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Bush's 9/11 speech draws 31.1 millionOr about the same as September Katrina chatBy Toni Fitzgerald Media Life Magazine Sep. 12, 2006 |
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 President Bush’s primetime speech to the nation last night commemorated 9/11 while also furthering the case for the war in Iraq. The chat drew 31.1 million viewers across the Big Four networks, according to Nielsen fast nationals, though that number is approximate. Fox, ABC and NBC only carried the speech from 9 p.m. to 9:20 p.m., so some program data from the shows that began airing at 9:20 is also included in that. CBS carried analysis of the speech through 9:30 p.m. That was about the same number of viewers who tuned in for Bush’s post-Hurricane Katrina speech last year that also aired in early September, drawing 31.8 million, according to fast nationals. It was above the 19.1 million who watched Bush’s Iraqi war speech in June 2005 but below the 32.8 million who tuned in for a May 2005 speech on Social Security. ABC, which dominated the night in both total viewers and adults 18-49, led with 12.8 million tuning in for the speech and part of “The Path to 9/11.†CBS with Katie Couric anchoring her first primetime speech drew 6.6 million, NBC was third with 5.96 million and Fox fourth with 5.76 million. The second part of ABC’s “9/11†miniseries dominated the night, averaging better than 12 million viewers, though that will likely change once final ratings are out today because the presidential address is included in that. ABC led for the night with a 3.7 rating and 10 share among adults 18-49, followed by Fox at 2.5/6, CBS at 2.3/6, NBC and Univision each at 1.8/5 and WB at 0.6/2. At 8 p. m., Fox was No. 1 at 3.7 for "Prison Break," followed by ABC at 3.1 for "9/11," NBC at 2.1 for "Dateline," Univision at 1.9 for "La Fea Mas Bella," CBS at 1.8 for "How I Met Your Mother" and "The New Adventures of Old Christine" reruns, and WB at 0.7 for a "7th Heaven" repeat. At 9 p.m., including the presidential address until 9:20, ABC led at 4.2 for the address and "9/11," followed by CBS, which filled out the hour with "Two and a Half Men," at 2.3, Fox at 2.0 for the start of "Vanished," NBC and Univision each at 1.9 for "Dateline" and "Barrera de Amor," and WB at 0.7 for a "7th Heaven" repeat. At 10 p.m., ABC led again for the conclusion of "9/11" and "Primetime" at 3.8, followed by CBS at 2.9 for "CSI: Miami," Fox at 1.7 for the conclusion of "Vanished," NBC at 1.6 for "Medium" and Univision at 1.5 for "Cristina." Among households, ABC led again at a 7.4 rating and 11 share for the night, ahead of CBS at 5.2/8, Fox at 4.2/7, NBC at 4.0/6, Univision at 2.3/4 and WB at 1.2/2. |
