Chris Jackson / Staff
Major British broadcasters have been engaged in a fierce stand-off with UK newspapers over the rights to the live coverage ofQueen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Most of the live feed of the funeral is being produced by the BBC, while ITV and Sky are covering the event.
The newspapers wanted to use the feed on their websites, but they couldn’t agree on a fee. The Royal Family has the right to hold a funeral.
The broadcasters have pushed back on making their coverage available to other outlets in the U.K., despite the newspapers’ desire to stream the funeral on their websites.
The Sun, The Guardian, Daily Mail, DailyMirror and a number of regional papers are members of the NMA.
Pushed on.
Talks are expected to go down to the wire, but there is still a chance for a deal.
The live feed of the funeral will be accessed via local news agencies that are running it for international clients. Newspapers have been subscribers of these agencies for a long time.
The NMA set out the principles of using these feeds in a letter this week.
The first principle states that newspapers won’t strike deals with third parties to access the livestream.
The correspondence says that NMA titles should not archive footage or use it in dramas or comedies and that there should be no advertising on the live feed.
The correspondence states that NMA titles will respect the solemnity and dignity of the occasion and pay due regard and respect to the Royal Household.
Industry sources say that the broadcasters and newspapers have been fighting over the rights to Royal Family events for a long time.
It is expected that Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will be one of the most watched TV broadcasts of all time, with more than 30M tuning in for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997, around 10M for The Queen Mother’s in 2002 and 13M for Queen Elizabeth II’s
The world mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s second longest reigning monarch. International news organizations will be covering the funeral of Joe Biden and other world leaders in the UK.
The ceremony will begin at 11 AM on Sky News, with coverage beginning in the early hours on the other channels.
After the 10-day period of mourning is over, the TV schedules will return to normal.
Sky News didn’t say anything. The NMA has been contacted by Deadline.
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