MUMBAI: While it was Star World and CNN which boasted live rights to the Michael Jackson memorial service telecast on 7 July, it was the English news channels that walked away with the lion's share of the viewership.

CNN IBN, among the Indian Enlgish news channels, grabbed a 37 per cent share of the audience that tuned in to watch the Jackson family and friends pay their tributes to the pop legend. Times Now followed with a 28 per cent share, while NDTV 24x7 had a 24 per cent share of the viewership.

According to TAM data monitored from 9 pm to 2 am on 7 July, even Hindi news channels like Aaj Tak managed a 17 per cent share of the viewership at the time, followed by Star News which managed to corner 19 per cent share. India TV had a 17 per cent share.

This, despite the fact that Star World and CNN had publicised the programme beforehand, claiming they had the rights to telecast the event live.