‘Roseanne’ Reboot Viewers Came from Republican States

Viewers contributing to the huge ratings for ABC’s reboot of Roseanne were most likely to come from mid-west and rustbelt states that voted Republican, according to analysis by research company Samba TV.

Eight of the 10 states that over-indexed most in Roseanne viewership on Tuesday voted Republican in the 2016 presidential elections.

Those states were headed by Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa and Pennsylvania.

Illinois and Massachusetts were the only states that voted Democratic in the 2016 election, and Massachusetts was the only non-rustbelt state in the group.

Roseanne star Roseanne Barr said she is a supporter of President Donald Trump, and has made her character in the sitcom a supporter of the president.

After the show had its debut President Trump called Barr Wednesday to congratulate her on her ratings.

"Look at Roseanne -- look at her ratings," Trump said at a speech Thursday, recounting his call with the TV comedienne. "Over 18 million people. And it was about us."

The Samba TV analysis also found that among cable news viewers, people who watched Fox News in the prior month were most likely to tune into Roseanne, with a consumption index of 1.89. CNN viewers tuned in with a 1.56 index and MSNBC viewers had a 1.54 index.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.