Nets Again Limit Broadcast Coverage of Impeachment

The broadcast networks continued to limit live broadcast impeachment coverage Thursday as the Democrats continued their 24-hour case against President Donald Trrump.

No network provided more than three hours of live coverage of the Democrats' planned almost eight-hour arguments on their broadcast networks, with NBC going the longest at 3 hours (1-4 p.m.), according to Nielsen, followed by CBS at two-and-a-half-hours and ABC at two hours and 20 minutes.

The nets similarly cut out early on the first two days in favor of regular programming, and thanks to the streaming news services and cable alternatives that could carry the load.

Related: Fox News Impeachment Coverage Draws Most Viewers

It was unclear how long they would go Friday as the Dems wrapped up their arguments with the 7:53 left to them before the President's lawyers and impeachment managers start making their case at 10 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 25).

Fox continued to lead in the ratings in viewers two years old and older (2+) Thursday with 1,531,000, though ABC was tops in the 25-54 key news demo (296,000). CBS was tops among broadcast nets in viewers 2+ with 1,486,000. CNN, which a Pew Research study said is Democrats' most trusted news source, was sixth in viewers 2+ with 991,000 during the (1-3 p.m.) time period and fifth to last in 25-54 with 242,000 over that time.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.