IT was supposed to attract a worldwide TV audience in excess of two billion, but the BBC’s coverage of the Live Earth concert proved a turn-off for most British viewers.
While last weekend’s Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium was watched by more than 15 million, Live Earth – billed to raise awareness of global warming – attracted an average audience of 2.7 million.
At its peak, less than a quarter of the viewing public tuned in on Saturday to see acts like Madonna (pictured), the Pussycat Dolls and Duran Duran. Most preferred an ITV re-run of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Live Earth, hosted by Jonathan Ross with the aid of Graham Norton and Edith Bowman, was broadcast for a total of 15 hours across the Corporation’s platforms, moving from BBC2 in the afternoon to BBC1 at night.
A BBC spokesman said: "Nearly five million viewers in peak on a Saturday night in July is a perfectly respectable figure."
But a source at the station said: "Given the huge popularity of the Diana concert the week before there is no doubt that the BBC will have been expecting more for Live Earth.
"An average of 2.7million is really pretty awful for what was being billed as event television."
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