSNBC streaming nearly 20 million and the majority of those streams were watched by large crowds too.
The real audience could easily be over 100 million.
Im starting to think that 1 billion worldwide estimate is not too far fetched.
I actually think 31 million is WAY SHORT of what I was expecting. I knew that he wouldnt top the Princess Diana Funeral but I am surprised that even Reagan received a higher rating. What was always remarkable about the Princess Diana Funeral is that here in the u.s., that was on like 1am in the morning so to have 33 million americans watch that at that hour is stunning. MJ’s numbers just dont impress me but I guess it doesnt matter
I just came across this from E . “Michael Jackson or Princess Diana? Diana, but it was very close. According to Nielsen Media Research, 31 million people caught yesterday’s live coverage of the Jackson memorial. Princess Di’s funeral drew 33.3 million in 1997. Remarkably, Diana pulled in her audience from only eight networks, compared to the whopping 19 that carried the Jackson memorial.”. I’m surprised that no one mentions the fact that Diana’s Funeral was on so late here in the states, I remember watching it live like 1-2am, 33 Million is a STUNNING number for that time period. MJ’s service was beautiful, very well done, just wished more people had viewed it. Not that 31 million people is anything to sneeze at, I was just expecting more for some reason
H-Joe, no out of home viewing is counted in any TV viewing data you see anywhere for any show. Nielsen tried to create a business product around it but shuttered the effort for lack of clients.
And it could very well be the largest audience TV and internet combined, but since the numbers are all apples to oranges that’ll never really be known.
tom, surprised no one mentioned it? did you read the post above? All that information is there.
Hialeah Joe, it doesn’t take people in restaurants, watching in hotel lobbies, etc into consideration.
The MSNBC numbers can’t be equated to the TV numbers though. MSNBC reported some convoluted “19 million Michael Jackson related streams” — it’s clear that not ALL of them were related to the memorial, but it’s not clear how many. They did a nice thing though in making the average length of stream: 12.1 minutes.
Remember, MSNBC’s number isn’t 19 million people, but 19 million STREAMS that were all much shorter on average than the average measured by Nielsen for the TV viewing which represents roughly 180 minutes per person.
So all the Michael Jackson related streams accounted for to roughly 229 million minutes. For context the 3 hour TV broadcast averaging 31 million people represented roughly 5.6 BILLION minutes or about 25 times more than the MSNBC streams.
Many more than 31 million saw at least a part of the coverage on TV — the 31 million is just the average for those who watched the whole thing, though that is also true for Reagan, Princess Di and all the Nielsen numbers mentioned in the post above too. I’d guess that audience who saw any part of the memorial is easily over 100 million in the US.
I am glad to see how much in love you all are in with MJ but get real! Over 100 thousand filed passed President Reagans coffin in less than 36 hours,and over 35 million watched on tv. What about the streaming video for that? What about overseas he was loved in Europe. Granted the guy was talented, a lot weird but come on he was a performer nothing more. Its amazing how you all know so much about a performer and are so ignorant about real heros and historical figures from our country.
I think one of the reasons that the MJ numbers were softer than I expected could be from simply MJ FATIGUE! The coverage was non stop for almost two weeks after his death and by the time the memorial service rolled around(12 days after his death), some people may have just had enough and didnt bother to watch. Both Princess Diana and Reagan’s Funerals drew higher numbers but keep in mind that their funerals came within days after their deaths not weeks and people were still involved in it. Again, 31 million is nothing to sneezeat but when I first saw that Number, I was thinking “OW, thats it?”, I was just expecting alot more.
As usual, Robert, good eye by you in pointing out that the internet figures are capturing people who watched any part of the service while the TV figures capture an average across the entire program. A key distinction that of course goes completely unnoticed by virtually every professional media writer.
Have to say, the 31 million doesn’t seem all that great to me. What do those networks do combined on any given weekday afternoon?
Pope John Paul’s funeral was being aired mostly in the overnight hours, like at 3 am, so why use his as a comparison ratings-wise?
Plus I’d like to see the ratings in comparison to other non-funeral historical live events, such as the Opening and Closing ceremonies of last year’s Olympics and President Obama’s inauguration. I’ve heard they’ve had comparable numbers.
UPDATE: I found it:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31804997/ns/entertainment-music/
Michael Jackson memorial – 31.1 million
Obama Inaugration – 38 million
2008 Summer Olympics (Opening Ceremony) – 34.2 million
So it was pretty close.
RG, thanks for the info!
You’re welcome.
But are you going to put that into the main article? Like a sidenote somewhere?
Done, included Idol numbers as well!