29 million people in US watched royal wedding

NEW YORK — Perhaps getting married to a U.S. television star helps in the royal wedding ratings.

The Nielsen Co. says 29.2 million people in the United States watched the wedding of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle early Saturday. The London ceremony aired starting at 7 a.m. Eastern time and was carried live on 15 different networks.

The telecast topped the 22.8 million people who watched Harry’s older brother, Prince William, marry Kate Middleton in 2011.

By a whisker, NBC earned network bragging rights. Nielsen said an estimated 6.42 million people watched NBC’s coverage while 6.35 million watched it on ABC. The CBS audience was 4.79 million people.

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