BBC coverage of the death of Prince Philip received a record 100,000 complaints, UK media reported.
The broadcaster scythed established favourites from the listings and even took BBC Four off the airwaves completely on Friday to make way for wall-to-wall programming marking the Duke of Edinburgh's demise.
Among the programmes to go were continuing drama EastEnders and the final of culinary competition MasterChef.
"We are proud of our coverage and the role we play during moments of national significance," a BBC representative said.
The 100,000 figure reported in The Sun newspaper was not confirmed by the representative, but is likely to be when the corporation releases its biweekly complaints bulletin on Thursday.
If the number is ratified, the coverage will have elicited more complaints than any other in British TV history.
Other BBC programmes which garnered opprobrious responses include the broadcast in 2005 of Jerry Springer: The Opera (63,000 complaints) and an episode of Russell Brand's radio show in 2008 in which he prank-called Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs (42,000 complaints).
The BBC's editorial decision concerning Prince Philip lost it a sizeable chunk of primetime audience.
BBC One viewership was down six per cent from the previous Friday, while BBC Two was down by two thirds.
It left the path clear for Channel Four's Gogglebox to become the most-viewed programme of the night, attracting 4.2 million viewers.
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