Joe Biden’s State Of The Union Address Draws 32.2 Million Viewers, Up 18% Over Last Year
UPDATED, 2:29 PM: Final Nielsen numbers show that Joe Biden’s State of the Union address drew 32.3 million viewers, an 18% increase from last year.
It was Biden’s second-largest audience in his address to a joint session of Congress. His first speech in 2021 drew 38.2 million.
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This year’s figure is from viewership across 14 networks, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Telemundo, Univision PBS, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax and NewsNation.
Nielsen said that 74% of viewers were 55 or older, 19% were ages 35-54, and 5% were 18-34. Some 56% watched broadcast coverage and 44% watched on cable networks.
According to the updated figures, Fox News topped all networks with 5.84 million, followed by MSNBC with 4.43 million and CNN at 2.63 million. Fox Business averaged 244,000.
ABC News topped broadcast networks with 5.24 million, followed by NBC News with 4.47 million and CBS News at 4.09 million. Fox Broadcasting drew 1.78 million.
In the 25-54 demo, NBC News was on top with 1.18 million. Among other broadcast networks in the demo, ABC News averaged 1.15 million and CBS News posted 868,000. Fox Broadcasting averaged 540,000.
Among cable networks in the demo, Fox News topped with 1.41 million, followed by CNN with 710,000 and MSNBC with 695,000. Fox Business averaged 47,000.
PREVIOUSLY: President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address drew about 27.7 million viewers across nine networks, signaling a boost in total audience from last year, according to early Nielsen numbers.
About 27.3 million watched in 2023, and that was across 16 networks. The final Nielsen figures are expected later today with additional networks added.
Fox News topped all the networks, drawing 5.64 million, followed by ABC News with 5.02 million, NBC News with 4.33 million, MSNBC with 4.2 million, CBS News with 3.94 million, CNN with 2.51 million, Fox with 1.71 million, Fox Business with 240,000 and CNBC with 112,000.
In the 25-54 demo, NBC News topped with 1.11 million, followed by ABC News with 1.07 million, Fox News with 1.03 million, CBS News with 824,000, CNN with 646,000, MSNBC with 611,000, Fox News with 516,738, Fox Business with 40,000 and CNBC with 35,000.
The measurement was from the 9:15 to 10:45 p.m. ET timeframe. The figures are from Nielsen via Fox News.
Biden’s first speech as president to a joint session of Congress drew 26.9 million viewers in 2021. The State of the Union the following year, in 2022, drew 38.2 million.
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