89331951 Osama Bin Laden Dead: 56.5 Million Viewers Tune Into Obamas Announcement
U.S. President Barack Obama stands after addressing the nation on TV from the East Room of the White House to make a televised statement May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images) NEW YORK — Despite the late hour in the East, President Obama’s speech on Sunday announcing the death of Osama bin Laden had an audience of 56.5 million viewers. The Nielsen Co. says Obama’s audience was larger than recent prime-time addresses, including his March 28 speech on Libya. It was evidence of how quickly word spread about the news Sunday and interest in the story no matter the hour. Obama did not begin his speech until 11:35 p.m. on the East Coast, the night before the start of a new work and school week. The speech was carried live on ABC, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, HLN and MSNBC.
