Nearly 17.7 million television viewers tuned in Thursday to the second prime-time hearing in the House select committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the Nielsen rating service announced Friday. The number, which encompasses 10 broadcast and cable networks, represents a slight drop from the more than 20 million people who watched the first prime-time hearing in June.
According to ratings data Friday provided by some of the individual networks, MSNBC led the pack with an average of 4.7 million viewers for the high-profile programming block from 8 to 11 p.m. Similar to their plans for the June 9 hearing, major broadcast networks ABC, CBS and NBC booted other programming to make space for the congressional proceedings; ABC led the three with roughly 3.98 million viewers, while NBC attracted 2.69 million and CBS 2.68 million. July tends to be the lowest-rated month in television.
Fox News did not show the hearing and instead aired its usual programming featuring Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. The network reported 2.66 million viewers during Thursday’s prime-time block. Fox News Media opted to instead air the hearing on the lesser-watched channel Fox Business.
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. The witnesses conveyed that President Donald Trump refused to deter the mob from attacking the Capitol in his name, ignoring alleged pleas from senior aides and advisers such as his daughter, Ivanka. Outtakes from Trump’s address to the nation the day after the attack showed that he refused to say “the election’s over.”
CNN reported earlier this week that the cable network’s ratings for the Jan. 6 hearings that took place during the day increased with each subsequent hearing, as did those for MSNBC. CNN averaged 1.5 million viewers for the hearing held June 16, and for the next three attracted 2.1 million, 2.4 million and 2.6 million. According to Nielsen, the June 28 hearing with former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s damning testimony ranked the highest among the daytime hearings, garnering 13.2 million viewers across networks.
Committee members said Thursday to expect additional hearings in September.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection has held a series of high-profile hearings throughout the summer: Find Day 8′s highlights and analysis.
Congressional hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol has conducted a series of hearings to share its findings with the U.S. public. The eighth hearing focused on Trump’s inaction on Jan. 6. Here’s a guide to the biggest moments so far.
Will there be charges? The committee could make criminal referrals of former president Donald Trump over his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview.
What we know about what Trump did on Jan. 6: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the committee and shared what she saw and heard on Jan. 6.
The riot: On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Five people died on that day or in the immediate aftermath, and 140 police officers were assaulted.
Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to penetrating the inner sanctums of the building while lawmakers were still there, including former vice president Mike Pence. The Washington Post examined text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on Jan. 6.