CNN’s State of the Union Shows Strength On the Road

By Mark Joyella 

In his second week as host, CNN’s Jake Tapper took State of the Union to South Carolina Sunday, anchoring three hours live from Charleston in the wake of last week’s church shooting. And compared to Tapper’s debut a week earlier, Sunday’s road trip performed much more strongly, finishing its third hour in a virtual tie with Fox News in the demo.

The special, extended edition of SOTU included live coverage of church services for the shooting victims in addition to discussions of the political issues arising from the killings, including debate over the Confederate flag, guns and racism.

From its first hour, 9 a.m. ET, which finished in fourth place in the demo with 111,000 viewers A25-54, State of the Union rose in its third hour (11 a.m. ET) to finish just 1,000 viewers behind first-place Fox News (157,000-158,000).

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Among total viewers, State of the Union was in second place throughout the morning, finishing behind Fox News Channel.

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