According to preliminary reports, Barack Obama‘s inauguration day coverage was very good for the TV nets.
It was the highest rated inauguration coverage since Ronald Regan‘s in 1981.
29.2% of households in America tuned in to see Barack take office. Ronald Regan’s festivities scored a 37.4% household share.
And it doesn’t factor in online viewing, which was significant, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Viewers watching the inauguration broke streaming video traffic records for CNN.com, FoxNews.com and MSNBC.com.
For the first time ever, the ratings people at Nielsen plan to break out a number for 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) hour, when the president was sworn in.
The lowest rated inauguration for a recent president was the George W. Bush coverage in 2005, which scored an 11.8% rating.
Figures!
[Image via AP.]