CBS reportedly paid millions to air Oprah Winfrey’s highly-anticipated interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS reportedly paid $7 million-$9 million as licensing fee to air the special. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry weren’t paid to participate in the interview.
The agreement between CBS and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions gave the network rights to license the special overseas. The interview aired on CBS in the United States on March 7, and ITV in the UK on March 8.
In a preview clip from the interview, Meghan Markle revealed that Winfrey had approached her for an interview before Markle’s wedding in 2018. Markle had turned down the request. Concerning this, Markle said, “I couldn’t have said yes to you then, that wasn’t my choice to make.” She further explained what makes now the right time to open up, “We’re on the other side of a lot of life experience that’s happened and also that we have the ability to make our own choices in a way. So, as an adult who lived a really independent life to then go into this construct that is different than I think what people imagine it to be, it’s really liberating to be able to have the right and the privilege in some ways to be able to say yes. I mean, I’m ready to talk.”
In another preview clip, Meghan Markle spoke about how the royal family may feel after hearing the truth. She shared, “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that the Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.” The Firm refers to the royal family institution. Markle added, “And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I—there’s a lot that’s been lost already.”
The CBS interview covered Meghan Markle’s journey from entering the royal life to marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work, and facing intense public pressure. Prince Harry joined his wife to speak about their historic move to the US.