More than 33 million watched Biden’s inauguration on TV. What about past presidents?
More than 33 million television viewers tuned in to President Joe Biden’s swearing in last week, according to Nielsen — making it one of the most-watched inaugurations in recent history.
Nielsen, a company that conducts TV audience research, estimates nearly 33.8 million people ages 2 and up watched Biden be sworn in as the 46th president shortly before noon Jan. 20 across 17 networks that carried it live between roughly 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET.
CNN was the most popular network for watching the inauguration, Nielsen found, according to The New York Times. Roughly 10 million tuned into the network during Biden’s swearing in and inaugural address. The least watched of the major networks was Fox News, which had 2.7 million viewers during that time.
People ages 55 and older accounted for the largest group of viewers, with more than 20.8 million, according to Nielsen. More than 8.2 million people ages 35-54 watched and more than 2.8 million people ages 18-34 watched.
Biden’s inauguration and surrounding festivities looked different than in the past due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tickets for the ceremony were limited to members of the 117th Congress and one guest each, or roughly 1,000 people. That’s compared to the usual 200,000 tickets lawmakers distribute to their constituents. The Presidential Inaugural Committee encouraged people to avoid inauguration-related travel and to watch from home.
The inauguration was also historic. When Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in, she became the first Black person, first woman and first South Asian American person to hold the office.
The roughly 33.8 million TV viewers put Biden’s inauguration behind only those of former Presidents Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. Here’s a look at how many people watched the first inaugurations of past presidents in the last 40 years.
Donald Trump (2017)
Nearly 31 million people tuned in to watch former President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Nielsen estimates.
Twelve networks carried live coverage between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. Fox News was significantly more popular among viewers of Trump’s inauguration than viewers of Biden’s, with an estimated 12 million viewers in 2017, the Times reports based off Nielsen’s data.
Trump was known to watch his television rating closely and tout crowd sizes at his rallies and events.
Barack Obama (2009)
Nearly 37.8 million viewers tuned in at home to watch Obama’s swearing in.
His inauguration was carried by 17 broadcast and cable networks between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen. It was the second-most watched presidential inauguration in history in terms of TV viewers.
Obama’s swearing in was historic as he was the first Black person to hold the office.
George W. Bush (2001)
A little over 29 million people watched former President George W. Bush’s first inauguration.
Six networks carried the inauguration live, and ABC had the most viewers with more than 7.6 million, according to Nielsen. MSNBC and Fox News had the least, with more than 1.3 million and more than 1.9 million, respectively.
Bill Clinton (1993)
More than 29.7 million viewers tuned into former President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, Nielsen says.
ABC was also the most popular network among viewers of Clinton’s inauguration and CNN was the least.
Clinton’s second inauguration in 1997, which had more than 21.5 million viewers, was the first ceremony to be live-streamed on the internet.
George H.W. Bush (1989)
More than 23.3 million watched the swearing in of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush.
His was the least-watched first presidential inauguration in recent history, according to Nielsen data. ABC was again the most popular network among viewers of Bush’s inauguration.
Ronald Reagan (1981)
The 40th president’s inauguration drew more than 41.8 million viewers.
That makes his swearing in the most-viewed on television in history, according to Nielsen.
Reagan’s was the first inauguration to be held on the West Terrace of the U.S. Capitol and marked the first inauguration broadcast with closed-captioning for the hearing impaired.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 4:08 PM with the headline "More than 33 million watched Biden’s inauguration on TV. What about past presidents?."
