British broadcasters get exclusive rights to royal wedding

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s April 29 wedding is expected to attract the largest TV audience in history (one estimate puts it at 35% of the world’s population). The BBC and British commercial broadcasters ITV and Sky are the only networks allowed to film the processoin and the church service. Everyone else must buy the newsfeed, The Wall Street Journal reports, adding that “a spokesman for the BBC says sales of the live wedding covers its expenses but don’t make the broadcaster a profit. After 24 or 48 hours (depending on the deal), the BBC can charge more, according to U.S. networks with transactions in the works. The BBC wouldn’t talk about specifics.”