Sooo, if 18% is coming from the nytimes, it must actually be through the roof.
Seizing one of his biggest media moments ahead of the election in November, President Biden delivered a State of the Union address on Thursday that doubled as a campaign kickoff speech, presenting himself to Americans as a still-feisty leader prepared for the rigor of a grueling campaign.
Whether his pitch resonates with voters remains to be seen. But plenty tuned in to see what he was offering.
The 66-minute-long appearance was Mr. Biden’s second-most-watched speech to Congress. His first, in 2021, attracted 26.9 million viewers, and about 38.2 million watched in 2022, days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Biden’s next opportunity to command such a large audience is likely to be the presidential debates scheduled for the fall. Speeches at summertime political conventions do not usually draw more viewers than a State of the Union address.
The Nielsen numbers spanned 14 major cable and broadcast networks. The ratings do not account for many Americans who tuned in via streaming TV platforms, online news sites and social media posts. That group is a growing share of the total audience as viewers abandon traditional cable systems. But there is no agreed-upon metric to accurately measure online views.
Nielsen said about 74 percent of live TV viewers were 55 and older, about the same proportion as last year’s speech.
Fox News attracted 5.8 million viewers on Thursday, the largest live audience of any network. ABC was watched by about 5.2 million people, leading the three biggest broadcasters.
NBC was the top-ranked network among viewers ages 25 to 54, the most important demographic for advertisers in the TV news industry.
The president is now embarking on a series of campaign stops. On Saturday, he is scheduled to tape an interview with Jonathan Capehart, a left-leaning host and commentator on MSNBC. The interview will be Mr. Biden’s first with a major television network since he spoke with Scott Pelley of CBS News in October.
Just trying to figure out who still watches TV. I know I’m odd for my age. Early 50s but I stopped watching TV when Friends was still in its first run. I ditched cable and land lines over 15 years ago and use all the latest tech.
I can’t imagine people younger than me are any different.
So where are these ratings for viewership coming from?
He did well. Made MAGAts look like fools.
> about 32.2 million people
So less than 1 in 10 watched it.
“Here’s 15 reasons why the increased ratings for the State of the Union address is *terrible* news for Joe Biden”
-CNN
Here’s how this is bad for Biden…
“feisty” like the writers of the article can’t find a direct compliment.
If a Republican gave the same speech media outlets would be effusive.
fiesty Biden is best Biden. Pissed off Obama was best Obama. At the end of his last term Obama finally lit into russian corruption, expelled a bunch of shitheads. and did not mince words. Sometimes dems overthink or are too cautious.
Biden will need to keep this momentum up. It can’t be just a one time thing. And then it’s a landslide in November.
>Nielsen said about 74 percent of live TV viewers were 55 and older, about the same proportion as last year’s speech.
Well, wait a week or two and see if that demographic has any change in the polls. Traditionally, the SOTU does little to help the President. But, considering the theme in the news about Biden being too old, he countered that probably in the best way possible.
Feist the elections up!! take back what repugs scum stole!!
Still less than 10% of Americans, and probably predominantly core Democrat voters. The SOTU is becoming irrelevant.
I imagine it is in large part due to being an election year.
Gullible.
Why do they refer to him as Mr Biden throughout the article? That’s kind of disrespectful to the institution isn’t it?
It was a textbook use of the bully pulpit.
Almost like the constant lies and concern trolling about his age, don’t stand up to him, actually being seen
Repost this anywhere you can. If there is anything Donny Diaper hates is higher ratings for his opponents
He would be +30% if the lights dimmed and his eyes shined red.
Call him Piss and Vinegar Joe
THE MAN is here to kick ass and eat ice cream. And he’s all out of ice cream , Jack !
We need Democrats to get as aggressive with Republicans as Biden was during his SOTU address. He pulled no punches.
He channeled the Darkest Brandon for this SotU.
Bipartisanship only works when you when two sides who disagree can put differences aside when important—MAGA is literally a tar pit. A tribe of selfish goblins who only care about their shameless selves and their inner circles.
We need Dark Brandon more than ever.
Dark Brandon Rises 😎🍦
Best SOTU I’ve seen so far!
Can’t wait for him to do next year’s!
Numbers. Great numbers. Some people would say the best numbers they’ve ever seen.
The people saying he stuttered and slurred the whole speech didn’t watch the speech. They got their perception from Fox and Newsmax when they selectively cut out a few times
So 18% more people watched something no one watches in an election year? 18% being 5 million would mean 28 million people watched it, or ~8% of the country.
Damn 18%!!! Huge.
Ratings jump 18% actually means 18% more people watched it this year. That’s a big jump. (Just on networks, since they dk how to measure online views.)
33 comments
Won’t last. People have the memory of a goldfish.
Sooo, if 18% is coming from the nytimes, it must actually be through the roof.
Seizing one of his biggest media moments ahead of the election in November, President Biden delivered a State of the Union address on Thursday that doubled as a campaign kickoff speech, presenting himself to Americans as a still-feisty leader prepared for the rigor of a grueling campaign.
