The celebrity trial pitting actor Johnny Depp against his former wife actress Amber Heard is bringing in big audiences for legal channels Court TV and Law&Crime.
Law&Crime’s coverage has drawn more than 564 million views on YouTube from April 12 when the trial began through May 19. It has seen nearly 1 million concurrent viewers on YouTube, founder Dan Abrams told Broadcasting+Cable.
Numbers for Law&Crime’s live network numbers are up by about six fold, Abrams said, noting that it takes longer to gather those numbers.
At E.W Scripps-owned Court TV, viewership was up 239% through May 19 and up nearly 300% in streaming.
Court TV is providing pool coverage of the trial.
Sensational cases involving celebrities bring viewers to networks that cover court proceedings.
“With each high-profile trial, our audience is not only returning but growing exponentially,” said Rachel Stockman, president of Law&Crime. “People are turning to Law&Crime across our platforms for the most up-to-date and comprehensive coverage on this case.”
Live coverage of the trial began with opening statements on April 12th and gained significant traction over the course of Depp’s testimony that detailed his tumultuous relationship with Heard and his decision to sue her for defamation over a story that implied he had abused her. ■
