Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sparked a bidding war between UK broadcasters, with ITV emerging as the ‘vanguard’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are believed to have spoken openly about their lives inside and outside the royal family after announcing last week that they had officially ceased to be royalty.
The 90-minute interview will air on CBS in the United States on March 7 and now a bidding war has been triggered by the rights to broadcast it in the UK.
Variety said Sky excluded itself from the race and the BBC is believed not to be involved as it is broadcasting a special with Queen just hours before the explosive interview was broadcast in the United States.
(Image: Getty Images)
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, which is selling the interview to foreign broadcasters, is looking forward to it going to an open channel, which left ITV in the box to pack the chat.
The preference for an open channel means that Amazon Prime has been discarded and Netflix, which has signed a £ 112 million contract with Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, has also been put aside for preference.
The duke and duchess indicated which channel they would like the interview to go to and Meghan had already opened up to Tom Bradby on ITV in an emotional conversation.
In the Oprah special, Meghan claimed that she has not been questioned by many people about her well-being since joining the Royals, with the interview being filmed during the couple’s trip to South Africa.
Do you like reading about TV? Sign up for the best Mirror TV news here.
(Image: Getty Images for THR)
It was alleged that the chat will “lighten” tensions with the royal family with Meghan revealing how she was “coming into life like real work, marriage, motherhood, philanthropy”.
The expectation is that she will also discuss “how she is dealing with life under intense public pressure”.
Meghan and Harry are expecting their second baby after moving to the USA.
A royal source told The Sun that there may be turbulence ahead for the royal family, as Oprah is good at spreading the interesting details.
They said, “Oprah has the ability to get people talking about their feelings and takes them on a path they will almost certainly regret.”
Do you have a story to sell? Contact us at [email protected] or call us directly at 0207 29 33033.