Inauguration media stats

Image courtesy TVGuide.

According to Nielsen, nearly 37.8 million U.S. viewers tuned in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to watch inauguration events on a total of 17 broadcast and cable networks.

This is the most viewers on an inauguration day since Ronald Reagan’s in 1981 (41.8 million viewers).

Raleigh-Durham (I miss you, NC) had the highest audience with more than 51% of households tuning in … Seattle-Tacoma had the lowest with only 18.8% of households watching.

Facebook Connect and CNN.com are also getting rave reviews for their coverage of the inauguration. CNN.com offered a live stream of the events alongside Facebook status updates of those also watching the stream. Facebook Connect is a new platform allowing you to bring your Facebook identity along with you to other websites.

Facebook processed more than 1.5 million status updates by late afternoon; during Obama’s speech, updates surged to 8,500 per minute.