DNC ratings smash RNC figures for third night in a row

The Democratic National Convention drew in more than 20 million viewers for the third night in a row on Wednesday, far surpassing the number of Americans who tuned in for the third night of the Republican National Convention earlier this month.

According to ratings released by Nielsen, nearly 20.2 million viewers tuned in on Wednesday night to watch Oprah Winfrey and former president Bill Clinton deliver keynote speeches and to see vice presidential candidate Tim Walz accept the Democratic nomination in Chicago.

Measurements were taken from 12 TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Scripps News, CNN, CNNe, FOX Business, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation and PBS.

The third night of the RNC, by comparison, drew three million fewer with 18 million viewers tuning in in July when JD Vance gave his first major speech as the Republican vice presidential nominee in Milwaukee.

Viewing figures for the final night of the DNC – where Kamala Harris gave her historic acceptance speech to take on Donald Trump in November – have not been released yet. But, in order to beatTrump’s keynote – his first major address since he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania – she will need to exceed a peak of 28.4 million viewers.

The final night of the RNC was the most successful for the Republican convention, with an average of 25.3 million Americans tuning in to the broadcast.

The RNC reached 18.1 million, 14.8 million and 18 million viewers, on its first three days, respectively, Nielsen’s figures showed.

So far, the DNC peaked on its second night, with an average of 20.6 million viewers on Tuesday, up from 20 million on Monday when President Joe Biden gave his address, according to Nielsen.

Tuesday’s convention featured