Obama's inauguration highest-rated since Reagan's

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

UPDATED: Barack Obama's inauguration is one for the TV ratings history books.

Early numbers from Nielsen Media Research say 29.2% of households from the nation's top markets watched Tuesday's network coverage of Obama's inauguration -- the most in recent decades.

Obama's preliminary household rating is bigger than any presidential inauguration audience in at least 28 years.

Ronald Reagan's first inauguration in 1981 drew a larger final rating, 37.4%.

Still, there's a chance Obama's viewership could surpass the Great Communicator's when the national tallies are released this afternoon (since 29% of households account for a larger number of people now than in 1981).

Obama's figure includes coverage on 14 broadcast and cable networks across 56 metered markets. And it doesn't factor online viewing, which was significant. Viewers watching the inauguration broke streaming video traffic records for CNN.com, FoxNews.com and MSNBC.com.

CNN led the way among cablers on Tuesday, with the channel winning convincingly against either Fox News Channel or MSNBC for the noontime swearing in and address.

CNN averaged 8.5 million viewers between noon and 12:30 p.m. ET, at the height of the ceremony and Obama's Inaugural Address. That compared to 5.5 million viewers for Fox News Channel, and 3.1 million viewers for MSNBC. Nielsen released the data Wednesday. Among adults 25-54, CNN got 3.4 million
to Fox News' 5.5 million and MSNBC's 1.1 million.

Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., CNN was also ahead with 6.9 million viewers to Fox News's 4.4 million and MSNBC's 2.6 million. That held in the demo as well, with 2.8 million viewers 25-54. Fox News had 1.4 million and MSNBC had 923,620.

The Raleigh-Durham market had the largest TV audience with more than 51% of households tuned in; Seattle-Tacoma had the lowest with 18.8%. Market-by-market info here.

A national viewership total and network-by-network ratings will be available later (the number-crunchers are guess-timating around 35 million total viewers). For the first time, Nielsen also plans to break out a figure for 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., when the president was sworn in.

Also: HBO got back some early numbers for its "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" concert. The premium cable network ran the special three times Sunday night and garnered a healthy 4.1 million viewers among its subscribers, with another 700,000 views on HBO.com. The network is still waiting for a total number that includes non-HBO subscribers (cable operators opened the network up to non-subs for the event).

Presidential Inauguration Ratings:

2005 – George W. Bush – 11.8 HH / 15.5 million
2001 – George W. Bush – 20.8 HH / 29.0 million
1997 – Bill Clinton – 17.1 HH / 21.6 million
1993 – Bill Clinton – 24.5 HH / 29.7 million
1989 – George Bush – 18.1 HH / 23.3 million
1985 – Ronald Reagan -- 22.3 HH / 25.1 million
1981 – Ronald Reagan – 37.4 HH / 41.8 million
1977 -- Jimmy Carter -- 31.5 HH / 34.1 million
1973 -- Richard Nixon -- 28.5 HH / 33.0 million

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/01/barack-obama-inauguration-ratings.html

[Uzybone]

1. After they reported that more people watched Palin

than watched Obamas acceptance speech, I have stopped believing these numbers.

[Zynx]

2. The trouble with these numbers from now on is that internet streaming screws them up.

[Occam Bandage]

3. That's what I was about to say. "What about streaming video?"

[wildflower]

4. Interesting, Bush's was almost cut in half

from 2001 (29 million) to 2005 (15.5 million).

I'm sure with all the on-line viewing, Obama's inauguration has set a record.

[Bread and Circus]

5. What about considering the million people that actually

were in Washington!

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Wasn't it closer to 2 million?