Trump impeachment trial TV audience drops 19% on second day

[turbinetree]

POLITICS

JANUARY 23, 2020 / 6:28 PM / UPDATED 11 HOURS AGO

Helen Coster
2 MIN READ

(Reuters) - About 8.9 million TV viewers watched the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the first day Democrats laid out their case against the president, marking a significant drop from the roughly 11 million viewers who watched on Tuesday, according to Nielsen ratings data.

The audience includes viewership from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm EST on Walt Disney Co’s ABC, AT&T Inc’s CNN, ViacomCBS’s CBS, Comcast Corp’s NBC and MSNBC, and Fox Corp’s Fox News. The trial continued until 9:43 p.m. EST that night.

The third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history is unlikely to end with a vote that removes Trump from office, as Republicans who control the Senate have continually voiced support for the president.

However, it is certain to cast a shadow over the November 2020 presidential election, even though ratings for the first two days indicate only a fraction of the more than 130 million Americans expected to cast ballots will have watched the first days of the proceedings.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-ratings/trump-impeachment-trial-tv-audience-drops-19-on-second-day-idUSKBN1ZM38V

[RandySF]

1. That's actually not bad for a news event.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. It's like watching a mystery movie

and knowing the outcome first.

Go for a walk and enjoy the day instead.

[marybourg]

3. I haven't watched 'til now,

but I will watch today.

[triron]

4. maybe cause most Americans are on valium, metaphorically speaking.

[panader0]

5. Some Republicans got so beat up in the first round,

they couldn't answer the bell for round two. I'll bet most of the lost
viewers are Repubs.

[crickets]

7. Good point. nt

[blogslut]

6. Not me

I shall watch today as I have all this week. I'll probably even watch the defense on "Death Valley" day.

[DeminPennswoods]

8. There are TV in offices everywhere, so people might not

be tuned into to their home TVs, but watching elsewhere or dropping in and out of coverage.

[LiberalFighter]

13. I went to Golden Corral for lunch today for the first time in ages.

They had a big tv on the side I was on. And it was on. I was also surprised that it wasn't on Fox.

[coti]

9. And hopefully no one at all bothers tuning into the Republicks' defense. nt

[kentuck]

10. But how many were new viewers?

How many had never followed the story before?

That is not necessarily bad news, in my opinion.

[Midnight Writer]

11. How many are following the event, though. I am watching bits and pieces, but relying more on reports

[JCMach1]

12. Not watching at all... Unless there is some new evidence

I really don't intend to... Just reading reports

[hatrack]

14. Well, when you already know the outcome of the season finale, kind of pointless sticking around

.

[DeminPennswoods]

15. Fox News has its regular programming on now

I checked to see if they were staying with it like CNN and MSNBC. They must've cut away at the last break, but since I don't watch them...

Tomorrow will be interesting because there's lots of live sports programming on the broadcast networks, including the US Figure Skating Championships. I'm betting they cover beginning at 10, then cut away for sports. Trump won't like that!