Viewers Tune In To Clinton

Sat., Jan. 23, 1999

New York Daily News

President Clinton’s State of the Union speech was watched on average by 43.5 million people, according to Nielsen ratings for seven networks that carried the annual address.

That’s down from 53 million who were tuned in at any given minute when Clinton addressed the nation last January, just days after word leaked of his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Nielsen’s numbers, which do not take into account coverage on much-lesser-rated CNBC, Court TV, PBS and elsewhere, indicate 48 percent of the sets turned on Tuesday night were tuned to the president.

Overall, Tuesday’s speech was the fourth-most-watched State of the Union message during Clinton’s tenure.

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