Whether his pitch resonates with voters remains to be seen. But plenty tuned in to see what he was offering.
About 32.2 million people tuned in live to watch Mr. Biden’s speech, up 18 percent from last year’s audience [of 27.3 million](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/business/media/biden-state-of-the-union-ratings.html), the ratings agency Nielsen said on Friday.
The 66-minute-long appearance was Mr. Biden’s second-most-watched speech to Congress. His first, in 2021, attracted 26.9 million viewers, and about 38.2 million watched in 2022, days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Biden’s next opportunity to command such a large audience is likely to be the presidential debates scheduled for the fall. Speeches at summertime political conventions do not usually draw more viewers than a State of the Union address.
The Nielsen numbers spanned 14 major cable and broadcast networks. The ratings do not account for many Americans who tuned in via streaming TV platforms, online news sites and social media posts. That group is a growing share of the total audience as viewers abandon traditional cable systems. But there is no agreed-upon metric to accurately measure online views.
Nielsen said about 74 percent of live TV viewers were 55 and older, about the same proportion as last year’s speech.
Fox News attracted 5.8 million viewers on Thursday, the largest live audience of any network. ABC was watched by about 5.2 million people, leading the three biggest broadcasters.
NBC was the top-ranked network among viewers ages 25 to 54, the most important demographic for advertisers in the TV news industry.
Aides to Mr. Biden appear to be gradually letting him out of [a media cocoon](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/us/politics/biden-white-house-aides.html) after allies raised concerns about his limited public appearances. In particular, a decision by the White House to [skip a traditional interview](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/03/business/media/biden-super-bowl-interview.html) ahead of the Super Bowl set off alarm bells in Democratic circles.
The president is now embarking on a series of campaign stops. On Saturday, he is scheduled to tape an interview with Jonathan Capehart, a left-leaning host and commentator on MSNBC. The interview will be Mr. Biden’s first with a major television network since he spoke with Scott Pelley of CBS News in October.
Just trying to figure out who still watches TV. I know I’m odd for my age. Early 50s but I stopped watching TV when Friends was still in its first run. I ditched cable and land lines over 15 years ago and use all the latest tech.
I can’t imagine people younger than me are any different.
So where are these ratings for viewership coming from?
He did well. Made MAGAts look like fools.
> about 32.2 million people
So less than 1 in 10 watched it.
“Here’s 15 reasons why the increased ratings for the State of the Union address is *terrible* news for Joe Biden”
-CNN
Here’s how this is bad for Biden…
“feisty” like the writers of the article can’t find a direct compliment.
If a Republican gave the same speech media outlets would be effusive.
fiesty Biden is best Biden. Pissed off Obama was best Obama. At the end of his last term Obama finally lit into russian corruption, expelled a bunch of shitheads. and did not mince words. Sometimes dems overthink or are too cautious.
Biden will need to keep this momentum up. It can’t be just a one time thing. And then it’s a landslide in November.
>Nielsen said about 74 percent of live TV viewers were 55 and older, about the same proportion as last year’s speech.
Well, wait a week or two and see if that demographic has any change in the polls. Traditionally, the SOTU does little to help the President. But, considering the theme in the news about Biden being too old, he countered that probably in the best way possible.
Feist the elections up!! take back what repugs scum stole!!
Still less than 10% of Americans, and probably predominantly core Democrat voters. The SOTU is becoming irrelevant.
I imagine it is in large part due to being an election year.
Gullible.
Why do they refer to him as Mr Biden throughout the article? That’s kind of disrespectful to the institution isn’t it?
It was a textbook use of the bully pulpit.
Almost like the constant lies and concern trolling about his age, don’t stand up to him, actually being seen
Repost this anywhere you can. If there is anything Donny Diaper hates is higher ratings for his opponents
He would be +30% if the lights dimmed and his eyes shined red.
Call him Piss and Vinegar Joe
THE MAN is here to kick ass and eat ice cream. And he’s all out of ice cream , Jack !
We need Democrats to get as aggressive with Republicans as Biden was during his SOTU address. He pulled no punches.
He channeled the Darkest Brandon for this SotU.
Bipartisanship only works when you when two sides who disagree can put differences aside when important—MAGA is literally a tar pit. A tribe of selfish goblins who only care about their shameless selves and their inner circles.
We need Dark Brandon more than ever.
Dark Brandon Rises 😎🍦
Best SOTU I’ve seen so far!
Can’t wait for him to do next year’s!
Numbers. Great numbers. Some people would say the best numbers they’ve ever seen.
The people saying he stuttered and slurred the whole speech didn’t watch the speech. They got their perception from Fox and Newsmax when they selectively cut out a few times
So 18% more people watched something no one watches in an election year? 18% being 5 million would mean 28 million people watched it, or ~8% of the country.
Damn 18%!!! Huge.
Ratings jump 18% actually means 18% more people watched it this year. That’s a big jump. (Just on networks, since they dk how to measure online views.)