BBC defends royal baby coverage after viewers complain over 'unbalanced' broadcast of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge new arrival

Prince William and Kate the Duchess of Cambridge hold the Prince of Cambridge outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital, where the Duchess gave birth on Monday (AP)

The BBC has defended its coverage of the birth of the royal baby after viewers complained it was excessive and biased towards the Royal Family.

The broadcasting company released a statement on their website arguing that care had been taken to ensure other news items were covered alongside the royal baby, adding it had been “extremely popular” with audiences.

The corporation said its broadcasts, including the announcement of the birth and the appearance of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the new prince, “received complaints from some viewers who feel there has been too much coverage of the royal baby story and also from some who feel that the coverage has been biased in favour of the monarchy”.

They said their coverage provided balanced viewing for audiences as they featured opinions of those both for and against the monarchy, as well as broadcasting other major news and sporting events.

Their statement said: “Monday was the biggest global day and second biggest UK day ever for BBC News Online, with 19.4 million unique browsers globally and 10.8 million from the UK.

“We are satisfied that our audiences had both the best coverage of a major historical event - the birth of a new heir to the throne - as well as options to view other news across BBC output as a whole.

“We have also been careful to feature a range of contributors and opinions across our coverage, including those who do not support the monarchy or the attention this event has received. This included featuring the opinions of Republic, which campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy, and a number of other voices.”