Fox News won the State of the Union ratings race Thursday, March 7, in terms of total viewers, while NBC won the demo battle. Anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Fox News Channel had 5.64 million total viewers, while ABC had 5.024 million, NBC posted 4.33 million, MSNBC had 4.20 million, CBS tallied 3.94 million, CNN had 2.51 million, Fox broadcast had 1.71 million, Fox Business averaged 240,000 and CNBC had 112,000, according to Nielsen's fast nationals. 

In the 25-54 demo, NBC, with Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie anchoring, was tops with 1.11 million, just ahead of ABC’s 1.07 million. Fox News had 1.03 million, CBS tallied 824,054, CNN posted 646,000 and MSNBC had 611,000. Fox broadcast scored 516,738, Fox Business had 40,000 and CNBC tallied 35,000 in the demo. 

The ratings reflect viewership from 9:15 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. ET. President Joe Biden spoke for 68 minutes at the Capitol, and the Republican response, from Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), followed. “My purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment,” he began. “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today.”

The New York Times called it “one of the most confrontational speeches that any president has offered from the House rostrum, met by equally fractious heckling from his Republican opponents.”

President Joe Biden took Big Tech to task, and got in a shot at cable fees, in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night (February 7), with Big Tech getting the brunt of the criticism.

“The idea that cable, internet and cellphone companies can charge you $200 or more if you decide to switch to another provider — give me a break,” he said during the part of his speech when he hammered various industries — “big pharma,” airlines — over what he called “junk fees.”

He said those “hidden surcharges” add up to hundreds of dollars a month. The Biden administration has proposed the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which would include those cable early-termination fees.

Biden also called for Congress to pass legislation banning noncompete agreements and strengthening antitrust enforcement to prevent “big online platforms” from advantaging their own products.

Toward the end of the speech, Biden said social media had to be held accountable for “experimenting with children for profit” and called for legislation to stop Big Tech from collecting personal information about children and teenagers, impose stricter limits on data collected on adults and ban targeted advertising to children.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association pointed out that while Biden’s speech cited economic progress, the president then essentially bit the hand that fed that economic engine. “Digital services in the connected economy help combat inflation with lower prices, and U.S. tech leadership produced $684 billion in digitally-enabled exports in 2021 alone,” CCIA said.

The Connected Commerce Council, which emphasizes the impact of legislation and regulation on small business but whose name “partners” prominently include Google and Amazon, was not pleased. 

“President Biden's call to rein in America's leading technology companies is the latest misguided attack against America’s digitally empowered small businesses,” said council executive director Rob Retzlaff. "Forcibly changing how the digital economy works would cost small businesses $500 billion over five years, an absurd price for American small businesses to pay.” 

The Interactive Advertising Bureau stood up for the targeted advertising the president was targeting in his speech. “Punishing bad actors is a must, and IAB supports stronger laws to protect kids, but blaming data and technology for complex problems, and restricting or eliminating digital advertising, could severely diminish the benefits of the internet for everyone,“ IAB said.

The argument goes that it is the targeted nature of online advertising that supports the free content model.

House Energy & Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said the president had left out that his administration had “colluded with Big Tech companies to censor Americans” and was now intimidating  Big Tech into policing content online.

Republicans argue that efforts by Democrats to weed out disinformation or hate speech are instead efforts to pressure edge providers into censoring conservative voices, actions they call an attack on the First Amendment. 

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), for one, signaled he was ready to follow his leader into the Big Tech regulatory fray.

“Our agenda must prioritize holding big corporations accountable,” he said following the speech, including by “reining in Big Tech companies that track our children’s data and target them with manipulative ads.”

Markey has made children's exposure to media a signature issue since his days as a House leader on communications oversight, including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and the Children's Television Act of 1990. ▪️

Some of the largest technology companies are asking the government for money to help the sector weather massive layoffs, a downturn in global venture funding and the shuttering of startups, suggesting without it the U.S. could lose tech leadership.

For example, Google’s net income in the fourth quarter of 2022 was only $13.6 billion compared to $20.6 billion for the same quarter in 2021.

