According to AP, President Donald Trump's announcement of Judge Neil Gorsuch taking the late Justice Scalia's place was one of the most watched political events, with his skills as a reality TV host reportedly contributing to the sizable audience.
Factors contributing to the audience size include Gorsuch's nomination not being leaked to the press before the event, causing an air of mystery. It was also done during primetime hours, which allowed many more to tune in and view it.
To compare it, former President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address garnered 31.3 million viewers. However, it still did not beat the far and away more viewed Obama announcement of Osama bin Ladin's death.
While it was viewed by many different outlets and mediums, according to Nielsen the network with the most viewers was CBS with 7.97 million, with the runner up being Fox News coming in at 7.56 million. CNN and and MSNBC came in last, drawing in 2.03 million and 1.57 million respectively.
