Inauguration TV viewership lowest since 2013
President Trump's inauguration on Monday earned the smallest audience of any since 2013, according to Nielsen Media Research data.
The rating agency said just over 24.5 million watched Trump's inauguration, which was forced inside due to frigid temperatures in Washington and brought together former presidents, lawmakers, business leaders and other dignitaries.
Monday's total audience haul was nearly 10 million viewers less than watched former President Biden's inauguration in January 2021, which came just days after the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters during the certification of that year's election results.
Trump's first inauguration in 2017 was watched by more than 30 million, falling short of the mark set by former President Barack Obama's first inauguration, which netted 37 million viewers.
The highest-rated inauguration in the modern television era came in 1981, Nielsen noted, when former President Ronald Reagan was sworn in before an audience of more than 40 million.
Trump's inauguration this week comes at a time when major cable and network news channels are seeing declining viewership as more consumers turn away from linear broadcast channels and toward streaming services.
Monday's numbers do not include viewers who streamed the proceedings online or saw clips from the swearing in on social media and elsewhere.