Biden's State of the Union Address a Hit... Live Broadcast Viewership Jumps 18%

Live TV Viewing Audience of 32 Million

On the 7th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address appeared to be a success in terms of viewership. The number of viewers watching the live TV broadcast increased by 18% compared to last year.

U.S. research firm Nielsen announced on the 8th (local time) that approximately 32.2 million people watched President Biden's speech live, an 18% increase from 27.3 million last year.

This figure aggregates data from 14 major cable and broadcast networks. Viewing via streaming TV platforms, online news sites, and social media was not included.

About 74% of the live viewers were aged 55 and older, a proportion similar to last year.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his final State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on the 7th (local time). On this day, President Biden criticized both Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Donald Trump.
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

The 68-minute speech, delivered during Thursday night’s prime time, was the second most-watched State of the Union address by President Biden.

In 2021, the speech drew 26.9 million viewers, and in 2022, just days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it attracted 38.2 million viewers.

The U.S. daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) commented that whether Biden’s speech resonates with voters remains to be seen, but for now, many people tuned in to hear what he had to say.

The NYT also noted that with the November presidential election approaching, the next opportunity for President Biden to draw such a large audience is likely the election debates held after September. Viewership for the party conventions held in July and August is generally lower than that of the State of the Union address.