SHORT TAKES : Bush Gets 45% Audience Share

President Bush’s State of the Union address and the Democratic response Wednesday night attracted a combined 28.7 national Nielsen rating and a 45% audience share on ABC, CBS and NBC. That total represents about 26.4 million TV households.

NBC News coverage of the 6 p.m. broadcast led the three networks with a 10.9 rating (17 share), compared with a 10.3 (16 share) for ABC and a 7.5 (12 share) for CBS.

In each case, the performance of the entertainment program that preceded the live broadcast in the East and Central time zones seemed to affect the size of the audience for the presidential address coverage, as “Unsolved Mysteries” on NBC and two sitcoms on ABC shared the bulk of the early audience. CBS’ much-advertised “Grand Slam,” which debuted in its regular 8 p.m. Wednesday time slot, averaged only an 8.1 rating. Those shows followed Bush’s address on the West Coast.