Bidding war breaks out over rights to air Oprah’s explosive Harry and Meghan interview in the UK with ITV claimed to be the front-runner
- A bidding war has broken out over Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah
- UK broadcasters are vying to air the 90-minute CBS primetime special
- It is thought ITV has emerged as the front-runner to broadcast the programme
- Sky ‘is out the running’ while BBC and Amazon Prime and Netflix are not involved
A bidding war has broken out between UK broadcasters over rights to air the incendiary Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with ITV reportedly emerging as the frontrunner for the programme.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to be ‘very candid’ with their friend Oprah in the 90-minute CBS primetime special after last week announcing that they had officially quit the Royal Family.
It is understood that ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, which will be selling the programme overseas, is keen for the interview to land on a free-to-air broadcaster to ensure a significant profile in the UK.
According to Variety, Comcast-owned Sky was out of the running while streaming giants Amazon Prime and Netflix – which has already signed a £112million deal with the Sussexes – are thought to not be involved.
The BBC is also not believed to be in the running, as it is instead airing the Queen’s annual Commonwealth Day message in a pre-recorded speech at Windsor on March 7 – just 24 hours before the Oprah interview is broadcast in the US.
Instead, ITV – whose journalist Tom Bradby famously asked Meghan if she was ‘okay’ as part of the broadcaster’s 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey – has reportedly emerged as the main contender.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to be ‘very candid’ with Oprah in the 90-minute CBS primetime special after last week announcing that they had officially quit the Royal Family
It is understood that ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, which will be selling the programme overseas, is keen for the Oprah Winfrey interview to land on a free-to-air broadcaster to ensure a significant profile in the UK
A spokesperson for ITV declined to comment on reports that it had raced ahead in the bidding war among UK broadcasters.
BBC sources told Variety that the public broadcaster – which has launched an investigation into how BBC Panorama secured an interview with Harry’s mother Princess Diana in 1995 – is not involved in the process.
Other potential broadcasters include ViacomCBS-backed Channel 5, which airs some Royal content, and Channel 4, which aired an ‘Alternative Christmas Message’ from a deepfake of the Queen over the holidays.
The BBC, Sky and ViacomCBS have been approached comment.
It is not yet known how or when UK viewers will see the full Oprah interview, though clips of the 90-minute chat will be all over the international TV news and online media minutes after it is shown in America.
This week it emerged Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip’s hospitalisation.
Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip’s hospitalisation
Harry and Meghan are said to be in shock because the Queen stripped them of their royal and sporting patronages after they ‘poured their hearts out’ to Oprah during a two-day shoot in their £11million LA mansion last week.
The tell-all interview is due to air on Sunday March 7 with no topics off-limits, with one source warning Harry’s family the show would be a good ‘time to hide behind the sofa at the palace’.
Oprah will first speak with Meghan about royal life, marriage, motherhood, her philanthropic work and how she handles life under the public eye, before being joined by Harry to discuss their move to the US and future goals.
Meghan is also expected to speak about the feud with her family on her father Thomas’ side after This Morning host Holly Willoughby said that Oprah’s team had been in contact with ITV for footage of an interview with her half-sister.
In the January 2020 broadcast Samantha Markle said the former Suits actress and Harry owed her and their father an apology for ‘incredibly wrong, untoward, and shocking’ behaviour after the royal wedding in 2018.
Ms Willoughby said: ‘Oprah Winfrey’s team contacted This Morning requesting footage from our interview with Samantha Markle in preparation for the interview with the Duchess of Sussex’.
She added: ‘So, we don’t know whether or not they used that in the interview, but what we do know is nothing was off limits.’