Nearly 17.7 million television viewers tuned in Thursday for the second prime-time hearing of the House Select Committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, ratings service Nielsen said Friday. The number, which spanned 10 broadcast and cable networks, was a slight drop from the more than 20 million people who watched the first prime-time hearing in June.
According to Friday ratings data provided by some of the individual networks, MSNBC led the pack with an average of 4.7 million viewers for the high-profile 8 to 11 p.m. programming block. Like its plans for the June 9 hearing, major television networks ABC , CBS and NBC ran other programs to make room for congressional hearings; ABC led the three with an estimated 3.98 million viewers, while NBC drew 2.69 million and CBS 2.68 million. July is usually the lowest rated month in television.
Fox News did not show the hearing and instead aired its usual program featuring Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. The network reported 2.66 million viewers during Thursday’s most-watched block. Instead, Fox News Media chose to air the hearing on the lower-rated Fox Business channel.
During the hearing, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) led the questioning of former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and Sarah Matthews, Trump’s deputy White House press secretary. Witnesses said President Donald Trump refused to stop the mob from attacking the Capitol on his behalf, ignoring alleged pleas from senior aides and advisers such as his daughter Ivanka. Excerpts from Trump’s address to the nation the day after the attack showed him refusing to say “the election is over.”
CNN reported earlier this week that the cable network’s ratings for the Jan. 6 hearings, which took place during the day, increased with each subsequent hearing, as did those for MSNBC. CNN averaged 1.5 million viewers for the June 16 hearing and drew 2.1 million, 2.4 million and 2.6 million for the next three. According to Nielsen, the June 28 impeachment hearing of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson ranked highest among the hearings of the day, drawing 13.2 million viewers on the networks.
Committee members said Thursday they expect additional hearings in September.
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