On Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address. The address was carried live from 9 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on 12 networks and tape-delayed on Univision. The sum of the average audience for those networks was 31.3 million viewers with a combined household rating of 19.6. The networks carrying the address live were ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, FOX, FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, NBC and NBC Universo.
In terms of the social nature of the address, a U.S. audience on Twitter of 9.8 million people saw one or more of the 2.6 million Tweets sent in the U.S. about the “State of The Union 2016,” according to Nielsen Social. Twitter activity spiked at 10:10 p.m. ET, when 30,600 Tweets were sent in one minute following the President’s closing remarks.
State of the Union – Jan. 12, 2016
| Networks | Combined Household Rating | Average Number of Households | Average Number of Total Viewers (P2+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, FOX, FOX Business Network, FOX News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Universo, Univision* | 19.6 | 23,040,590 | 31,334,349 |
| *Tape delay. Source: Nielsen |
Below is a historical look at past State of the Union addresses.
Historical State of the Union Addresses
| Date | Networks | Combined Household Rating | Combined No. of Households | Combined No. of Viewers | President |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/20/15 | ABC, Al Jazeera America, Azteca, CBS, CNN, Fox, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MundoFox, NBC, Univision^ | 19.9 | 23,137,483 | 31,710,349 | Obama |
| 1/18/2014 | CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, Azteca, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera America, Galavision, Mun2, UNI^ | 23,949,843 | 33,299,172 | Obama | |
| 2/12/2013 | FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Azteca, UNI, MFX, CNBC, CNN, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Current, Centric, GALA | 21.8 | 24,767,047 | 33,497,607 | Obama |
| 1/24/2012 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, TF, UNI, CNBC, CNN, FBN, FOXNC, GALA, MSNBC and MUN2 | 24 | 27,569,423 | 37,752,613 | Obama |
| 1/25/2011 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, CNN, Centric, CNBC, FOXNC, and MSNBC | 26.6 | 30,871,688 | 42,789,947 | Obama |
| 1/27/2010 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, CNN, BET, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 29.8 | 34,182,725 | 48,009,595 | Obama |
| 2/24/2009* | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION | 32.5 | 37,185,000 | 52,373,000 | Obama |
| 1/28/2008 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO^, UNIVISION | 24.7 | 27,702,000 | 37,515,000 | G.W Bush |
| 1/23/2007 | ABC, CBS, FOX**, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, TELEMUNDO**, UNIVISION ** | 29.6 | 32,968,000 | 45,486,000 | G.W. Bush |
| 1/31/2006 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 26.9 | 29,578,000 | 41,699,000 | G.W. Bush |
| TELEMUNDO, AZTECA AMERICA, TELFUTURA, TELEMUNDO | 8.4 | 950,000 | 1,480,000 | ||
| 2/2/2005 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 25.2 | 27,699,000 | 38,382,000 | G. W. Bush |
| TELEMUNDO, TELEFUTURA | 6 | 660,000 | 1,050,000 | ||
| 1/20/2004 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 28 | 30,286,000 | 43,411,000 | G. W. Bush |
| 1/28/2003 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 38.8 | 41,447,000 | 62,061,000 | G. W. Bush |
| 1/29/2002 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 33.6 | 35,547,000 | 51,773,000 | G.W. Bush |
| 2/27/2001* | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 27.6 | 28,201,000 | 39,793,000 | G.W. Bush |
| 1/27/2000 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 22.4 | 22,536,000 | 31,478,000 | Clinton |
| 1/19/1999 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC | 31 | 30,700,000 | 43,500,000 | Clinton |
| 1/27/1998 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, FOXNC, MSNBC | 37.2 | 36,513,000 | 53,077,000 | Clinton |
| 2/4/1997 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN | 28.4 | 27,600,000 | 41,100,000 | Clinton |
| 1/23/1996 | ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN | 29.6 | 28,400,000 | 40,900,000 | Clinton |
| 1/24/1995 | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 29.5 | 28,100,000 | 42,200,000 | Clinton |
| 1/25/1994 | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 32.9 | 31,000,000 | 45,800,000 | Clinton |
| 2/17/1993* | ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN | 44.3 | 41,200,000 | 66,900,000 | Clinton |
| Source: Nielsen Notes: Beginning Dec. 25, 2006, 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 and Feb. 24, 2009 officially the “Address to the Joint Sessions of Congress.” ^Coverage was tape delayed, all other networks carried live.**On Jan. 23, 2007, the coverage of these networks goes beyond a common end time and includes the State Of The Union Address and commentary. This does not include the Democratic Response. |
