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Welcome to the C-SPAN 30th Anniversary Site!
March 19th, 2009 marks 30 years since the U.S. House of Representatives first went on television and the cable industry launched C-SPAN to 3.5 million cable homes. Today, C-SPAN's public affairs programming is available in 97 million cable/satellite households and an estimated 39 million Americans watch C-SPAN regularly (at least once or twice a week). This page contains a number of resources which mark the 30th anniversary.
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C-SPAN at 30: Who's Watching?
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New Survey Details a Politically Active Audience Estimated at more than 39 Million Adults
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(March 18, 2009) — A new survey conducted by Hart Research in conjunction with
C-SPAN's 30-year anniversary finds that 20 percent of cable TV households, an estimated 39 million Americans, watch C-SPAN regularly -- at least once or twice a week. The survey also illustrates an audience that is politically active, nearly equally liberal and conservative, and geographically diverse. Ninety percent of C-SPAN viewers say they voted in 2008.
March 19th, 2009 marks 30 years since the U.S. House of Representatives first went on television and the cable industry launched C-SPAN to 3.5 million homes. Today, C-SPAN's public affairs programming is available in 97 million cable/satellite households and fully 40 percent of cable viewers participating in this Hart survey report watching C-SPAN at some time in the past six months -- an estimated 78 million adults-- with 20 percent watching regularly. The survey results also illustrate the connection between viewers of the cable TV public affairs network and the political process.
C-SPAN Viewers Demonstrate Their Political Interest and Involvement
Sixty percent of C-SPAN viewers told Hart Research that their interest in news about politics, Congress, and the White House had increased over the last five years; and, 83 percent say that they follow news and current events "closely" or "fairly closely."
Nearly 50% of viewers have watched their Member of Congress or home state U.S. Senator on C-SPAN-and 54% of all C-SPAN viewers say their own Representative is doing an "excellent" or "good" job.
In addition to their high levels of voting (90%), C-SPAN viewers are active citizens:
· 35% have contributed money to a political campaign.
· 32% have written their member of Congress, Senator, or local elected official.
· 22% have visited or talked in person with their member of Congress.
C-SPAN viewers are influencers who share their political views with others:
· 12% have actively campaigned for candidates for federal office.
· 17% report connecting with a political campaign/group through a social networking site.
· 20% say they have shared videos on the Internet
· 9% have published their political views or blogged about politics on the Internet.
C-SPAN Viewer Demographics
The Hart survey found a C-SPAN audience equally divided between men and women and representing adults across all age groups. C-SPAN also attracts an ideologically diverse audience. Specifically:
· 43% are ages 18-49
· 32% are ages 50-64
· 25% are ages 65+
C-SPAN viewers hail from all parts of the United States:
· 25% live in the Northeast
· 23% live in the Midwest
· 32% live in the South
· 20% live in the West
Ideologically, 31% of C-SPAN viewers describe themselves as "liberal;" 28 percent say they are "conservative."
What They Are Watching on C-SPAN, and Why
· 62% report watching C-SPAN's Presidential election coverage
· 61% have watched C-SPAN's Congressional coverage
Eighty-five percent of C-SPAN viewers call the network a "valuable resource." And 59% of those who watch say they believe C-SPAN has" improved the way Americans view politics and current events." When asked to describe the most valuable attribute of
C-SPAN's public affairs coverage, C-SPAN viewers cited these as the top three:
(1) balanced programming, both sides of issues presented, cited by 22%
(2) live coverage, chosen by 14% of viewers
(3) "coverage you can't find elsewhere," cited by 13% of respondents
About C-SPAN
C-SPAN was created by America's cable companies in 1979 as a public service and programs three public affairs television networks; C-SPAN Radio, a Washington, D.C. radio station distributed by XM Satellite Radio; and a video-rich website. Visit www.c-span.org.
Survey Metholodogy
The survey was conducted by Hart Research Associates January 8-13, 2009 by telephone with a base sample of 604 cable or satellite TV viewers nationwide. The margin of error for the main sample = +/- 4 percentage points. There was an additional oversample of 250 C-SPAN viewers (identified as having watched C-SPAN at least once in the past six months), bringing the total number of C-SPAN viewers surveyed to 486 (includes 236 identified from cable/satellite subscribers). MoE for the oversample = +/- 4.5 percentage points. C-SPAN viewers were properly weighted down in the main sample to prevent overcounting in the main sample reporting.
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