President Biden's swearing in and inaugural address drew nearly 40 million viewers, beating Trump's 38.35 million viewers in 2017, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen.
Details: CNN led the main cable and broadcast networks, followed by ABC, MSNBC, NBC and CBS. Fox News, which led ratings during almost every major presidential event in 2020, finished last.
- Viewership held steady throughout the day's events.
- Nearly 30 million people tuned in across the six networks between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST.
- Roughly 24.6 million tuned into the star-studded event in prime time hosted by Tom Hanks.
The big picture: The figures, which don't include data from households that may have streamed the event, show that despite all of the drama in Washington, the country was still eager to watch its new president be sworn in.
