On Tuesday, February 24, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered his first address to a Joint Session of Congress, the traditional first-term equivalent of the State of the Union. The address was carried live on 10 national television networks – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel and MSNBC. The figures below are the sum of the preliminary average audience estimates for the sources noted and for the approximate common time. Exact times varied by network.
President Obama’s Address to Joint Session of Congress –
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Approximately 9:00-10:30 PM (ET)
| Networks | Rating | Share | # of Homes | # of Viewers 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION,
CNBC,CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC |
32.5 | 49 | 37,185,000 | 52,373,000 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (February 25, 2009). |
Selected State of the Union/Addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress
| Number of Networks | Rating | Share | # of Homes | # of Viewers 2+ | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/28/2008 | 9 | 24.7 | 38 | 27,702,000 | 37,515,000 | Last year |
| 1/28/2003 | 8 | 38.8 | 56 | 41,447,000 | 62,061,000 | Pre-Iraq War |
| 1/29/2002 | 8 | 33.6 | 49 | 35,547,000 | 51,773,000 | Post-9/11 |
| 2/27/2001 | 7 | 27.6 | 42 | 28,201,000 | 39,793,000 | Bush’s 1st |
| 1/19/1999 | 7 | 31 | 48 | 30,700,000 | 44,500,000 | Post-Impeachment |
| 1/27/1998 | 8 | 37.2 | 56 | 36,513,000 | 53,077,000 | Pre-Impeachment |
| 2/17/1993 | 4 | 44.3 | N/A | 41,200,000 | 66,900,000 | Clinton’s 1st |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (February 25, 2009). |
2008- ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, FNC, MSNBC,
1999, 2001 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FNC, MSNBC
1998, 2002, 2003 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FNC, MSNBC
1993 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN
Source: Nielsen, Live + Same Day from 2006 to present, Live Only for prior years
