President Obama’s first State of the Union Address on Tuesday averaged 52.373 million viewers across broadcast and cable networks. That puts it 4th for the Presidential addresses since 1993 behind Bill Clinton’s first State of the Union in 1993 (66.9 million), GW Bush’s 2003 address pre-Iraq invasion (62.06 million), and Clinton’s pre-impeachment address in 1998 (53.077 million). The least viewed recent address was Clinton’s final one in 2000 (31.478 million).
State of the Union Address TV Ratings Data, 1993-2009:
| Date | Networks | HHs | Viewers | President | |
| 1/24/2009 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION, CNBC,CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 52.373 | Obama | ||
| 1/28/08 | ABC, CBS, FOX* NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO^, UNIVISION | 27.702 | 37.515 | G.W Bush | |
| 1/24/07 | ABC, CBS, FOX**, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO**, UNIVISION ** | 32.968 | 45.486 | G.W. Bush | |
| 2/1/06 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO, AZTECA AMERICA, TELFUTURA, TELEMUNDO | 29.578 | 41.699 | G.W. Bush | |
| 02/02/05 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO, TELEFUTURA | 27.699 | 38.382 | G. W. Bush | |
| 01/20/04 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 30.286 | 43.411 | G. W. Bush | |
| 01/28/03 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 41.447 | 62.061 | G. W. Bush | |
| 01/29/02 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 35.547 | 51.773 | G.W. Bush | |
| 02/27/01* | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 28.201 | 39.793 | G.W. Bush | |
| 1/27/00 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 22.536 | 31.478 | Clinton | |
| 1/19/99 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 30.700 | 43.500 | Clinton | |
| 1/27/98 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 36.513 | 53.077 | Clinton | |
| 2/4/97 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN | 27.600 | 41.100 | Clinton | |
| 1/23/96 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN | 28.400 | 40.900 | Clinton | |
| 1/24/95 | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 28.100 | 42.200 | Clinton | |
| 1/25/94 | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 31.000 | 45.800 | Clinton | |
| 2/17/93 | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 41.200 | 66.900 | Clinton |
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2006-2009 results are Live+SD, all previous years are Live viewing.
^Telemundo’s coverage was tape delayed, all other networks carried live.
* Note: 2/27/01 Address was officially the “Address to the Joint Sessions of Congress”.
** Note: 2/24/07 The coverage of these networks goes beyond a common end time & includes the State Of The Union Address & commentary. This does not include the Democratic Response.
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2009 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
