Democratic National Convention Night 1 Scores 20 Million Viewers, 10% More Than RNC

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The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicked off with a strong start, ratings-wise.

Night 1 of the Chicago-based event drew 20 million viewers as it broadcast live from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET across 13 different networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation and PBS, among others, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day viewing figures. That’s up 10.3% from the first night of the Republican National Convention, which drew in 18.13 million viewers in July.

Viewership for the first night of the 2024 DNC was on par with Night 1 of the 2020 DNC, which drew 19.75 million viewers. When it came to the 2016 election, however, Night 1 of the 2024 DNC drew in a 22.9% smaller audience than the 25.95 million viewers who tuned in for Night 1 of the 2016 DNC.

Of the 20 million viewers tuning in for Night 1, 851,000 viewers were adults 18-34 while 3.51 viewers were adults 35-54. Adults 55 and over were the demographic that tuned in most heavily, tallying up an audience of 15.32 million.

As President Joe Biden passed the torch onto Vice President Kamala Harris in an impassioned speech that started just before 11:30 p.m. ET and lasted approximately one hour, 19.1 million viewers tuned in to DNC coverage during the interval between 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. ET.

Historically, Night 1 marks the second most-watched day of the convention, with the biggest audience tuning in for the final night. Night 4 of the 2020 DNC drew its highest viewership yet with 24.6 million viewers — up 24.6% from Night 1 — as did the 2016 DNC, whose fourth and final evening drew 29.8 million viewers — up 14.8% from Night 1.

This was the case for the 2024 RNC, whose final day on Thursday, July 18, drew in 25.38 million viewers, marking a 40% increase from its Night 1 audience.

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