News

US surpasses UK in online coverage of Will, Kate

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-04-26 09:57

LOS ANGELES - America's romance with royalty is blooming, just four days away from Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton.

The Web sites of traditional media outlets in the United States have taken a front-row seat for Britain's royal wedding, outpacing the online coverage of their UK counterparts, Nielsen Co said on Monday.

The royal wedding accounts for 0.20 percent of all news stories on the online versions of US newspapers and magazines, compared to 0.08 percent for UK outlets, the research firm said.

US media have devoted more coverage to the couple than media in the UK ever since their engagement was announced in November, when the number of online stories about their romance peaked for all news outlets.

Back then, news stories about the nuptials accounted for 0.31 percent of all online news content, compared to 0.19 percent for their UK counterparts, Nielsen said.

But that does not tell the whole story, because there are indications the British public remains more interested in the royal wedding than most Americans.

When Nielsen researchers looked at social media buzz, including blog posts and online message boards, the royal wedding at its peak accounted for 0.47 percent of all posts, compared to only 0.17 percent in the United States.

For media outlets and fans of British royalty, the waiting game is about to come to an end. William and Kate's wedding will happen on Friday at Westminster Abbey in London.