by Catherine Smith
According to Breitbart, “The Senate’s impeachment trial’s opening arguments drew 2.8 million fewer television viewers since the House began their own hearings in November, Nielsen ratings data show.”
On Tuesday, the first day of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump attracted an audience total of 11 million viewers across 6 networks, down from 13.8 million from when the lower chamber took up the issue. The figures were garnered from 4.5 hours of coverage from six cable networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, NBC, and MSNBC. Fox News was leading the pack with some 2,654,000 on their channel from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The ratings did not include those who watched the marathon hearing being live streamed on social media.
The numbers are far lower compared to other televised political moments of historical importance, In 2018, the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh drew an audience of 20.4 million on the six broadcast networks.
The lower viewing figures reflect opinion from some Trump supporters who have said that the coverage — which relied primarily on static cameras controlled by the Senate — was “boring.”
– – –
Catherine Smith is a newcomer to Washington D.C. She met, and married an American journalist and moved to D.C from the U.K. She graduated with a B.A in Graphic, Media and Communications and worked in design and retail in the U.K.
Photo “Adam Schiff” by CSPAN.