In advance of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday (February 7), the Chamber of Progess, whose backers include some of the most biggest big tech compaines around — Amazon, Apple and Google — have written to the president to call for targeted investments in their technologies, including artificial intelligence and connected cars.

They blamed their job cuts on “increase in interest rates, lingering inflation, changes in consumer behavior and the resulting downturn in advertising” and conceded those cuts could have a “crushing” impact on workers, their families and even their health. They also argue that the trickle down from not helping tech boost jobs will be felt by “coffee shops, restaurants and furniture stores” that won't be getting the business of those laid off workers.

The solution, they suggested, warning that without it the U.S. could lose its tech leadership edge: Some government money. “[T]he federal government has a history of making targeted investments to bolster an industry’s stability with the goal of attracting additional private sector capital.”

“To help prevent a worsening economic cycle and to maintain U.S. competitiveness in tech during the current downturn, I urge your Administration to put forward a plan for tech-sector recovery, job growth, and competitiveness,” Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich wrote. 

Elsewhere on the “tech tips for the SOTU” front, Information Technology Industry Council president Jason Oxman had some pointers for the president.

Oxman said Biden should ask Congress to look into issues like workforce development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, telecom, “high-skilled immigration” and more, as well as urge legislators to get together on national privacy legislation. ■

President Joe Biden delivers his second State of the Union address at the Capitol Tuesday, February 7 at 9 p.m. ET. ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and NBC will be among the networks airing the presentation. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gives the Republican response. 

ABC News goes live at 9 p.m. and wraps coverage at 11 p.m. World News Tonight anchor David Muir leads news gathering from Washington, with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis, chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl and chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz among those pitching in. 

CBS News Streaming Network starts the coverage at 5 p.m., and CBS has it at 8 p.m. Norah O’Donnell, CBS Evening News anchor, anchors from Washington. CBS News chief political analyst John Dickerson, Face the Nation moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan and chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett are among those covering the speech and response.

Fox goes live at 9 p.m., with Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday host, anchoring, and Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram contributing. 

Fox News Channel covers the State of the Union at 9 p.m. too, with chief political anchor Bret Baier anchoring alongside The Story anchor Martha MacCallum.

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and Today co-anchor/NBC News chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie lead NBC News’s coverage from Washington, starting at 9 p.m. Chuck Todd, NBC News political director, will contribute as well, as will Kristen Welker, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent, and others. 

NBC News Now streams coverage from 8 p.m. to midnight with Tom Llamas, Hallie Jackson, Todd and Welker anchoring. 

MSNBC has the SOTU preview at 8 p.m., the address 9 to 11 p.m., and an analysis at 11 p.m. 

CNN goes live at 9 p.m. 

C-SPAN is live at 8 p.m., with Peter Slen and Greta Brawner hosting.

NewsNation starts coverage at 9 p.m. Anchor Leland Vittert hosts from Washington, with senior political contributor George Will and political editor Chris Stirewalt among those pitching in. 

The White House offers the speech at WH.gov/SOTU and on YouTube. ■

President Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday drew an estimated audience of 38.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

The audience topped Donald Trump’s last State of the Union in 2020, which drew 37.2 million viewers, but didn’t match the 46.8 million who tuned in Trump in 2019. 

Nielsen’s figures for this year’s speech included out of home viewing and viewing via connected TV. CTV viewing can account for as much as 13% of the audience for televised political events, Nielsen said.

Biden’s speech drew a 22.4 household rating and 27.4 million total households.

There were 25.4 million viewers ages 55 and up and 2.7 million in the 18 to 34 age bracket.

The networks included in Nielsen’s total included ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox Telemundo Univision, NBC, NBC LX, PBS, Black News Channel, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax and NewsNation.  ■

As expected, President Joe Biden used his State of the Union speech to back a congressional effort to regulate how online edge platforms interact with the youngest Web surfers, including by banning certain targeted advertising to children.

The President minced no words, suggesting that social media was putting the bottom line ahead of children's health. 

"Children were struggling before the pandemic," he told his audience, citing "bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media. 

"As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit," he continued, "thanking her for the courage she showed as she stood for applause. "It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, and demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children." 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) chair of the Senate Consumer Protection subcommittee, big Big Tech critic and chief sponsor of the Kids Online Safety Act, praised the President's take on protecting children online.

