Free Republic

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump reached an estimated 36.6 million television viewers for his address to Congress on Tuesday night, the Nielsen company said. That beat the 32.2 million people who watched former President Joe Biden's final State of the Union address last year, but was smaller than any of Trump's audiences for the annual address during his first term, Nielsen said. Trump's first speech to Congress as president, in 2017, was seen by 47.7 million people. Television viewing in general has decreased since then. Nielsen measured viewing on 15 different television networks, including those whose feed was carried...

President Donald Trump was "verbally and emotionally abusive" toward Kirstjen Nielsen when she was the secretary of homeland security, according to a new book by the Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig. An excerpt of the book first published by The Post said Trump "made fun of her stature and believed that at about five feet four inches she was not physically intimidating." The president reportedly told others that Nielsen was "so short." Trump would tell Nielsen, "Kirstjen, you're just not tough enough," and say she didn't "look the part" of homeland security secretary, the book reported, according...

Nielsen Media Research will offer clients raw data on how many people watch commercials minute by minute, giving television networks and advertising buyers new information to wield in a dispute over how to calculate prices for TV spots. Story continues below... A Nielsen spokesperson Thursday said the roll-out of the raw data on broadcast commercial viewership will begin in a couple of weeks. Data on cable commercials will be available in late April and syndication commercial research will start flowing in late May. The ratings company unveiled the plan to offer the data during a meeting it held Thursday for...