The Daily Beast’s newly launched 24/7 YouTube station surpassed “Trump TV” in viewership on Friday, according to The Daily Beast. Within 29 minutes of going live, the podcast-based channel reached 338 viewers, while the White House’s round-the-clock stream for President Donald Trump had 245 viewers, The Daily Beast reported.
The viewership shift occurred just after 4 p.m. on Friday. While Trump TV aired footage of the president unveiling energy investments in the Oval Office with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, The Daily Beast’s stream featured an interview with Stacey Williams. Williams alleges that Donald Trump groped her at Trump Tower in the mid-1990s after being taken there by Jeffrey Epstein; Trump has denied all wrongdoing regarding Epstein, The Daily Beast reported.
White House launches Trump TV after media bans
The White House unveiled the 24/7 YouTube station on Sept. 21. This launch followed a decision three days prior to ban Politico, CNN, and MS NOW from the White House. The administration marketed the channel as a destination for “must-see highlights” and “the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place,” according to White House promotional materials cited by The Daily Beast.
Despite the promise of real-time updates, White House officials disabled the comment section immediately upon launch. The Daily Beast noted this suggests a desire to limit public feedback on the platform.
Trump TV viewership falls below box fan livestream
Trump TV experienced an initial peak of 8,500 concurrent viewers before ratings dropped. The Daily Beast and Yahoo reported several instances where the station’s viewership fell below unconventional sources:
- Three days after launch, a livestream of a box fan drew more viewers during the early morning hours.
- Former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accidentally started a brief Instagram Live while in bed, which outperformed the YouTube station in viewer numbers.
- On a Thursday morning, viewership for the station dropped to 91 people.
The ratings performance prompted mockery from late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who quipped that the only channel performing worse than Trump TV was the Strait of Hormuz, The Daily Beast reported.
Content differences between competing streams
| Channel | Primary Content | Key Figures Featured |
|---|---|---|
| Trump TV | Archived White House videos and administration announcements | Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick, Chris Wright |
| The Daily Beast Podcast 24/7 | Recorded podcast episodes and interviews | Joanna Coles, Stacey Williams, Michael Wolff |
Questions regarding Trump TV performance
Why did the White House launch a 24/7 YouTube station?
The Daily Beast reports the station was launched in response to the president’s dissatisfaction with a lack of “positive” media coverage and followed the banning of several news organizations from the White House.
Who manages the content for The Daily Beast’s channel?
The channel is led by Joanna Coles, the Chief Content and Creative Officer, who hosts The Daily Beast Podcast and co-hosts “Inside Trump’s Head” with biographer Michael Wolff.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on these viewership figures.
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