“President Biden is issuing a powerful call to action on the youth mental health crisis exacerbated by social media, addressed directly by my Kids Online Safety Act," said Blumenthal. "I’m leading this measure with Senator [Marsha] Blackburn [R-Tenn.] so kids and parents are empowered with tools and safeguards to protect against toxic online content like self-harm, eating disorders, and bullying—and to hold Big Tech accountable. This comprehensive bill culminates bipartisan hearings, and decades of work for me personally. I look forward to pushing for its swift passage to safeguard children online, putting them in better control of their online lives.”

House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) agreed that social media needed regulating, but suggested the President was joining a fight Republicans were already leading. 

“Big Tech must be held accountable for their utter disregard for people’s privacy and data security and well-being—especially our children, who are consistently being manipulated and exploited for profit by these companies," Morris said following the speech. "Protecting kids online starts by establishing a national privacy and data security framework and enacting legislation that stops Big Tech’s harmful abuse of power. 

“Since day one of this Congress, E&C Republicans have been leading on solutions to do just that, and have urged President Biden to take these concerns seriously. I welcome President Biden joining our call and urge my Democratic committee colleagues to stop dragging their feet and prioritize comprehensive privacy legislation and addressing Big Tech’s harm on kids. If Congressional Democrats truly want to promote Big Tech transparency and accountability, protect our kids, and strengthen privacy protections for Americans, they should start by reviewing and engaging with Republican’s on our solutions.” 

The President's backing of social media regulation also drew praise from a number of children's privacy advocates. 

"We applaud President Biden for recognizing what the Big Tech CEOs willfully deny, that their products and platforms play an important role in defining the future of this country," said Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of Accountable Tech. "The White House’s support for reforms like strengthening children’s privacy, banning surveillance advertising for children and young people online, and demanding algorithmic transparency and research access demonstrates the time is now to rein in Big Tech and hold these companies accountable for their role in the decline of young people's mental health."

Also: Facebook Whistleblower Gets Seat in Biden SOTU Box

"Children and teens need to be protected from surveillance advertising that identifies, tracks, profiles, and discriminates against them continuously," said Katharina Kopp, policy director at Center for Digital Democracy. "Digital marketers employ stealthy 'Big Data' tactics to manipulate young people, while also gathering their information gleaned from mobile phones, gaming platforms, and social media. The Center for Digital Democracy supports calls for Congress to enact legislation that guards the privacy of youth, bans surveillance advertising, institutes online safety by design, stops online discrimination, and invests in research to serve the best interest of children and teens."

"President Biden is right to name and lay out a platform to address the dire national youth mental health crisis," said Bethany Robertson, co-director, ParentsTogether. "A significant and growing body of research shows 'almost constant' social media use significantly harms kids’ mental health in a number of ways, including increasing depression and anxiety, lowering self-esteem and body image, and triggering addictive behaviors – resulting in mental and emotional harm, and even death. This crisis is being driven by social media companies’ dangerous-by-design features, rooted in profit above kids’ safety. We urge social media companies and Congress to take quick, decisive action to protect kids..." ■

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will be among the guests in First Lady Jill Biden’s box for the State of the Union speech Tuesday night (March 1), giving credence to reports President Joe Biden plans to address Big Tech-related issues in the speech, specifically online child protection.

Also: SOTU to Include Call for Banning Certain Child-Targetted Online Ads

“Each of these individuals, with their resilience, innovation, service, and courage, were chosen by the White House because they represent policies or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech,” the White House said in releasing the list of attendees.

Haugen created quite a stir last November on Capitol Hill with testimony in which she revealed internal Facebook research showing the company knew its Instagram platform could be harmful to some teens. Facebook countered that the research also showed that most teens said it was helpful and that the information on those who said otherwise was useful feedback for potential changes to the platform to address that concern.

Legislators were unconvinced and have pushed various bills to rein in Big Tech. ■

Season two of anthology drama State of the Union begins on SundanceTV, Sundance Now and AMC Plus February 14. Brendan Gleeson, Patricia Clarkson and Esco Jouley are in the cast 

There are 10 episodes, each one 10 minutes long. The series airs over ten nights on SundanceTV, and all episodes are available on the streaming networks. 

