RNC Sees Viewership Boost for Second Night of Convention

More viewers tuned in to the second night of the Republican National Convention than the first, early Nielsen data shows.

The second night of the Republican convention drew in an estimated 18 million viewers across major networks, up from the roughly 17 million garnered on Monday.

Fox News dominated in viewership, with nearly eight million viewers tuning in between 10:00 p.m. and 11:15. Fox News is “followed by NBC (2.5 million), CNN (2.12 million), ABC (2.09 million), MSNBC (1.9 million) and CBS (1.5 million), according to the Los Angeles Times.

RNC RATINGS, Night Two:

Live TV audience grew to 18 million, higher than Night 1.

Fox News had another blowout, accounting for 44% of all TV viewers: 8 million people watched its 10-11:15pm coverage.

(Nielsen ratings don't include online or streaming views.)

— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) August 26, 2020

By comparison, Democrats averaged 19.7 million viewers on the first night of their convention. However, both Democrats and Republicans experienced a sharp dropoff in viewership for their first nights compared to 2016. Republicans saw a 26 percent drop, and Democrats saw a similar 24 percent drop.

Democrats garnered 19.2 million viewers for the second night of their primetime convention lineup.

As Breitbart News reported Tuesday, C-SPAN’s live stream of the first night of the Republican National convention drew significantly more viewers than the Democrats’ first night, 440,000 views to the Democrats’  76,000 views.

First lady Melania Trump closed out the second night of the convention with a live speech from the White House Rose Garden, addressing a range of topics, from her husband’s accomplishments, to the coronavirus pandemic, to nationwide riots, to her Be Best initiative.

While she briefly addressed the constant attacks from the media and opponents, she told Americans that she will not waste “precious time” attacking the other side:

C-SPAN

“Because as we saw last week, that kind of talk only serves to divide the country further,” she said.

Wednesday’s primetime speakers will include Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R). Vice President Mike Pence will deliver Wednesday’s headlining speech.