On October 3rd, 1995, O.J. Simpson walked out of a courtroom in Los Angeles a free man. But before that moment happened—and was broadcast live on nearly every television channel available at the time—the entire world watched the Trial of the Century happen in real time.
The details of the O.J. Simpson murder trial have been dissected ad nauseam over the years. There are countless articles, books, documentaries, and television shows centered around the topic. So yeah, we’re going to leave that alone.
To sum it up, the entire ordeal was a massive legal circus that had everything from love and betrayal to the slowest freeway chase ever recorded. And, for whatever reason, people simply couldn’t get enough of the drama.
Remembering the O.J. Simpson Verdict 30 Years Later
It’s important to remember that two people—Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman—actually lost their lives in this story. That wasn’t scripted. It wasn’t a fabricated detail added to spice things up. They were both brutally murdered. It actually happened.
Despite this, the entire world couldn’t get enough of any and everything O.J. Simpson. His face was everywhere—magazines, television screens, and billboards—with many making millions off the murders by the time it was all said and done.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that a lot of people tuned in to watch the “series finale” of what many consider to be the greatest television show of the 1990s. But 150 million people? That’s record-breaking, Super Bowl numbers… for a murder trial. What a world we live in.
News channels like CNN literally pulled World Cup-level ratings for months at a time during the trial. Local affiliates even bumped their regularly scheduled programming to show the verdict live, because they, too, wanted to pop a number.
One of the most interesting (and surreal) moments from the verdict didn’t air live on TV, but it’s something that I personally think about anytime the name “O.J. Simpson” is mentioned. The Oprah Winfrey Show recorded an episode as the verdict was read, with the audience reacting to the news in real time.
The reaction to the news was split and chaotic, which perfectly mirrored how the entire country handled the moment. If you ever want to show someone who wasn’t there and is only familiar with the Simpson trial because of the FX show what it was really like in October of 1995, a 3-minute clip from YouTube paints the picture beautifully.
How the O.J. Simpson Verdict Changed Media Forever
It can’t be overstated how big a pop culture moment the O.J. Simpson murder trial was. In a decade that is not only looked back on fondly but also gave birth to some of the biggest and brightest stars, the O.J. trial still stands out three decades later.
On the day of the verdict, Americans treated courtroom footage like they would the Super Bowl or the finale of Seinfeld. People took off work, ordered a ton of pizza, and sat down to see what was going to happen. They weren’t going to miss it… with “it” being a real-life murder trial.
The fallout, of course, exposed racial divides in the country that anyone with eyes already knew existed. It also changed how television and the media covered real-life events similar to this one.
To put it bluntly, without O.J., the way that we digested information about everything from 9/11 to Casey Anthony wouldn’t have been the same. It might sound dramatic, but the world wasn’t the same after the O.J. Simpson trial.
Once massive media conglomerates realized that real-life news could draw massive ratings and generate substantial revenue, everything changed for the worse. The 24-hour news cycle that we all know and hate was officially born—and it’s still alive and kicking today.
The Bronco chase was the match that lit the fuse, and the verdict was the dynamite that exploded and changed our world forever.
The post On This Day in 1995, the O.J. Simpson Verdict Set Cable Television Records appeared first on VICE.
