The BBC has issued an official response after receiving complaints over their coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral.
Over the weekend, the corporation dedicated around six hours of their schedule to the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, which was attended by 30 senior figures within the Royal Family.
It’s now been revealed that the BBC received several complaints from viewers over the coverage, and issued an official response on their Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) website.
The BBC’s statement said: “The funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally.
“We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given, and impact this had on the billed BBC One schedule.”
They also insisted that changes to the schedule are not made “without careful consideration”.
“We do not make such changes without careful consideration, and the decisions made reflect the role the BBC plays as the national broadcaster during moments of national significance,” they added.
“We are grateful for all feedback, and we always listen to the response from our audiences.”
The BBC did not reveal exactly how many complaints they received on the matter.
Last week, it was reported that a record number of complaints had been filed about the BBC’s blanket coverage of the Duke’s death, with more than 100,000 people voicing their dissatisfaction to the broadcaster.
The BBC responded with a near-identical statement to the above, stating: “The passing of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a significant event which generated a lot of interest both nationally and internationally.
“We acknowledge some viewers were unhappy with the level of coverage given and impact this had on the billed TV and radio schedules.”
The number of complaints about the coverage of Prince Philip’s death beats the previous high of 63,000 sparked by the BBC’s screening of Jerry Springer: The Musical in 2005.
Three years later, Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross’ prank call to actor Andrew Sachs on the former’s Radio 2 show, drew 42,000 complaints.
