Interrupted programs, moved presenter and "God Save The Queen" in the background: the announcement of Prince Philip's death has shaken up British television and radio broadcasts.
So much so that the venerable BBC is accused by some of doing too much.
Friday noon, BBC News, the news channel of the British public service, interrupts its programs.
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Presenter Martine Croxall, dressed in a black jacket, looking serious, her throat tight, announces the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, 99, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
Then the national anthem, "God Save The Queen", blares as a photo of the Duke of Edinburgh, smiling in a medal-decked uniform is displayed.
The British audiovisual group has shaken up its programs, its BBC One and BBC Two channels, such as the BBC 4 and 5 Lives radio stations, broadcasting special programs alternating information and moving retrospectives.
The BBC Four screen simply displays a message explaining that it has suspended its broadcast.
The Masterchef final was also canceled, to the despair of fans of this successful culinary competition.
All the channel's journalists are on the air dressed in black.
These tributes follow long-established procedures for the deaths of members of the royal family, at a time when the number of channels was much more limited than today.
They seem to some either outdated or out of step with the reality of an era when viewers are used to having a choice, especially with digital platforms.
The omnipresence of these programs on all the antennas was not therefore to the taste of all the televiewers, who made it known.
The BBC has even set up a special form on its website to register these complaints.
Even a former presenter of the channel is doing it ...
“We are receiving complaints about excessive television coverage of the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Please enter your email address below to register a complaint about this - we will then send you the BBC's response as soon as it is available, ”the public broadcaster said.
Simon McCoy, a former BBC presenter, questioned the relevance of broadcasting the same program on different channels on Friday.
“BBC1 and BBC2 broadcast the same thing.
And probably the news channel too.
Why ?
I know this is a huge event.
But surely the public deserves a choice in the programs?
He tweeted.
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"If they had done the opposite, other people would have criticized them," notes Jean Seaton, professor of media history at the University of Westminster, interviewed by AFP.
“The BBC made us reflect on something which is a truly important moment in the life of the nation”.
The public channel Channel 4, for its part also suffered criticism, but for having largely followed its schedule, with the exception of a few documentaries on the Duke of Edinburgh.
With the daily The Mirror, Channel 4 defended itself, explaining that it was its "duty to offer an alternative to the others (chains)".
Complicated times for the BBC
Jean Seaton underlines the "special link between the BBC and British institutions".
“The BBC is a British national institution, it shares certain characteristics with the monarchy in a sense, it has a duty to the British public, which doesn't mean it has to give everyone what they want all the time, but it has a duty to both represent and serve the British public, ”notes Ms Seaton.
The BBC is going through a critical period right now, looking to save hundreds of millions of pounds while modernizing.
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Death of Prince Philip: the British pay homage to the Duke of Edinburgh
Attacked on the right and on the left for its coverage in the electric context of Brexit, the public group also has the challenge of adapting to new public habits and the success of paid platforms like Netflix.
His boss, Tim Davie warned in September 2020 that he would not hesitate to crack down, until a possible dismissal, against the employees of the British public broadcasting group lacking impartiality on Twitter.
He is also committed to promoting diversity within the public audiovisual group.
