Press conference audience down 20 per cent from previous TV events
New Neilsen rating numbers reveal the audience for Barack Obama’s Tuesday-night press conference was almost 20 per cent smaller than that for two previous evening televised events. The news special, which bumped American Idol, drew 40.4 million viewers — down 23 per cent from his Feb. 24 address to Congress and down 18 per cent from his Feb. 9 press conference. (Obama’s attempt to reassure the nation proved good news for CW’s Reaper, the only broadcast show to air against it: viewership climbed 11 per cent to hit a season high.) The President remains guest-star gold, however, driving up viewership of The Tonight Show and 60 Minutes on the nights he appeared.