Only around 23 million viewers tuned in to hear President Biden deliver his State of the Union address, a fanciful once-a-year address to Congress and the nation.
Fox News attracted the largest share of viewers at 4.57 million, according to Neilsen’s Fast Ratings, which could increase when final data is compiled. ABC came second with 4.3 million, MSNBC with 3.7 million, CBS with 3.5 million, CNN with 2.3 million and Fox Broadcasting with 1.6 million.
Among the coveted 25-54 age group most valued by advertisers, ABC took first place with around 1.06 million viewers, followed by NBC (978,000 viewers), Fox News Channel (793,000 viewers), CBS (675,000 viewers), CNN (617,000 viewers), MSNBC (479,000 viewers), and Fox Broadcasting (482,000 viewers).
Only around 23 million viewers tuned in to hear President Biden deliver his annual State of the Union address to Congress and the nation, delivered with much fanfare
Early ratings show a sharp drop in viewership this year, although there were a number of GOP outbursts for TV throughout the speech – last year Biden’s address drew 38 million.
However, when the final ratings are released, State of the Union’s 2023 viewership could reach as high as 26.9 million, according to Forbes.
asked Americans across the country if they would tune in on Tuesday.
Cory Griffin only half listened. “I usually make it up the next day,” he said as he pulled up on the Las Vegas Strip while waiting for the famous fountain display in front of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
“It’s just too dry. It’s not engaging.’
This year he’s on vacation with all the distractions of Las Vegas around him. But even at home in Chicago, the 42-year-old business analyst usually catches up on it the next day, once it has been analyzed and packed into digestible highlights.
Last year, just 38 million people tuned in to see President Joe Biden deliver his State of the Union address. In 1993, nearly 67 million people watched Bill Clinton appear in Congress
Spectators watching the fountains in front of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino said they wouldn’t bother tuning in to the State of the Union on Tuesday. And who can blame them?
“When Trump was in office, it was more unpredictable,” he added. “Even then, I didn’t have to see it live.”
Perhaps it’s unfair to ask people on the colorful Las Vegas Strip, with its mini Eiffel Tower, pirate ships and volcano exhibits (on the hour from 7pm to 11pm in front of the Mirage) if they can tear themselves away from the illuminations to do something spend more than an hour watching an old man in a navy suit deliver a speech from a podium.
But when Las Vegas represents one end of the nation’s entertainment spectrum and Washington DC with its political nerds who see the State of the Union as their Oscars, Super Bowl and royal wedding rolled into one, the numbers suggest much of America is moving away from major political set pieces.
According to data collected by Statista, Bill Clinton’s 1993 speech attracted nearly 67 million viewers.
Since then the numbers have been in a downward trend, with occasional deviations from 9/11 and Trump.
Last year, Biden attracted 38.2 million viewers. That was respectable compared to the 26.9 million he managed in 2021 (technically speaking before a joint session of Congress).
That’s still a decent audience, and the White House has made it clear that it sees this as a key way to get its message across without going through the filters of newspapers or websites or news bulletins, memes or tweets.
“I think the state of the Union will have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people, not just Congress, to speak about what we’ve been doing…what he’s been doing for the last two years and how he’s doing it sees the future of this country,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday.
Numbers have been declining since President Clinton drew nearly 67 million viewers in 1993. The 9/11 attacks and the Donald Trump years sparked a spike in viewership, but the trend is down
On Monday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the opportunity was an opportunity for Biden to speak about his accomplishments and his plans not just to Congress but to the entire nation
He will at least speak directly to Leo Carter, a retired Tennessee police officer.
“I’m one of those take-me-across-the-road guys,” he said, cigar in one hand and whiskey drink in the other while enjoying the last of the afternoon sun on the sidewalk of the Las Vegas Strip . “Don’t drive me around the block to get there.”
The State of the Union is a chance to get it right out of the President’s mouth, no fuss, no spin.
But for Sheila, a visitor, this is off-putting
“I’d rather see something else,” said a Las Vegas visitor from Ohio. “Especially this President.”
The State of the Union remains one of Washington, DC’s great political assets
There’s a faint but growing train of thought that suggests it’s time for a fresh start. It was not until the Jimmy Carter presidency that the State of the Union was sometimes communicated simply in the form of a letter.
Its format is not set in stone, as Josh Tyrangiel, a creator of HBO’s “Vice News Tonight,” wrote in the New York Times last week.
“The State of the Union is the last major regular means of communication in American politics, but its power dwindles every year as the way it is presented becomes obsolete,” he wrote.
“Where else in modern life does someone try to rally people around his or her ideas with a constantly interrupted, visually desolate 60-minute twaddle?”
Why not intersperse Biden’s words with video clips of the lives the President spoke about? Or learn from Apple’s tightly choreographed product launches?
Why does data have to be numbers from the President’s mouth when the technology exists to generate visual interpretations of the numbers beamed right into viewers’ homes?
“Look at how effective a similar strategy was for the January 6 committee,” he said.
“Not only has it incorporated video, it has transformed the structure of congressional hearings from a buffet with backdrop-chewing grandstands into a meticulous storytelling machine.”
Whether that would make a difference is another matter.
“They tell me they’re sexing Joe Biden,” asked Chad Joseph, who was visiting Last Vegas from Minnesota. He paused for a moment before laughing and laughing and laughing.