27.3 Million Watched the 2023 State of the Union Address

NEW YORK – February 8, 2023 – An estimated 27.3 million people watched President Biden deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 7, according to Nielsen. Live coverage of the event aired on 16 television networks from approximately 9:00 PM to 10:22 PM ET.

Of the 27.3 million people that watched the 2023 State of the Union address:
• 59% watched broadcast network coverage
• 41% watched coverage on cable networks
• 5% of viewers were aged 18-34
• 19% of viewers were aged 35-54
• 73% of viewers were aged 55 and older.

Viewing of the 2023 State of the Union address was down 29% compared to Biden’s 2022 address, which brought in a total of 38.2 million viewers across 16 networks.

The chart below shows the sum of the average viewing audience for networks that aired coverage, including viewing data for households and various age demographics. The data is inclusive of U.S. audiences only.

2023 State of the Union address – February 7, 2023

U.S. Television Audience Estimates

Sum of Networks, Live+Same Day	Total Number of Viewers	Average Audience Rating
Persons 2+	27,312,000	8.7
Households	20,002,000	16.1
Persons 18-34	1,464,000	2.1
Persons 35-54	5,264,000	6.6
Persons 55+	19,833,000	20.0

Source: Nielsen, NNTV, Live+SDTotal summary projections are expressed in units, rounded to the nearest thousand (000).
The data in this table is inclusive of broadcast and cable networks that aired this event, plus PBS.  Networks included in audience estimates: Broadcast: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, NBCLX, TEL, UNI, PBSCable: CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, NewsMax, NewsNation
NOTE 1: Out-of-home viewing and connected TV (CTV) viewing are included in the total figures for this advisory. Contribution from CTV viewing can be as much as 13% for news events.  NOTE 2: Audience estimates for PBS do not include out-of-home contributions.

Historical State of the Union Audience Data

U.S. Television Audience Estimates

Date	Total Viewers P2+	Combined HHLD Rating	Included TV Networks	President
2/7/2023	27,312,000	16.1	ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TEL, UNI, NBCLX, PBS,  CNBC, CNN, CNNe, FBN, FOXNC, MSNBC, NewsMax, NewsNation	Biden
3/1/2022	38,197,000	22.4	ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TEL, UNI, NBCLX, PBS, Black News Channel, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, FOXNC, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation	Biden
4/28/2021*	26,936,000	16.5	ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TEL, UNI, PBS, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business Network, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation and Newsy	Biden
2/4/2020	37,173,000	22.7	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel and MSNBC	Trump
2/5/2019	46,789,000	28.0	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, FOX Business, FOX News Channel and MSNBC	Trump
1/30/2018	45,551,000	26.9	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Estrella, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, FOX Business, FOX News, MSNBC and PBS	Trump
2/28/2017*	47,741,000	28.7	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, UNI, PBS, CNN, Fox Business Net, FOXNC, MSNBC, and NBC Universo	Trump
1/12/2016	31,334,349	19.6	ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, FOX, FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Universo, Univision^	Obama
1/20/2015	31,710,349	19.9	ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, Fox, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MundoFox, NBC, Univision^	Obama
1/18/2014	33,299,172	20.7	CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, Azteca, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera America, Galavision, Mun2, UNI^	Obama
2/12/2013	33,497,607	21.8	FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Azteca, UNI, MFX, CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Current, Centric, GALA	Obama
1/24/2012	37,752,613	24	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, TF, UNI, CNBC, CNN, FBN, FOXNC, GALA, MSNBC and MUN2	Obama
1/25/2011	42,789,947	26.6	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, CNN, Centric, CNBC, FOXNC, and MSNBC	Obama
1/27/2010	48,009,595	29.8	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, CNN, BET, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC	Obama
2/24/2009*	52,373,000	32.5	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION	Obama
1/28/2008	37,515,000	24.7	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO^, UNIVISION	G.W Bush
1/23/2007	45,486,000	29.6	ABC, CBS, FOX**, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO**, UNIVISION **	G.W Bush
1/31/2006	41,699,000	26.9	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
1/31/2006	1,480,000	8.4	TELEMUNDO, AZTECA AMERICA, TELFUTURA, TELEMUNDO	G.W Bush
2/2/2005	38,382,000	25.2	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
2/2/2005	1,050,000	6	TELEMUNDO, TELEFUTURA	G.W Bush
1/20/2004	43,411,000	28	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
1/28/2003	62,061,000	38.8	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
1/29/2002	51,773,000	33.6	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
2/27/2001*	39,793,000	27.6	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	G.W Bush
1/27/2000	31,478,000	22.4	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	Clinton
1/19/1999	43,500,000	31	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC	Clinton
1/27/1998	53,077,000	37.2	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC	Clinton
2/4/1997	41,100,000	28.4	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN	Clinton
1/23/1996	40,900,000	29.6	ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN	Clinton
1/24/1995	42,200,000	29.5	ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN	Clinton
1/25/1994	45,800,000	32.9	ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN	Clinton
2/17/1993*	66,900,000	44.3	ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN	Clinton

Notes:

Beginning Dec. 26, 2005, estimates on this page include live viewing plus any time-shifted viewing within the same day (defined as 3AM-3AM).
*Feb. 17, 1993, Feb. 27, 2001, Feb. 24, 2009, Feb. 28, 2017, and Apr. 28, 2021 were officially “Addresses to the Joint Sessions of Congress.
^Coverage was tape delayed, all other networks carried live.
**On Jan. 23, 2007, coverage of asterisked networks went beyond a common end time, and includes the State Of The Union Address and commentary. This does not include the Democratic Response.

Press Contact:

Lauren Pabst,
Nielsen
lauren.pabst@nielsen.com