Will Prince William and Kate Outdo Prince Charles and Diana?

As far as TV ratings go, the answer is yes—and maybe not; worldwide audience estimated to be as incredibly large as 3 billion

By Joal Ryan Apr 26, 2011 8:15 PMTags
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Prince William is no Prince Charles, and Kate Middleton is no Princess Diana.

But not in a way you may think.

Per Britain's Sun, some 3 billion hopeless romantics will tune in William and Kate's nuptials on Friday—and, in the process, leave Charles and Diana's wedding in the dust.

Even when population differentials are considered, the Sun's incredibly optimistic guesstimate has William and Kate running circles around the groom's parents.

An audience of 3 billion would mean a staggering 44 percent of the globe's 6.8 billion tuned in the kids. In 1981, the Charles and Di shindig, said to have been watched by 750 million, captured 17 percent of the world's then-4.5 billion.

Then again, did we mention the Sun's figure, reported back in November, is incredibly optimistic?

A couple of weeks ago, the British government puts its money on an audience of 2 billion, or 29 percent of the world's population. Others have gone with 1 billion, a figure that would actually leave Charles and Diana on top in terms of overall global reach.   

Something else to consider: A recent study suggests interest in William and Kate, in the United Kingdom, at least, is not on the level of that of Charles and Diana.

Even in the worst-case scenario, however, the wedding should outdraw the 1998 finale of a certain sitcom. So there, Jerry Seinfeld

Other ratings winners—and losers—per the just-released Nielsen rankings:

Parenthood: Closed out its second season with its biggest audience (6.3 million viewers) since its fall opener, NBC said. Not a bad way to make a case for renewal.

Cougar Town: Did OK in its Dancing With the Stars-boosted spring return (7.9 million), did less OK in its regular Wednesday time slot (6.2 million). Not exactly the way to make a ratings case for renewal.

Glee: "A Night of Neglect" was an apt name for an episode that was down more than 1 million viewers (to 9.8 million overall) from March's "Original Song."

The Office: Are goodbyes better when they're short and sweet? The second part of Steve Carell's three-part exit was down 1 million viewers from part one (to 6.8 million overall).

30 Rock: Tina Fey's sitcom turned 100 episodes old, and all it got was a lousy 4.6 million viewers?

Hawaii Five-O: Maybe Fey should've booked Sean Combs? The CBS cop show did, and it blew up by nearly 2 million viewers, up to 11.4 million overall. 

Body of Proof: It's making good on its DWTS lead-in with a Top 10 finish, and 11.4 million viewers.

Game of Thrones: No falloff from its breakout premiere. HBO said the series' second episode scored with 2.2 million, exactly the same as the previous week.

Donald Trump: He talked more trash; Celebrity Apprentice got more viewers (up to 8.3 million); more headlines suggested Trump's mouth was driving ratings. The fact is everything was up on Sunday night, and we're still right