Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Ratings: MSNBC Draws Most Viewers, CNN Tops Demo
MSNBC was the most-watched network during coverage of the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, averaging the most total viewers on each day of the five-day trial. CNN won in the key demographic of viewers age 25-54 during impeachment coverage.
MSNBC averaged the most total viewers, with 3.18 million, and the second-most in the demo, with 517,000. CNN had the most in the demo, with 695,000 viewers age 25-54, and an average 2.98 million total viewers. Fox averaged 1.7 million total viewers, and 257,000 in the demo over the five days of impeachment trial coverage, according to data from Nielsen.
From day one to day two of the trial, MSNBC and CNN saw ratings increases, while Fox’s viewership dropped. Viewership for all three networks declined on the third day of the trial, but on day four, as Trump’s attorneys made the case for acquittal, Fox saw a nearly 171% jump in viewership, drastically closing the gap with CNN. While both CNN and MSNBC saw a drop in ratings on the fourth day of the trial – with MSNBC going from 3 million to 2.67 million, and CNN going from 2.87 million to 2.54 million – Fox nearly tripled its total viewership, going from 815,000 to 2.21 million total viewers on Feb. 12.
An average of 11.5 million total viewers across all six major news networks (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC) watched the final day of the trial, which saw a dramatic, last-minute Senate vote to allow trial witnesses before Senate Democrats decided not to call witnesses after all, followed by the vote to acquit Trump for a second time. That’s down from the nearly 14 million viewers who tuned in for the final day of Trump’s first impeachment trial, which ran for 13 days, from Jan. 16 to Feb. 5, 2020.
Compared to Trump’s first impeachment trial in 2020, the second trial saw a shakeup in rankings for the cable news networks. In 2020, Fox News averaged the most viewers during the trial, with 2.53 million, and was also first in the demo, with 415,000. MSNBC was second in 2020, with 1.48 million total viewers and 208,000 in the demo, and CNN was third among cable news networks, with 1.13 million total viewers and 269,000 in the demo.
