The first live hearing of the January 6 committee was watched by over one million people. The photographer is Eric Lee.
The first prime time episode of the House Select Committee investigating the January attack on the Capitol was broadcast live on Thursday and included damning opening statements about Donald Trump's activities during the insurrection, never-before-seen video clips and taped testimony.
The chair of the committee said that the violence at the Capitol was caused by Trump, who used a mob of domestic enemies to march down the Capitol and subvert American democracy.
The NBA Finals had an off day in June and with no serious competition on the schedule, preliminary audience figures approached 20 million viewers, which will increase as more networks are counted and time-shifted viewing is added. This year, the highest rated regularly scheduled program has double the audience.
All of the major cable news and broadcast networks broadcasted it. The hearing could be seen on Fox Business and on Fox Nation. Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News is free to minimize channel surfing.
Carlson accused rival networks of colluding with the House by showing the testimony. Carlson talked about inflation, violent crime in cities, and drug overdoses during his show.
In May, Carlson's show averaged more than 3 million viewers at 8 p.m. 3 million people watched Fox News on Thursday, which was the same as May. The congressional hearings were broadcast live.
Younger viewers are abandoning their cable subscriptions for streaming video as a result of the changes in the video landscape. Older adults are more likely to watch newscasts which have a median age of 60. Younger age groups are interested in social media.
The January 6 hearing is unlikely to sway many younger viewers who have grown up in a contentious political climate with regular accusations of fake news.
There were only a few live congressional hearings on television during the first 50 years. There were also KeFAuver-Interstate Gambling, Army-McCarthy, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Clinton impeachment.
Donald Trump has been a ratings success for cable news networks. The actions of the former President have attracted a lot of attention to the television set. News networks have dominated cable ratings and broadcasters have been more aggressive in covering congressional hearings.
In the past five years congressional hearings have been broadcasted live on cable and broadcast television. Most of the hearings were shown in the daytime.
The audience was larger than the first and second impeachment trials. They were in line with what the witnesses had to say.
In June of last year, former FBI Director James Comey testified to Congress and averaged nearly 20 million viewers on three cable news channels. The three-hour testimony began at 10 a.m. There is a time and a place for it.
Three broadcast television and three cable news networks broadcasted the testimony of Michael Cohen. At 10:00 a.m., the testimony began. It lasted into the evening. More than 16 million people watched Cohen testify.
In July of this year, the broadcast and cable news networks broadcasted live the testimony of the special counsel. At 8:15 a.m., coverage started. It went into the afternoon hours. The six averaged more than 13 million watchers.
In September of last year, the Supreme Court confirmation hearings had testimony from Christine Blasey. A combined TV audience of 20.4 million viewers watched the hearings on television.
Strong ratings were produced by the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. 27 million households watched the confirmation hearings in prime time on ABC and NBC. The baseball game was watched by 9.2 million people.
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump in January 2020 was broadcasted on three networks. 11 million people watched the first day of the trial. The second day of the trial began at 12 noon and ended at 9: 43 pm. The average number of viewers was almost 9 million.
The first day of the second impeachment trial was broadcasted across six cable news and broadcast networks, similar to the first trial, with live coverage occurring in the afternoon. There was an increase in the number of viewers on the second day.
In December 1998, the Senate voted on the impeachment of Clinton. The cable news networks averaged over 2 million households. While NBC and ABC provided continued live coverage of the vote, CBS cut to televise a Saturday afternoon football game which easily dominated ratings with 12 million viewers.
Further testimony from The Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Trump aides from inside The White House and law enforcement officers will be included in future investigations. Social media posts and unseen footage from the Capitol will be revealed as a result of the riots.
The hearings are similar to a mini-series that used to dominate linear television and is now seen on streaming video. The strategy is to get as many people to watch an appointment.
It will be difficult to know if the hearings will have the same effect as the "Watergate Summer" of 50 years ago. Tens of millions of Trump supporters are already dismissing the hearings. They are accused of being a witch hunt. The State of the Union address on March 1 which averaged 38.2 million viewers has become virtually non-existent on television, despite the fact that the first hearings are being promoted as an Episodic Must-see TV event.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
