Marking the one-year anniversary of the nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus, President Biden addressed the nation on Mar. 11 from 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Earlier that day, Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill he had proposed that was approved by the Democrat-majority House and the Senate.
Across 14 linear TV networks, Biden’s address drew 32 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC, with most of its affiliates airing “Wheel of Fortune” or “Jeopardy!” as a weeknight lead-in to its prime time lineup, led all outlets with 6.48 million viewers. CBS was runner-up with 5.82 million.
Fox News was the top cable network airing the speech — third on TV, overall — with 4.24 million viewers. Based on the key 25-54 demographic valued by advertisers. Fox News delivered 665,000 viewers within the demo.
NBC was close behind in fourth place with 4.19 million; their cable-owned news outlet MSNBC drew 2.97 million.
CNN (2.865 million) trailed their cable news competition in total viewers. The Fox broadcast network posted 2.18 million viewers.
Univision (1.281 million) topped Telemundo (0.966 million) among Spanish-language networks.
Newsmax, which experienced an uptick since the Nov. 3 election, drew 432,000 viewers for the address.
While Biden’s address — his first to the country since taking office — outdrew Trump’s first address (approx. 28 million), Biden’s predecessor had given that speech on August 21, 2017. Household viewing levels are much lower in the summer months than in any other season of a calendar year.
Similar to how it performed in the ratings for Biden’s speech, Fox News Channel was cable’s most-watched network of the week (Mar. 8-14) in total day and prime time. For adults 25-54, the key demo that CNN had dominated from Nov. 2020 thru Feb. 2021, Fox News now leads there among its cable news competition as well.
Here are the cable news averages for Mar. 8-14, 2021 — the total viewer figures were cable’s three best marks for the week in total day and in prime time:
Total Day (Mar. 8-14 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.304 million viewers; 221,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.085 million viewers; 135,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.865 million viewers; 207,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (Mar. 8-13 @ 8-11 p.m.; Mar. 14 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.517 million viewers; 405,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.904 million viewers; 252,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 1.311 million viewers; 325,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top CNN program and its associated rank) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/11/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 4.238 million viewers
2. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 3/11/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.465 million viewers
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/10/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.414 million viewers
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/9/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.395 million viewers
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/8/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.366 million viewers
6. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Thu. 3/11/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.316 million viewers
7. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 3/10/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.293 million viewers
8. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Tue. 3/9/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.121 million viewers
9. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 3/9/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.078 million viewers
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 3/12/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.060 million viewers
17. President Biden Prime Time Address “Covid One Year Anniversary” (CNN, Thu. 3/11/2021 8:02 PM, 24 min.) 2.865 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top MSNBC program and its associated rank) among adults 25-54:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 3/11/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.725 million adults 25-54
2. President Biden Prime Time Address “Covid One Year Anniversary” (CNN, Thu. 3/11/2021 8:02 PM, 24 min.) 0.719 million adults 25-54
3. Anderson Cooper 360 “President Biden’s First Prime Time Address” (CNN, Thu. 3/11/2021 8:26 PM, 34 min.) 0.670 million adults 25-54
4. Hannity (FOXNC, Thu. 3/11/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.596 million adults 25-54
5. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 3/10/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.595 million adults 25-54
6. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 3/8/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.578 million adults 25-54
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 3/9/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.575 million adults 25-54
8. Cuomo Prime Time (CNN, Thu. 3/11/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.491 million adults 25-54
9. Hannity (FOXNC, Tue. 3/9/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.488 million adults 25-54
10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 3/12/2021 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.483 million adults 25-54
15. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Wed. 3/10/2021 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.454 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research