The verdict in the sensational Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard defamation trial drew more than 500,000 viewers to Court TV, the largest audience since the network was relaunched by the E.W. Scripps Co. in 2019.
Viewers peaked last Wednesday around 3:27 p.m. ET, when the jury’s decision was rendered, with 558,000 people watching.
The big cable news channels also carried the verdict, but between 3:15 and 3:30 p.m., Court TV topped popular channels including ESPN, TBS, TNT, FX, ID and Discovery.
Court TV’s coverage of Depp v. Heard quadrupled the audience for the network’s previous live trial coverage.
Viewing of Court TV via streaming also jumped, with daily streaming hours up 415%.
Dan Abrams’s Law&Crime network has also gotten a big boost from the trial.
Court TV has some other cases on the docket it expects to draw above-average viewership.
Those include Florida v. Danielle Redlick, in which Redlick is charged with the murder of her husband, a former NBA executive; Florida v. Nikolas Cruz, the 20-year-old who will be sentenced for 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting; and Nevada v. Kelsey Nichole Turner and Jon Logan Kennison, in which a former Playboy and Maxim model and her boyfriend are charged with the murder of a psychiatrist. ■
