ABC News was the most-watched broadcast network for coverage of President Donald J. Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, drawing 6.3 million viewers. The network also saw significant growth in key demographics compared to the 2021 presidential address. The event took place on March 4, 2025.
Here’s the Lowdown: ABC News’ coverage, which ran from 9:18 to 10:57 p.m. EST on March 4, 2025, averaged 6.332 million total viewers, 1.708 million adults aged 25-54, and 1.342 million adults aged 18-49. These numbers secured ABC the top spot among broadcast networks for this type of event for the second time in a row.
What This Means Now: ABC News significantly outperformed its competitors. It beat CBS by 2.3 million total viewers, NBC by 2.4 million, and Fox by 3.7 million. This indicates a strong preference for ABC’s coverage of this specific political event.
The Bigger Picture: Compared to the 2021 presidential address, ABC News saw substantial growth. Total viewership increased by 61%, adults 25-54 by 47%, and adults 18-49 by 54%. This suggests increased interest in the event itself and/or successful promotion and presentation by ABC News. The data comes from Nielsen Media Research’s Live+Same Day ratings, and includes out-of-home viewing starting from August 31, 2020.
