On Tuesday, February 24, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered his first address to a Joint Session of Congress, the traditional first-term equivalent of the State of the Union. The address was carried live on 10 national television networks - ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel and MSNBC. The figures below are the sum of the preliminary average audience estimates for the sources noted and for the approximate common time. Exact times varied by network.
President Obama’s Address to Joint Session of Congress –
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Approximately 9:00-10:30 PM (ET)
| Networks | Rating | Share | # of Homes | # of Viewers 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION, CNBC,CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC |
32.5 | 49 | 37,185,000 | 52,373,000 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (February 25, 2009). | ||||
Selected State of the Union/Addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress
| Number of Networks | Rating | Share | # of Homes | # of Viewers 2+ | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/28/2008 | 9 | 24.7 | 38 | 27,702,000 | 37,515,000 | Last year | |
| 1/28/2003 | 8 | 38.8 | 56 | 41,447,000 | 62,061,000 | Pre-Iraq War | |
| 1/29/2002 | 8 | 33.6 | 49 | 35,547,000 | 51,773,000 | Post-9/11 | |
| 2/27/2001 | 7 | 27.6 | 42 | 28,201,000 | 39,793,000 | Bush’s 1st | |
| 1/19/1999 | 7 | 31 | 48 | 30,700,000 | 44,500,000 | Post-Impeachment | |
| 1/27/1998 | 8 | 37.2 | 56 | 36,513,000 | 53,077,000 | Pre-Impeachment | |
| 2/17/1993 | 4 | 44.3 | N/A | 44,200,000 | 66,900,000 | Clinton’s 1st | |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (February 25, 2009). | |||||||
2008- ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, FNC, MSNBC,
1999, 2001 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FNC, MSNBC
1998, 2002, 2003 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FNC, MSNBC
1993 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN
Source: Nielsen, Live + Same Day from 2006 to present, Live Only for prior years
[...] PAGE ROUNDUP 52M WATCHED OBAMA ADDRESS [...]
Would love to have seen how he would have done against American Idol! My bet is, he ties at best.
[...] Nielsen pointed out, Obama’s share of 32.5% (percentage of Americans watching) was rather mediocre. Clinton in 1993 [...]
I think the numbers are low. I was on the phone with friends all over the country phoning and texting every time he hit a high note for one of us. Co-workers were on the phone – anybody that has a job and is concerned about their future were watching. That number has to be low if only for the fact that logically it doesn’t’ fit. In these times, with an election that had the highest turn out in over 4 decades an extremely popular President and his viewing audience was smaller than Bush 43’s first. Not logical.
[...] PAGE ROUNDUP 52M watched Obama address »»» It’s Obama spreading panic (Morris Opinion) »»» $1.75 trillion deficit »»» U.S. [...]
[...] PAGE ROUNDUP | Archives start 2-23-2009 (use upper right SEARCH BOX “2-23-2009“) 52M watched Obama address »»» It’s Obama spreading panic (Morris Opinion) »»» $1.75 trillion deficit »»» U.S. [...]
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