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NBC, ABC top inaugural ratings

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The huge television audience that tuned in to watch President Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday flocked mostly to the coverage on NBC and ABC, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN also scored strong viewership, beating its cable news competition and edging out CBS.

Between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. PST, 37.8 million people watched the inauguration coverage on 17 different broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen. That made Obama’s inauguration the most-watched since 1981, when a record 41.8 million viewers tuned in to see Ronald Reagan get sworn in. It outstripped the audience for Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993, which drew 29.7 million.

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The actual viewership on Tuesday may have been substantially higher. Nielsen does not track television viewing outside the home, so people who watched Inauguration Day events in places such as offices, schools and other public venues were not counted.

Among the viewers recorded by Nielsen, NBC and anchor Brian Williams scored the largest share during the seven main hours of coverage, with an average audience of 8.7 million people. ABC, with its anchor trio of Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, placed second with 8.4 million. CNN attracted 5.8 million, beating out CBS and anchor Katie Couric, who drew 5.6 million. Fox News Channel placed fourth with 3.6 million and MSNBC pulled in 2.2 million.

Viewership peaked between 8 and 9:30 a.m., when the actual swearing-in ceremony took place. Nearly 11.5 million viewers tuned in to NBC in that period, while an additional 11.1 million watched ABC. CNN pulled in 7.3 million and CBS had 7.2 million. Fox News followed with 4.8 million and MSNBC drew 2.7 million viewers.

-- Matea Gold

(Director Steven Spielberg takes photos during the inauguration ceremony of U.S. President Barack Obama. Credit: Bloomberg News)

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