Television ratings for Obama’s State of the Union address drop to 15-year low

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address drew the second-lowest television viewership in 15 years.

According to Nielsen data, 31.7 million viewers watched Tuesday night’s prime-time address on broadcast and cable networks. That’s the lowest television viewership for a State of the Union address since President Bill Clinton’s final speech to a joint session of Congress in 2000.

The figures do not take into account those who streamed the speech online. The White House says there were 1.2 million views for its own “enhanced” version of the speech, which displayed charts and data about Obama’s proposals as the president spoke.

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