MSNBC Draws 4.7 Million Viewers For January 6 Hearing In Prime Time, Largest Audience Of Any Network

MSNBC was the most-watched network in all of television for Thursday evening’s live hearing by the Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Congress, with the cable network drawing 4.7 million viewers, according to fast national ratings data compiled by Nielsen.

The January 6 hearings have been a bonanza for MSNBC, outperforming all television networks for 7 hearings straight—and delivering the largest audience for a single hearing on any network Thursday night.

Thursday’s live coverage of the hearing marked MSNBC’s second most-watched night in network history—outside presidential debates, conventions and election weeks. The most-watched night was January 6, 2021.

The hearing in prime time was huge news on all the broadcast and cable news networks, as a string of revelations were made about the actions of President Donald Trump during the hours when his supporters forced their way inside the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election.

“I think the sort of most chilling, dramatic part of this is the exit of Vice President Pence,” said Fox News Channel anchor Martha MacCallum, describing the urgent conversations from the vice president’s security detail as they tried to get Mr. Pence out of the Capitol to safety.

“They were afraid for their own lives, and afraid for his life,” MacCallum said. “And then they circle back to the tweet from the president that Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what needed to be done which comes out at about that time.”