BBC receives over 110k complaints over Prince Philip coverage

The BBC's wall-to-wall coverage of the death of Prince Philip breaks the record as the most complained-about TV event in British history as viewers expressed their annoyance that their favourite shows were replaced by royal tributes.

According to The Guardian, at least 110,994 people expressed their displeasure at the extent of the coverage of the duke's death. The corporation not only aired tributes via its TV channels but also through its radio stations.

BBC One cleared its Friday evening schedules to cover the news of the Duke of Edinburgh's passing at the age of 99. It replaced shows like "EastEnders" and the "MasterChef" final with news programmes causing audience ratings to drop six percent week-on-week.

BBC Two also aired tributes to Prince Philip and inevitably lost two-thirds of its viewership. Only 40,000 people tuned in between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Meanwhile, BBC Four was reportedly taken off-air completely.

The ratings dropped as viewers switched their TVs off completely or tuned in to streaming services. Others turned to "Gogglebox" on Channel 4, which was the most-watched programme Friday night with 4.2 million viewers.

The complaints came in the weekend with one viewer citing the lack of other important coverage like the pandemic.

"Coverage of this event took up the entire evening broadcast to the exclusion of all other topics, including the ongoing topic of the pandemic. Some coverage was justified, but not to this extent," reads the feedback.

Meanwhile, another understood the need for the BBC to acknowledge the "sad news" of Prince Philip's death. But expressed disbelief that it had to come from "every single one of its channels." The viewer suggested that the station could have just "put it on one channel for those that want to listen to that drivel and the rest of us can have a bit of music."

An insider told The Sun that the BBC "would be criticised and accused of not being respectful enough if they didn't lay the programmes on." But the network's coverage of the duke's passing has also "left many people very cross." Even ex-Labour MP Chris Mullins called them "North Korea style" tributes. Former BBC newsreader Simon McCoy also expressed his displeasure.

Despite the volume of complaints about Prince Philip's death coverage, a BBC spokesperson expressed pride "at the role we play during moments of national significance." The corporation will reportedly publish the number of negative feedback it received on Thursday.