Jan 6th Hearings an Online Viewing Boon for C-Span

C-Span.org has seen large traffic spikes as people are turning to the site to watch the live January 6th hearings.

Key takeaways

• C-span, the non-profit Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, recently saw its online viewership skyrocket during their live January 6th Senate hearings webcasts
• For the first three days of the trial, June 9th, June 13th, and June 16th, Similarweb estimates show online traffic jumped 110%, 293%, and 118% over the previous days, respectively
• Compared to other networks that live streamed the hearings via their websites, most notably CNN.com and MSNBC.com, C-Span experienced the greatest percentage increase in online viewers during the first three days of the hearings

C-Span Traffic Surge

According to Similarweb estimates:

• June 9th, C-Span web traffic spiked 110% over the prior day
• June 13th, web traffic rose 293% over the prior day
• June 16th, traffic jumped 118% over the prior day.

These estimates are based on total traffic, including desktop and mobile visits. Desktop share accounted for the majority of visits on these high traffic days with 59%, 56%, and 62% respectively. This could be due to people tuning in while working remotely, as people’s attention spans digitally drift away from their job duties.

MSNBC.com Traffic Surge

June 13th, the second day of the promised seven days of hearings, has been the most viewed day online thus far. MSNBC also experienced a surge, seeing a 60% jump in traffic over June 12th, with a total of 768,581 online viewers.

Based on past history, C-Span.org knows something about the broad public interest in the January 6th event, having witnessed a gigantic spike on the original January 6th, 2021 day in question, where it experienced an increase of +1,500% over January 5th.

A recent ABC News poll conducted on June 17-18th revealed that 60% of Americans believe former President Trump should be charged with a crime due to his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This is up from a prior poll, conducted in late April before the hearings began, that showed 52% of Americans believed he should be charged.

The Similarweb Insights Newsroom is available to pull additional or updated data on request for the news media (journalists are invited to write to press@similarweb.com). When citing our data, please reference Similarweb as the source and link back to the most relevant blog post or similarweb.com/blog/insights/.

Supporting Data

Methodology

Disclaimer: All data, reports and other materials provided or made available by Similarweb are based on data obtained from third parties, including estimations and extrapolations based on such data. Similarweb shall not be responsible for the accuracy of the materials and shall have no liability for any decision by any third party based in whole or in part on the materials.

by Anthony T. Occhipinti

Senior Analyst

Anthony, with a finance background, joined Similarweb in 2022. A Kansas City native and KC Chiefs fan, he enjoys golf, cooking, and family life in New Jersey.