THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Viewership of Simpson Trial Soars With Prosecution’s Closing Statement

With the local stations out in force, TV ratings for the first day of closing arguments in the O.J. Simpson murder trial soared to their highest levels since the earliest stages of the proceedings.

Viewers in about 978,000 Southern California homes tuned in Tuesday morning to watch the coverage on six stations that broadcast Deputy Dist. Atty. Marcia Clark’s remarks to the jury. By the end of the day, that figure had climbed to about 1.2 million--only slightly less than the audience for her opening statement on Jan. 24.

Nationally, CNN said its trial coverage Tuesday was seen in about 3 million homes--its largest audience since March 29, and 33% above what the proceedings have been averaging. Nevertheless, viewership was well below what the trial was getting in its first two months, a spokesman said.