Some 32.2 million people watched President Biden’s State of the Union address on broadcast or cable television Thursday night, according to Nielsen Market Research, a marked increase from the 27.3 million people who watched in 2023. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Viewership skewed older, with 74 percent of the audience age 55 or older. Just 19 percent of viewers who watched one of the 14 channels tracked by Nielsen were between the ages of 35 and 54, and about 5 percent of the audience came from the 18-to-34 demographic.
Fox News was the most-watched network for the address, with an audience of 5.6 million viewers, followed on cable news by MSNBC with 4.2 million viewers and CNN with 2.5 million viewers.
On the broadcast networks, ABC led with 5 million viewers, followed by NBC with 4.3 million and CBS with 3.9 million.
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The address, which began after a scheduled 9 p.m. Eastern start, was carried live on all the major networks along with streaming platforms and social media channels like YouTube. Views of the speech on social media platforms were not included in the tally, and with so many clips going viral — along with those of the Republican Party’s response, by Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (Ala.) — the actual viewership Thursday was significantly higher.
Biden’s 2022 State of the Union address was his most watched, with an audience of 38.2 million. Donald Trump’s four addresses averaged 44.3 million viewers.
In the 21st century, the most-watched State of the Union was George W. Bush’s 2003 address, which attracted 62 million people, followed by Barack Obama’s inaugural address, which attracted 52.4 million in 2009.
In the years since, television viewership has declined precipitously, as more people cut the cord and cancel their cable television packages, opting instead for a la carte options or free streaming platforms.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
