Table of Contents
Within minutes of the news breaking, some international broadcasters ripped up their regular programming plans to honour the memory of a beloved queen. We have discussed the impact of the queen’s death on the broadcasting services of France, Italy, Germany, India, Australia, Hong Kong, and China
France
TF1’s programming was entirely dedicated to the Queen’s death on Thursday evening, with a special magazine show hosted by a pair of star journalists. ‘We don’t know when we’ll revert to our usual programming,’ Pivot said, adding that more special programming will be slotted in during the next two weeks.
“There’s always been a friendship uniting France and Queen Elizabeth II. She spoke French fluently and knew all our presidents! There was a real attachment, not only due to the proximity of our countries but because the history of the Royal Family touches us,” said Pivot, who also mentioned that France had been deeply marked by the death of Princess Diana in Paris.
France’s public broadcaster France Televisions also rolled out rich programming to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, with a pair of premium documentaries “Un jour un Destin — The Queen,” and “Elizabeth II, Histoire d’un Couronnement,” along with live news magazines.
Boilley, pointed out that the primetime live news show on the Queen was watched by more than 4 million viewers, while more than 1.3 million people tuned into the documentary “Elizabeth II, Histoire d’un
Italy
The Queen’s death also shook programming schedules in Italy, where public broadcaster RAI replaced its planned early evening prime-time content on flagship station RAI-1 with a special program.
PayTV group Sky Italia is airing a slew of Queen Elizabeth-related movies, documentaries and TV series.
Germany
In Germany, SAT.1, a leading channel that is part of the Seven. One Group, reported live from London in a special two-hour broadcast, starting at 8:15 pm. Afterward, the station showed a documentary about Queen Elizabeth II.
“Many of our viewers are big fans of the British royal family and are very interested in the coverage, so in the next few days, ProSieben and SAT.1 will continue to inform viewers in detail in their magazines.
Another major German outlet, RTL News, also jumped on the news.” Currently we are providing background information in extended editions of our news formats and several short-term specials,” added Kohlenbach.
In India, the death of Queen Elizabeth II is just one of the many big stories in a vast country that has no dearth of urgent, breaking news.
India
Rajdeep Sardesai, consulting editor at the respected India Today told Variety: “It was breaking news last night at 11 o’clock. And I think we went well past midnight. We’ve got a full-time person in London, who’s tracking the story for us. It is a big news story. But, in India, there is so much else also happening that while it’s a big story, it’s one of the big stories. It’s not the only story that we’re tracking. When the funeral actually takes place, that will be the big live event – [Thursday] was much more just immediate reactions to what had happened.”
The first speech of King Charles III will also be covered. “We’ll cut live to that,” Sardesai said.
Australia
Australian Broadcasting Corporation newsreaders dressed in black and programming has switched to reflect the Queen’s life and seven decades of reign. A gun salute will be held at the Parliament House at dusk Friday, with one round fired for every year of the Queen’s life. A national day of mourning was also declared to mark the Queen’s death. Parliament will be suspended for 15 days.
Hong kong
Hong Kong chief executive, John Lee, released a statement on Friday saying the monarch “was greatly respected, admired and praised by the British people.”
China
In spite of tensions between China and the U.K., Chinese President Xi Jinping also sent a message of condolence to British King Charles III, stressing the importance of China-Britain relations, according to the Chinese press agency Xinhua.