Nick Hornby and Stephen Frears are behind the series, which looks into relationships. 

Clarkson’s Ellen and Gleeson’s Scott are a married couple spending ten minutes in a Connecticut coffee shop before their marriage counseling sessions. 

“Each week, between the bickering, they begin to piece together what has gone wrong between them. As the weeks go by, they start to deconstruct their 30-year marriage. Past betrayals are aired, their sex life is re-examined, and their vulnerabilities are finally shared. By the end of 10 weeks of marital counselling, they’re not the same couple they used to be, but is making a change enough to save their marriage, or should they walk away?” goes the SundanceTV description. 

Gleeson played President Trump in The Comey Rule and Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films. 

Clarkson’s work includes Sharp Objects and House of Cards. 

Season one had Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd as a bickering couple. 

See-Saw Films produces the show. Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman are executive producers along with Hornby and Frears, with Sophie Reynolds producing the series for See-Saw Films.

Hornby’s novels include High Fidelity and About a Boy and the memoir Fever Pitch. ■ 

SundanceTV has renewed State of the Union, a drama written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears. Brendan Gleeson, Patricia Clarkson and Esco Jouley will star in the second season, which will have 10 episodes. 

Episodes are just 10 minutes long. 

State of the Union explores relationships and the human experience. In season two, liberal Ellen (Clarkson) drags her traditional husband Scott (Gleeson) out of his comfort zone and into a hipster Connecticut coffee shop, where they have 10 minutes before their marriage counseling session to drink a coffee, gather their thoughts and argue about everything from Quakerism to pronouns. They also discuss betrayals from their past, how they’re changing as people, and what the future of their relationship might look like in a changing world.

“The first season of State of the Union was a triumph of storytelling form, captivating audiences – 10 minutes at a time – by smartly and authentically exploring our fundamental humanity and curiosity around what makes people think, feel, love and interact,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks. “We are thrilled to once again partner with the great Nick Hornby and Stephen Frears, and welcome Brendan, Patricia and Esco, to break new ground in short-form storytelling with a series built on the most universal and unifying element of all – the human relationship.”

Season one had Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd playing a couple that meets for drinks before their weekly marriage counseling sessions. 

See-Saw Films produces the show. Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman are executive producers along with Hornby and Frears, with Sophie Reynolds producing for See-Saw Films. Kristin Jones, executive VP of international programming for AMC and SundanceTV, is the executive in charge for SundanceTV. 

Gleeson played Donald Trump in The Comey Rule. 

Fox News decimated the cable network field last week with its best weekly primetime ratings performance since the 2016 Elections, according to Nielsen.

Fox News averaged 4.4 million viewers during the week of Feb. 3 to Feb. 9 to blow away its nearest competitor MSNBC, which averaged 1.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Fox News also represented the top 35 most-watched shows of the week, led by its Feb. 4 coverage of the State of The Union address, which drew 11 million viewers, said Nielsen.

HGTV, CNN and TLC finished in a tie for third place in primetime with 1.1 million viewers. TNT, Hallmark Channel, A&E Network, and Discovery Channel (all tied with 1 million viewers) along with History (994,000) rounded out the week’s top 10 most watched cable networks in primetime, according to Nielsen.  

On the total day front, Fox News generated its best performance since 2017 with 2.2 million viewers. MSNBC, CNN, HGTV and Hallmark Channel all ranked among the top five most watched networks for the week, said Nielsen.

Fox News kept up its ratings momentum Tuesday, averaging 3.2 million viewers from 6 pm to 1 am for its coverage of the New Hampshire primary. The network’s primetime coverage of the primary drew a record 4.4 million viewers, easily beating out CNN and MSNBC, said Nielsen. 

Tech industry group the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) has outlined the five things the tech industry wants to hear from President Trump in tonight's (Feb. 4) State of the Union address. 

ITI president Jason Oxman said that to keep the state of the Union one that foster's innovation and insures U.S. leadership in tech, the President's address needs to address: 

1. Trade truce 

ITI praises the "phase one" deal with China, but said the President must make it clear he is working on a long-term deal rolling back remaining tariffs.

