NEW YORK — Former FBI Director James Comey’s highly anticipated testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was watched by an estimated 19.5 million television viewers Thursday, according to Nielsen data.

The figure for the hearing, touted as “Washington’s Super Bowl,” includes viewers across all ad-supported broadcast and cable networks that carried it from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It does not count people who watched at viewing parties at bars and restaurants or through online streaming on computers and digital devices.

Ratings for the hearing did not approach the 30.6 million viewers who watched the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Trump.