In the latest TV show ratings, the cumulative broadcast and cable coverage of President Biden’s second State of the Union address totaled 27.3 million viewers, down 29 percent from last year’s crowd.
That tally encompasses 16 total outlets, including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, NBCLX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NewsMax and NewsNation.
Fox News led the TV pack with an average audience of 4.6 million, followed by ABC (4.3 million), NBC (3.7 million), MSNBC and CBS (3.5 million each), and CNN (2.3 million).
Per Nielsen, this year’s SOTU viewership was 59% broadcast and 41% cable, with 73% of the audience landing in the age 55+ demo (and just 5% age 18-34).
Elsewhere on Tuesday night:
NBC | Leading into the SOTU, Night Court (4.3 million viewers/0.5 demo rating) dipped for a fourth straight episode since its well-watched debut, while American Auto (2.3 mil/0.3) held steady.
FOX | 9-1-1: Lone Star (3.7 mil/0.4) slipped to series lows.
THE CW | Pending adjustment due to SOTU coverage in some markets (such as mine!), a fresh episode* of The Winchesters (310K/0.1) slipped to a new audience low.
* Except in L.A. market, which ran back-to-back reruns
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The Live+Same Day numbers reported in our ratings column do not reflect a show’s overall performance, given the increased use of delayed playback via DVR and streaming platforms, plus out-of-home viewing. These numbers (Nielsen fast nationals, unless denoted as finals) instead aim to simply illustrate trends or superlatives. This is only an exhibition, this is not a competition. Please, no wagering.
