Data Collected form inside the U.S1. Michael Jackson or Princess Diana? Diana, but it was very close. According to Nielsen Media Research, nearly 31 million people caught the live coverage of the Jackson memorial. Princess Di's funeral drew 33.3 million in 1997. Remarkably, Diana pulled in her audience from only eight networks, compared to the whopping 19 that carried the Jackson memorial.
2. Michael Jackson or Ronald Reagan? Both. The Jackson memorial outdrew Reagan's 2004 funeral (20.8 million); the Reagan burial—Nielsen counts the same-day events as separate and distinct—outdrew the Jackson memorial, with 35.1 million viewers.
3. Michael Jackson or Pope John Paul II? Jackson, in a rout. The pope's 2005 funeral, which aired in the wee, small hours of the morning in the States, drew a combined audience of 8.8 million.
4. Michael Jackson or Anna Nicole Smith? As big as the Smith story was—and if you think back to early 2007, it was huge—the Jackson saga has generated "about twice as much attention," the Pew Research Center found. (Emphasis added for, well, emphasis.) According to the group, Jackson coverage ate up 30 percent of network news airtime, and 28 percent of cable news airtime for the week of June 29-July 5.
5. Was the memorial service the beginning of the end of Jackson coverage? Hardly. Hours after the service had concluded and the spotlight presumably had moved on, ABC, CBS and NBC still got a combined 17.5 million people to tune in their prime-time recaps of the service.
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