ABC Is Most-Viewed Broadcast Network for Thursday’s Primetime Jan. 6 Committee Hearing

Katie Campione
·3 min read
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While MSNBC came out on top overall with 4.7 million total viewers for the primetime airing of the eighth U.S. House special committee hearing on the Jan. 6 insurrection on Thursday, ABC was the most-viewed among the broadcast networks with an audience of 4 million. It tied with NBC for a 0.4 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.

NBC and CBS were comparable in terms of total viewers, each securing about 3 million. CBS managed a 0.3 in the demo.

At about 17 million total viewers across ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN and MSNBC, Thursday’s hearing scored about 3 million fewer viewers than the first hearing, which aired on June 9 to 20 million people. All three broadcasters were down in terms of total viewers compared to the first hearing as well. The first go-round, ABC raked in an impressive 5.1 million total viewers, while NBC drew 3.7 million viewers and CBS had 3.5 million.

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These eight hearings wrap up the committee’s summer session, but they aren’t completely done yet. More hearings will be scheduled for as soon as September to consider even more new evidence and testimony, the committee said Thursday.

As not to compete with the committee hearing, both Fox and The CW opted for reruns. Fox averaged a 0.1 demo rating and 644,000 total viewers, while The CW averaged a 0.0 in the demo and 354,000 total viewers.

On Fox, “MasterChef” aired to a 0.2 demo rating and 813,000 total viewers at 8 p.m. At 9, back-to-back episodes of “Welcome to Flatch” each brought in a 0.1 demo rating. The first episode drew 491,000 total viewers, while the second had 447,000.

As with the first hearing, Fox would likely have significantly benefited from opting to air the congressional proceedings over reruns. On a typical Thursday, the network can generate about 2 million average viewers. And it has aired other major national events in the recent past, including the State of the Union and live coverage on election night in 2020, which secured 1.9 million viewers and 3.3 million viewers respectively.

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For The CW, an encore of “Walker” had a 0.0 demo rating and 414,000 total viewers at 8 p.m. A 9, “The Flash” got a 0.0 demo rating and 293,000 total viewers.

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision finished first, airing the 2022 Premios Juventud awards ceremony to a 0.7 average demo rating and 1.9 million total average viewers.

Telemundo was second in rating with a 0.3 average key demo rating and 1.1 million total average viewers. “Casa de Famosos” led the way from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. with a 0.3 demo rating and 1.2 million viewers. “Amor Valiente” followed from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. with a 0.2 rating and 928,000 total viewers. “Infiel: Historia de un Engaño” ended the night with a 0.2 demo rating and 926,000 total viewers at 10.

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