Early ratings data reveals that at least 20 million people watched the 1/6 Committee hearing. Just 3 million Americans watched Fox News.
The New York Times reported on the early ratings data:
An audience of at least 20 million people watched the first prime-time hearing of the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on Thursday night, according to Nielsen.
ABC attracted the biggest audience, with 5.2 million viewers. NBC and CBS each had an audience of more than three million. MSNBC averaged more than four million, and CNN drew 2.7 million. (The 20 million figure did not yet include PBS, so the total audience was most likely a bit bigger.)
The hearings were a summer ratings smash for the networks, and the number of total viewers is likely to be closer to 30 million once the numbers are finalized, PBS is included, and streaming is added in.
It is very possible that the number of Americans who watched the hearing will outnumber those who watched Fox News by about 10 to 1.
The Trump and Republican effort to counterprogram the hearings using Fox News has failed.
Trump and the Republican Party have a massive problem. The American people are watching these hearings, and in the process, they are learning about a GOP-led coup against the United States government.
The ratings are the nightmare that Republicans have been dreading for more than a year.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association