2. Federal privacy legislation 

ITI wants a national privacy law out of Congress and says the President should urge that as well.

3. U.S. transportation and infrastructure  

Integrating smart technology with traditional infrastructure is key, said Oxman. The President should reiterate his pledge to helping cities leverage smart technology.

4. STEM workforce  

The Trump Administration has taken important steps, but more needs to be done to close the "skills gap." ITI said the President should remind the public that that is a collaborative effort, and also propose immigration policies that allow high tech smarts into the country to study and then tap that expertise for U.S. innovation.

5. Spectrum, 5G networks, and broadband expansion 

ITI cited the President's Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence and said he should talk about building on that commitment to create and deploy new tech, particularly focused on making more spectrum available for 5G. "More can be done to free unused spectrum," said Oxman.

The broadcast networks have set their plans for over-the-top coverage of the upcoming State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday (Feb. 4).

ABC News has not announced its coverage. But according to someone familiar with its streaming plans, the coverage on ABC News Live, the network’s 24/7 streaming news channel, will be anchored by World News Tonight Weekend anchor and Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas. That livestream will begin at 8 p.m., with a recap and analysis Wednesday on social media newscast On Affairs exclusively for Facebook Watch. In addition, FiveThirtyEight will have a preview of the speech. ABCNews.com will also livestream the speech.

CBSN, CBS News' live, 24/7 streaming service, will wrap its coverage around a 9-11 p.m. stream of the network's broadcast feed of the speech itself, anchored by CBS Evening News' Norah O'Donnell. CBSN's live pre- and post-speech coverage will be anchored by Tanya Rivero beginning at 5 p.m., with Elaine Quijano leading coverage from 6-9 p.m. Quijano will also anchor the post-address coverage.

CBSN is available at cbsnews.com/live or on the CBS News app for mobile devices.

NBC's streaming service, NBC News Now will begin its coverage at 8 p.m., then stream the broadcast coverage at 9-11 p.m., anchored by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie.

NBCNews.com will also live stream the speech, plus make an audio streaming version available to TuneIn.

Foxnews.com will have a dedicated landing page devoted to reporting on the speech and feature a live blog updated throughout the speech, which will be livestreamed, followed by reaction from lawmakers and others.

SundanceTV debuts State of the Union, a series about a squabbling couple, on Monday (May 6). Nick Hornby, author of the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy and Juliet, Naked, created the show, which stars Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike as a husband and wife working out issues in a pub moments before heading into marriage counseling.

The episodes run for just 10 minutes.

Hornby’s screenwriting projects include the films Brooklyn and An Education. He recently finished a novel called Just Like You, which he describes as a contemporary love story set amidst the Brexit referendum.

Hornby spoke with Multichannel News about the difference between authoring and screenwriting, how State of the Union was hatched and why what happens just before counseling is much more interesting than the counseling.

MCN: Ten-minute episodes — I assume that’s so viewers have more time to read your books?
Nick Hornby: [Laughs.] Yup.

I had a hole to fill when I was waiting for a bunch of people to get back on various projects, and I knew I couldn’t get on with anything for a month or so. I had this idea a while before and said, OK, I’m just gonna try it and see if it works.

MCN: Where did the idea come from?
NH: The idea for the couple was from a long time ago and I can’t really remember. I had been thinking about writing about counseling or therapy in some way and always ended up in the same place, that it doesn’t feel very dramatic to go into a therapist’s office because people say what they mean. The time before they go in is in some ways more dramatically interesting because it’s chaos. That seemed fun to write about.

MCN: How was the shift for you from writing novels to screenwriting?
NH: I love writing a screenplay, but it’s a very, very difficult profession in terms of all the problems, such as waiting three years for someone to read or invest or get a director. There’s a beautiful freedom with sitting down to start a novel and thinking, no one will ask me what the budget is, no one will ask me to cut a scene because it’s too expensive, I’m not going to lose any characters. That is quite refreshing when you’ve been doing screenplays for a while.

