TV rankings: Biden inauguration captures wider audiences than Trump’s

President Joe Biden’s inauguration drew more viewers than President Donald Trump’s 2017 ceremony, according to early Nielsen figures, and saw a fortuitous reversal for some of the country’s most-watched cable media outlets.

According to Nielsen, about 39.87 million people watched the half-hour swearing-in ceremony on the country’s six major television media, compared to 38.35 million viewers for the 2017 event. The 2021 figure represents an increase of around 4% over its 2017 predecessor.

CNN’s coverage captured an average of 9.9 million for the pivotal half-hour, leading the pack. The AT&T-backed cable news network said the numbers represented the largest audience it has captured for a groundbreaking broadcast in its history.

ABC News coverage attracted the second largest audience, an average of 7.66 million, followed by NBC News, with 6.89 million; MSNBC, with nearly 6.53 million; CBS News, with nearly 6.07 million; and Fox News Channel, with 2.74 million.

Figures are preliminary and may change after Nielsen tabulates a wider range of viewing sources.

The numbers in the notes suggest more than just interest in a new commander-in-chief after a tumultuous time for the United States. CNN’s groundbreaking audience grew to 3.375 million in 2017, a jump of more than 196%. Meanwhile, Fox News Channel’s audience for the event fell by 11.76 million in 2017, a drop of nearly 77%. Much like CNN did in 2021, Fox News set a groundbreaking audience record in 2017 in one day.

Wider coverage showed similar trends. About 29.45 million people connected to the six networks yesterday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, up from 27.08 million in 2017, an increase of almost 9%.

In 2021, CNN’s coverage attracted the most viewers, averaging 7.74 million, followed by ABC News with 5.37 million and MSNBC with nearly 5.33 million.

Fox News coverage dominated the day in 2017, earning an average of 8.77 million, while MSNBC’s coverage attracted the least, an average of nearly 1.38 million. CNN’s coverage in 2017 attracted an average of 2.61 million.