Royal baby arrival fails to beat 'Coronation Street'

The birth of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge's baby boy brought in an audience of 4.9 million (22.2%) across various news channels last night, overnight data reveals.



However, the Duchess of Cambridge's new arrival failed to dislodge Coronation Street as the most-watched broadcast of the evening. The ITV soap pulled in over 7.4 million for both its episodes at 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

BBC One's special Royal Baby News Update brought 2.9 million (13.4%) to BBC One at 8.30pm, while 3.9 million (13.4%) tuned in for the 10 O'Clock News. ITV's News at Ten also pulled in over 2 million viewers.

Long Lost Family still managed to pull in a big crowd despite the royal arrival, hauling 4.63 million (16.1%) at 9pm.

BBC Two had 2.05 million (9.89%) at 8pm for University Challenge. However, the strong lead-in didn't help sitcom Count Arthur Strong, which only managed 692k (3.1%) at 8.30pm.

Channel 4 struggled again to pull in any sizable audiences, only managing 1.44 million (6.75%) at 9pm for Undercover Boss.

The latest series of Big Brother remains steady for Channel 5, grabbing 1.41 million (7.9%) at 10pm. Bit on the Side followed with 491k (5.23%).

BBC Four's Burton and Taylor biopic, the channel's final investment in original British drama, pulled in an impressive 1.13% (5.4%) at 10pm.

The latest episode of Skins mustered 352k (1.98%) for E4. A further 144k watched on E4+1.