MCN: How has screenwriting affected the way you go about your novels?
NH: I think screenwriting affected my novels before I was a screenwriter in that I’d watched a lot of movies. I’d always liked writing dialogue. Some of my inspirations to write in the first place were screenwriters. As well as loving Anne Tyler and other contemporary novelists, I also loved Barry Levinson and what he wrote with Diner. There are a pair of English radio comedy writers, Galton and Simpson, who were big inspirations for me before I started as well.

I think screenwriting has always been in [me]. Recently I gave it more weight because things were taking off and projects were coming in that were quite interesting. It became a bit more than 50-50 of my working time.

MCN: Do Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd weigh in much on your scripts?
NH: They had a rather nice routine, which was, after they finish filming, they get a bottle of wine and read the next day’s script to each other. They’ve very bright and they’re very good about telling me what’s sayable and what’s not sayable or what’s funny and what’s not funny.

MCN: Are you involved with the High Fidelity series for Hulu?
NH: A little bit. I’ve been in quite a bit of touch with [star] Zoe [Kravitz]. Jesse Peretz, who directed the Juliet, Naked movie, is directing the first episode. He’s become a friend over the last year or two. I’ve been helping out where I can.

MCN: Chris O’Dowd’s character has a pint of beer in each episode of State of the Union. Ten minutes isn’t a lot of time to consume an English imperial pint.
NH: The old days, when the licensing hours were different, we were all used to drinking pints in 10 minutes because you only had about two hours [to drink before closing]. Chris is probably just about old enough to remember that time.

Fox News Channel dominated the weekly cable ratings primetime and total day charts, paced by its coverage of President Trump’s Jan. 30 State of the Union address, according to Nielsen. 

Fox News averaged 3.8 million viewers during the period of Jan. 29 to Feb. 4 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen. The cable news network’s performance was bolstered by the 11.7 million viewers Fox News averaged for SOTU coverage. 

MSNBC was second in primetime during the week with 1.9 million viewers, followed by HGTV and USA Network’s 1.4 million viewers each, and History’s 1.2 million watchers. 

Fox News also beat out MSNBC on a total day basis, followed by Nickelodeon, Investigation Discovery and HGTV, said Nielsen.

Microsoft Pulse, a real-time voting platform run by the software giant, said it has partnered with CNN, MSNBC, NBC Universo and Telemundo to enable U.S. viewers to provide real-time feedback tonight during President Obama’s final State of the Union address.

During the SOTU, which gets underway at 9 p.m. ET, viewers will be able to tap into Microsoft’s platform (via smartphones, tablets or PC browsers) to vote on whether they agree or disagree with what the president has to say.  Pulse lets participants respond continuously, allowing them to cast votes every five seconds.

The results will be shared in real-time during the live broadcasts by CNN and NBC Universo, and online via the digital live streams delivered by MSNBC and Telemundo.

Participants can cast votes at cnn.com/pulse or telemundo.com/pulse, or alongside the live stream at msnbc.com or telemundo.com.

Microsoft said this is the first time Pulse will be used by Telemundo and NBC Universo, two Spanish-language networks, and will mark the fourth consecutive year in which a major news network has used it during a SOTU address.

Microsoft Pulse (recently rebranded from Microsoft Bing Pulse), launched a self-service version of the platform in late 2014.

WASHINGTON — Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro says there are three key things he thinks the tech sector would like to hear from the President in his last State of the Union speech Tuesday (Jan. 12), including encouraging “disruptive innovation.”

In a blog post, Shapiro suggested that the federal regulatory climate is currently chilly to such innovation. He said the climate "piles one employer mandate atop another," including higher overtime pay that he says insures that startups won't be able to hire new talent.

In addition to asking President Obama to repeal those new Department of Labor pay thresholds, Shapiro called for passage of patent legislation targeting so-called "trolls" who are draining $1.5 billion a week from the economy in needless litigation or in court settlements, he said.

Shapiro also asked Obama keep pushing for passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a historic Pacific Rim trade agreement with 11 other countries that CTA as well as TV and film producers have lobbied for as a way to expand trade and access to Asia-Pacific markets.

"Implementing new trade and patent reform policies while supporting new business models would help ferment President Obama’s pro-innovation legacy and would help the tech economy thrive," Shapiro said.