Impeachment Viewership Holds Steady On Day Of Gordon Sondland Testimony; Fox News Again Tops Total Viewers

Ted Johnson

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The impeachment inquiry testimony of Gordon Sondland drew a combined average of 11.4 million viewers Wednesday, a number that is comparable for the previous day’s morning and early afternoon session.

The number includes the three major cable news networks and the three broadcast networks, ABC, NBC and CBS, that pre-empted regular programming to provide coverage of the testimony. It does not include other outlets that covered the hearing, like C SPAN, PBS and streaming platforms.

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According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox News Channel topped viewership in the 9 AM-4 PM ET block, with 2.5 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 2.35 million and CBS with 1.77 million. In the prized 25-54 demo, NBC led with 419,000. followed by Fox News with 404,000 and CNN with 396,000.

Tuesday’s impeachment coverage drew 11.4 million viewers for the morning session, when Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and State Department official Jennifer Williams testified, and rose to 13 million in a late-afternoon hearing featuring Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine, and Tim Morrison, an ex-National Security Council official.

Viewers appear to have been exhausted by the time that MSNBC’s coverage of the Democratic debate rolled around at 9 PM ET. The event drew a total viewership of 6.5 million for the network, the lowest audience for a debate this election cycle. Fox News’ Hannity was the top regular cable news program, with 4.3 million viewers and 672,000 in the 25-54 demo.

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