Trump’s Second SOTU One Of TV’s Most Watched Events To Date
Tom Pappert
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President Donald J. Trump made broadcast history on Tuesday night when his State of the Union Address pulled over 46 million viewers, something rarely achieved in American television.
President Trump’s second State of the Union Address reached nearly 47 million American viewers after the final numbers were tabulated by respected ratings group Nielsen, showing an increase over last year’s State of the Union Address and a massive uptick in viewers from President Barack Obama’s record low final State of the Union Address, which reached a mere 33 million viewers.
President Obama’s low viewership numbers are only mirrored by the final State of the Union Address delivered by President Bill Clinton, as he was embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
According to Broadcasting Cable:
It was the biggest audience for a traditional address since 2010, when President Obama spoke to Congress. Bigger audiences saw the president speak in 2017 and 2009, but those speeches were officially called an Address to the Joint Sessions of Congress.
More people watched the State of the Union on Fox News Channel than any other single network. Fox News delivered 11.1 million people.
The broadcast networks had the next most viewers, with 7.1 million viewers on NBC, 6.7 million on CBS, 5.9 million on ABC and 5.9 million on Fox.
President Trump’s 46.8 million viewers surpassed the series finale of several iconic American shows from the 20th century, including The Cosby Show, All In The Family, Frasier, Dallas, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The majority of broadcast events to surpass President Trump’s viewership are broadcasts of various football games and several years’ Super Bowl, which is routinely the most watched annual broadcast, thus making President Trump’s State of the Union Address one of the only non-sporting events to capture such a large audience in American broadcast history.
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