The glitz and glamour of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) drew the eyeballs of more people than the Republican National Convention’s (RNC) focus on everyday Americans according to recently released rating numbers.
According to the New York Post, DNC managed to attract the attention of more viewers in its opening moments than the RNC did by millions:
Networks CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN averaged 15.9 million viewers on Monday during the overlapping hour of GOP kickoff coverage beginning at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen figures published by the Los Angeles Times.
That figure was 17 percent higher for night one of the Democratic National Convention, which drew in 18.7 million people on those channels.
However, when it came to C-SPAN, the RNC was the clear winner over the DNC according to the Post:
Approximately 440,000 people tuned in to watch the first night of the virtual GOP convention on Monday, compared to just 76,000 views for the first night of the DNC, according to a Hill report.
While the Democratic gathering boasted speeches from big names such as former first lady Michelle Obama, who gave a rousing endorsement of Joe Biden and drew the ire of President Trump, far more people tuned in to see Donald Trump Jr., Nikki Haley and the gun-wielding McCloskeys bash Biden.
None of these figures include online streaming, which has become one of the more dominant ways to view events, however, don’t count on the additional numbers from streaming to put the RNC over the DNC. Most Democrats skew younger and the younger crowd tends to view most media from their phones or laptops.
The fact that the left skews younger may also be why the DNC attracted more eyeballs. The left’s celebrity-studded showing featured stars like Billy Eilish, currently one of the more popular musical artists in the mainstream. Meanwhile, the RNC focused on stories from everyday Americans, immigrants, and a celebration of American values.
Interestingly, Fox found itself the clear winner in terms of viewership for the night:
Fox News was by far the most watched cable channel on Monday evening, pulling in 7 million viewers and besting liberal rivals CNN, ABC and NBC, which followed with 2 million, 1.9 million and 1.7 million, respectively.
Fox was admonished by viewers for cutting away from the RNC and loading up with commentary.
President Donald Trump is still yet to make his speech, which will happen on the fourth night. How many people watch his speech vs. how many people watched Biden’s will be telling in and of itself.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member