For the first time in three years, the White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD) returned in Washington, D.C. on Apr. 30. The 2022 event was emceed by comedian Trevor Noah.
In his set, the “Daily Show” host cracked several jokes about the news media — especially towards Fox News. In one if the memorable lines of the night, Noah told the dinner audience, “It is risky making jokes these days… I mean, we all saw what happened at the Oscars… What if I make a really mean joke about Kellyanne Conway, and then her husband rushes up on the stage and thanks me?”
The 2022 White House Correspondents Dinner averaged 1.85 million total viewers in the 10-11 p.m. Eastern hour on CNN, according to Nielsen Media Research. The return of a sitting POTUS gave the telecast a bump up in its audience figures, as it easily topped the most recent pre-pandemic ceremonies from 2018 (1.35 million viewers) and 2019 (0.95 million viewers).
President Biden is the first sitting U.S. President in six years to have attended the WHCD — a nugget even he had amusingly quipped, “It’s understandable: we had a horrible plague, followed by two years of COVID.”
Prior to 2018 (but with the exception of 2014), the White House Correspondents Dinner had also been broadcast on MSNBC and/or Fox News Channel, in addition to its regular CNN outlet. For four out of the five-year period from 2013 thru 2017, the event had regularly drawn well over two million viewers combined across multiple networks. Like this year, CNN was WHCD’s lone broadcaster back in 2014, having then delivered just 1.09 million viewers.
The high recent watermark for the WHCD was set in 2016, for President Barack Obama’s final Dinner and which was emceed by then-Comedy Central host Larry Wilmore. That drew 4.9 million viewers, including 3.02 million from CNN alone.
The following is a year-by-year viewership track for the past eight White House Correspondents Dinners (focusing on the ceremony’s final hour):
2022: 1.85 million (CNN)
2019: 0.95 million (CNN)
2018: 1.35 million (CNN)
2017: 2.38 million (1.69 million on CNN, 0.69 million on MSNBC)
2016: 4.90 million (3.02 million on CNN, 1.14 million on FNC, 0.74 million on MSNBC)
2015: 2.60 million (1.18 million on CNN, 0.89 million on FNC, 0.53 million on MSNBC)
2014: 1.09 million (CNN)
2013: 3.24 million (1.49 million on CNN 1.49, 1.11 million on FNC, 0.64 million on MSNBC)
Cable news averages for April 25-May 1, 2022:
Total Day (April 25-May 1 @ 6 a.m.-5:59 a.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 1.497 million viewers; 242,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 0.686 million viewers; 74,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.541 million viewers; 109,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.193 million viewers; 57,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.134 million viewers; 31,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.119 million viewers; 18,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.117 million viewers; 11,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.113 million viewers; 21,000 adults 25-54
Prime Time (April 25-30 @ 8-11 p.m.; May 1 @ 7-11 p.m.)
- Fox News Channel: 2.319 million viewers; 360,000 adults 25-54
- MSNBC: 1.179 million viewers; 123,000 adults 25-54
- CNN: 0.755 million viewers; 156,000 adults 25-54
- HLN: 0.193 million viewers; 58,000 adults 25-54
- CNBC: 0.174 million viewers; 58,000 adults 25-54
- Newsmax: 0.155 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
- The Weather Channel: 0.139 million viewers; 24,000 adults 25-54
- Fox Business Network: 0.070 million viewers; 10,000 adults 25-54
- NewsNation: 0.048 million viewers; 8,000 adults 25-54
Top 10 most-watched cable news programs (and the top MSNBC and CNN programs with their respective associated ranks) in total viewers:
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.572 million viewers
2. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 4/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.538 million viewers
3. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 4/27/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.498 million viewers
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 4/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.472 million viewers
5. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.465 million viewers
6. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 4/28/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.346 million viewers
7. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 4/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.194 million viewers
8. The Five (FOXNC, Fri. 4/29/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.128 million viewers
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 4/28/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 3.072 million viewers
10. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.884 million viewers
30. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 4/25/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 2.122 million viewers
41. White House Correspondents Dinner “2022” (CNN, Sat. 4/30/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 1.853 million viewers
• Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 598” (HBO, Fri. 4/29/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.723 million viewers
• Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/1/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.571 million viewers
• The Daily Show (CMDY, Mon. 4/25/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.428 million viewers
• Forensic Files “Disrobed” (HLN, late Sat. 4/30/2022 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.424 million viewers
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7212” (TBS, Thu. 4/28/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.227 million viewers
Top 10 cable news programs (and the top CNN, MSNBC, HBO and HLN programs with their respective associated ranks) among adults 25-54
1. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.639 million adults 25-54
2. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Tue. 4/26/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.591 million adults 25-54
3. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Thu. 4/28/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.521 million adults 25-54
4. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Wed. 4/27/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.511 million adults 25-54
5. The Five (FOXNC, Wed. 4/27/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.509 million adults 25-54
6. The Five (FOXNC, Tue. 4/26/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.490 million adults 25-54
7. The Five (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.487 million adults 25-54
8. Hannity (FOXNC, Mon. 4/25/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.478 million adults 25-54
9. Tucker Carlson Tonight (FOXNC, Fri. 4/29/2022 8:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.456 million adults 25-54
10. The Five (FOXNC, Thu. 4/28/2022 5:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.425 million adults 25-54
46. White House Correspondents Dinner “2022” (CNN, Sat. 4/30/2022 10:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.291 million adults 25-54
55. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC, Mon. 4/25/2022 9:00 PM, 60 min.) 0.274 million adults 25-54
85. Last Week Tonight (HBO, Sun. 5/1/2022 11:00 PM, 35 min.) 0.237 million adults 25-54
137. The Daily Show (CMDY, Tue. 4/26/2022 11:00 PM, 31 min.) 0.170 million adults 25-54
147. Forensic Files “Disrobed” (HLN, late Sat. 4/30/2022 12:30 AM, 30 min.) 0.163 million adults 25-54
211. Real Time With Bill Maher “Episode 598” (HBO, Fri. 4/29/2022 10:00 PM, 58 min.) 0.132 million adults 25-54
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee “Episode 7212” (TBS, Thu. 4/28/2022 10:00 PM, 30 min.) 0.073 million adults 25-54
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
What about C-SPAN’s viewership for the Dinner which I believe they aired as well?
They might not be Nielsen clients in the same way that other channels/networks are, so getting their viewership might be about as hard as getting an NPR station’s listenership in a radio ratings survey of a market, but leaving out ANY mention of them here undercounts the viewership that this event got.