ritish and American newspapers and TV outlets are readying themselves for a media assault on Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Kate Middleton will finally tie the knot on April 29. But there are signs that the public's interest in the event isn't as high as had been anticipated. One signal of public apathy: NBC cut a number of pretaped segments that were meant to air before the wedding. The problem, says a network source quoted by the New York Post, is that "the U.S. public's interest was not what they thought," because "Kate and Prince William are both really boring." Nevertheless, most outlets' "over-the-top" wedding coverage will go on as planned. Here's a look at the media blitz, by the numbers:
550
Number of people the BBC has assigned to cover the wedding
437
Number of people the BBC sent to Beijing's 2008 Olympics
125
Number of people CNN has assigned to cover the wedding
2 billion
Number of people expected to watch William and Kate's wedding... at least according to one U.K. minister
200 million
Radio listeners who tuned in to hear Prince Philip marry the future Queen Elizabeth in 1947
750 million
Global TV audience for Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding in 1981
89
Hours of wedding-related shows TLC is airing. Its wedding-week lineup includes Charles and Di: Once Upon a Time and Untold Stories of a Royal Bridesmaid.
184
Hours of coverage the BBC will dedicate to the event, from December 2010 until the wedding. The channel will air a 51.5-hour live, commercial-free broadcast around the actual wedding day.
79
Percent of Britons who said they were "largely indifferent" or that they 'couldn't care less' about the event, according to an ICM poll last month
65
Percent of Americans who said they don't care about the wedding, according to a Vanity Fair/60 Minutes survey taken earlier this year
Sources: Gawker, LA Times, CBC, Monsters and Critics, EW, Yahoo!, Pop Eater, NY Post, Reuters
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