An estimated 45.6 million people tuned in to watch President Donald Trump deliver his State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.
While coverage varied by network, 12 aired live coverage from approximately 9:00 p.m. ET to 10:30 p.m. ET.
In terms of the social nature of the address, the State of the Union 2018 was the No. 1 most social program on Jan. 30, 2018. There were 21 million total interactions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter about the State of the Union 2018. Of the 21 million total interactions measured, 41% occurred on Facebook, 7% occurred on Instagram and 52% occurred on Twitter.
The most social moment on Twitter occurred at 10:04 p.m. ET with 68 thousand interactions as viewers Tweeted in the minutes following Trump’s four pillar plan on immigration reform. The top hashtags on Twitter were: #sotu, #stateoftheunion, #maga and #stateofourunion.
The chart below highlights the sum of the average viewing audience for the networks that aired the address.
Note: Data above is inclusive of broadcast and cable networks, as well as PBS member stations. Common coverage of ad-supported networks only was 44.5 million viewers P2+.
Below is a historical look at past State of the Union addresses.
Source: Nielsen
Notes: Beginning Dec. 25, 2006, estimates on this page include live viewing plus any time-shifted viewing within the same day (defined as 3AM-3AM). *Feb. 17, 1993, Feb. 27, 2001, Feb. 24, 2009, and Feb. 28, 2017 were officially "Address to the Joint Sessions of Congress." ^Coverage was tape delayed, all other networks carried live.**On Jan. 23, 2007, the coverage of these networks goes beyond a common end time and includes the State Of The Union Address and commentary. This does not include the Democratic Response.
