MUMBAI: In a media release, BBC World has claimed that the channel was the most watched international news channel in India for the coverage of Pope John Paul II's death and funeral. It says, 4.8 million people tuned to its coverage ahead of the 1.8 million people who watched the CNN coverage.

Quoting the TAM data, the channel says, viewers also watched BBC World for longer with the average time spent on the channel being 19 minutes compared to CNN viewers who spent an average of 12 minutes.

On the day of the Pope's death (Sunday, 3 April), BBC World reached nearly 2.3 million people, more than double the number of people who viewed CNN, thus attracting 1.2 million additional viewers, says the release.

BBC World senior manager Dezma deMelo comments: "BBC World's reach increased by 71 per cent across India on 3 April and 8 April, compared to research data from the previous week. Once again, viewers in India chose BBC World to keep themselves updated, reflecting the channel's comprehensive analysis of international events."