The first night of the Republican National Convention drew nearly six times more viewers Monday than the first night of the Democratic National Convention the week prior on C-SPAN, The Hill reported.
The C-SPAN live stream of the start of the RNC had roughly 440,000 views, compared to the DNC’s opening night, which brought in 76,000 on Aug. 17, Nielsen Media Research recorded according to The Hill.
Nielsen’s data showed that 18.7 million people watched the first night of the DNC, according to the Hill. These numbers come before traditional TV ratings from Nielsen Media Research, which will be released Tuesday.
The first night included speakers such as Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and former First Lady Michelle Obama, who delivered the closing address with an emotional plea to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Michelle Obama is the keynote speaker at tonight’s Democratic National Convention. In a short excerpt from the speech provided by the DNC, the former first lady praised Joe Biden as a “profoundly decent man.”
Watch the #DemConvention live here. https://t.co/cv1N4raYZX pic.twitter.com/ItHlLYMV90
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 18, 2020
The first night of the RNC Monday included speakers such as Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Donald Trump Jr., and Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. President Donald Trump was also featured speaking with foreign government hostages who his administration helped to free, and essential workers. (RELATED: Charlie Kirk Says 2020 Election Is ‘The Most Critical Since 1860’ At Republican National Convention)
Amy Ford, a nurse from West Virginia, says at RNC that President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic “saved thousands of lives” https://t.co/HvBZab3VyL pic.twitter.com/E4WQ9iAE9U
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 25, 2020
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk says in RNC address that President Trump is “the defender of Western civilization” https://t.co/HvBZab3VyL pic.twitter.com/UoEB9l0MjU
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 25, 2020
Biden’s speech Thursday night of the DNC was watched by 21.8 million people on TV, which was more than the other major speeches given at the convention earlier in the week, but was still a 21% drop from former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech at the DNC in 2016.
Biden’s speech was also 38% lower than President Trump’s acceptance speech at the RNC in 2016, which attracted 34.9 million viewers.
Speakers at the second night of the RNC include First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky high school student who the Washington Post settled a defamation lawsuit with following the paper’s misrepresentation of him in 2019.
The post has been updated to add the note that this was only for preliminary Nielsen Media Research ratings.