Trump’s departure lowers US TV ratings

One of the most controversial political leaders in recent years. Donald Trump He has been in the news almost every day during his four years leading the United States. Now, with Joe Biden And in a White House that has a more moderate and less media-oriented tone than the previous president, major American television stations have to deal with the rush of audiences.

Since Trump’s departure in late January, cable news channels in the United States have suffered a dramatic decline in their viewership. Among the stations that grew the most with the businessman’s election, CNNsaw its viewership drop by half — in primetime, for example, the decline was 53% between the first and second half of 2021, according to data from Nielsen Media Research.

MSNBC also suffered, losing 38% of its viewers on a daily average. Fox News, a key Trump ally, had the smallest differences, with its audience falling by about 10% between the first two quarters of the year.

For political analyst Howard Polskin, who studies right-wing news sites in the United States, Donald Trump’s rhetoric was a rich arsenal for the press. But Joe Biden’s characteristics lead to a new climate: “The level of tension across the country has dropped dramatically,” he said in an interview with CNN. Washington Post.

New information channels

According to Alexandre Keiling, a researcher and professor of the Master’s degree in Creative Economy at the Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB), although Trump is a very media figure, the decline in audience numbers is not due exclusively to the former president’s departure from power.

It was a natural move. In recent years, we have seen a series of events that have drawn viewers closer to closed channels, such as last year’s election, the Covid-19 pandemic itself, and of course Trump’s personality. As he was defeated and the pandemic subsided, people began to worry more about solving their own problems.

Furthermore, Keeling highlights that live streaming is also another crucial factor in the overall flow of closed news channels in the United States. For example, MSNBC’s largest audience, Rachel Maddow, is expected to leave the channel by the end of the year in order to move to the video-on-demand platform, according to the site. Daily Beast.

“There is no lack of interest in information, but rather there is a movement in our cultural moment, where people are looking to leave traditional information channels, such as free and paid TV, to go to streaming services. “The audience is changing the way it accesses it, that is, what viewers have learned through entertainment, they are also starting to do with information,” highlights Keeling.

“Fox News, for example, has created a streaming service in the US that includes documentaries, channel shows, and interviews, among other things, and that has been successful,” the expert adds. “People switch from the frequency of receiving it when it airs to the moment they watch it, especially the new generations.”

Reflection in Brazil?

With a communication policy similar to that of the former North American president, Jair Bolsonaro (no party) Some of the steps Trump took during his three years in office have been followed in Brazil: attacks on the press, confrontations with other powers, and, most recently, attempts to cast doubt on the country’s electoral process. However, for Keeling, while the continued presence of the current Brazilian president’s actions ensures good audience numbers, the eventual departure of the current president from the executive branch could have a similar effect.

But the expert believes that Brazil has some characteristics that differ from those of the United States.

“It could happen that during the electoral process, there will be greater tension and Bolsonaro will be able to strengthen his television audience. After the final exit, a decline should occur, but not at the same levels as in the United States. Bolsonaro is unable to achieve the same balance that Trump had with the media, and he has already reached a very high level of discredit. The president’s popularity ratings seem to be very low and this affects the public. We can see the absolute lack of interest in official demonstrations on television.” He concludes that “the majority of Bolsonaro’s supporters are already on social media.”