Night 1 - August 17, 2020
It's hard to write much about night one's ratings on broadcast because so few actually tuned in. With absolutely nothing airing on Mondays, no network's coverage had assistance from strong network lead-ins like they did in 2016. With that, the ratings for the convention tanked from 2016. ABC came out on top in viewers with 2.44 million tuning in, but was down over 50% in the 18-49 demo from 2016, with a 0.37 in that demo. However, it grew from its lead-in, unlike in 2016. NBC's coverage was right behind in viewers, but narrowly beat it in the 18-49 demo, with a 0.4. This is down about seven tenths from 2016, with a lead-in that's over a full ratings point lower. CBS came in dead last with just a 0.24 for its coverage, but held up the best from 2016, mostly thanks to its lead-in "only" being three tenths lower than it was in 2016. The CBS broadcast was the night's only DNC broadcast to draw less than two million views.
Cable was where most people tuned in to the convention. CNN easily topped the night with a 0.88 over two hours, over twice what NBC attracted for its broadcast, and drawing 4.72 millon viewers. MSNBC was right behind in viewers with 4.37 million* tuning in, but was behind a decent amount in the demo with a 0.49*, still easily topping NBC and the other broadcast nets. Fox News tied CBS for last with 0.24 in the 18-49 demo, but was able to beat the Tiffany Network in viewers with 2.10 million tuning in.
Night 2 - August 18, 2020
Night two didn't exactly see any ratings boosts, but ratings weren't down much, either. ABC topped the night with a 0.32 in the 18-49 demo, down a bit from night one but a smaller decline than in 2016 and down a few hundred thousand viewers to 2.25 million. It held onto 100% of its lead-in in the 18-49 demo. NBC was down a tenth from Monday despite a far stronger lead-in, but it narrowly rose in viewers. Its rating comparison versus 2016 is even worse than night one, down a staggering nine-tenths from the 2016 result (its lead-in decline by a ratings point and a half). CBS again trailed ABC and NBC, but actually rose from night one with a 0.26 and 2.07 million viewers.
Ratings dropped a bit more on CNN, with night two attracting a 0.76 in the 18-49 demo on the top cable news network for convention coverage. Despite a big demo win, they slipped behind MSNBC in total viewers, with 4.3 million vs. MSNBC's 4.56* million. In addition to MSNBC's win in viewers, they were also very steady in the demo with a 0.46*. Fox News slipped to last despite being the most stable cable network demo-wise. They drew just a 0.22 in the 18-49 demo, but narrowly rose in viewers.
Night 3 - August 19, 2020
With a lineup featuring some big names, the broadcast audience rose to its biggest of the convention. NBC drew a 0.5 with 2.53 million viewers, growing from its lead-in in both metrics and hitting its highest numbers so far. ABC also grew substantially from its lead-in, with a 0.4 in the 18-49 demo and 2.48 million viewers, also hitting highs. CBC came in last for the night, with a 0.3, still a high for its DNC coverage. However, its 1.99 million viewers wasn't a high point for their coverage, declining from Tuesday.
CNN's coverage skyrocketed to a 0.94, hitting a high point for the week. With 5.35 million viewers, it was easily their most-viewed night to-date. MSNBC also soared, with their 0.69 in the 18-49 demo trouncing the previous high. 6.19 million tuned in, which was also a massive gain. The gains on Fox News for the night were minimal (to put it lightly), with only about 145,000 more tuning in than the previous night and only gaining a half-tenth in the 18-49 demo. Still, Fox gets to brag about hitting a new high.
Night 4 - August 20, 2020
Despite conventions usually rising on the night that the nominee speaks, the DNC was down for night four on most networks. ABC held steady in the demo, though, and hit a new high in viewers with its strongest lead-in of the week. NBC was down two tenths and about 400,000 viewers, hitting its lowest points of the week, mainly thanks to an abysmal lead-in. CBS's coverage stayed in last place, but, despite hitting a low in viewers, it didn't hit a low in the 18-49 demo, even though it had its weakest lead-in yet.
Declines hit cable, as well. CNN saw its numbers dwindle a bit, down to a 0.85 in the 18-49 demo and 4.98 million viewers, placing the convention third and second in the demo and in viewers, respectively. MSNBC was down a bit, but was mostly pretty steady with a 0.64 in the 18-49 demo and 5.81 million viewers, its second-best numbers in both metrics. On Fox News, the convention hit its best numbers easily, up to a 0.35 and 2.97 million viewers for Biden's big night.
So, all in all, ratings were down significantly from 2016, but cable news' dominance for live political events was never more clear than this week. CNN and MSNBC completely demolished broadcast in the ratings, and Fox News wasn't far behind. This wasn't really the case in 2016, and it's clear that viewing patterns have shifted. Ratings for the convention were clearly down on cable, as well, but not nearly to the level that it was down on broadcast.
