Ratings: RNC Ends on High Note, With Cable Numbers (Including a Huge Surge Among Young Adults) Added In
In updated TV ratings for Thursday night, the 2020 Republican National Convention’s grand finale indeed wound up enjoying a “Trump bump,” thanks in great part to a surge of interest from young adults.
RNC Night 4 amassed 23.8 million total viewers, with Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, MSNBC, Newsmax and Newsy now all accounted for (in addition to the coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC). That’s up 38 percent from the night prior to mark the Republican convention’s largest audience.
Fueling the Night 4 surge for the RNC was viewership among Adults 18-34, which more than doubled (to 1.66 million) from Night 3. Meanwhile, the 35-54 crowd grew 48 percent, while viewership among those 55-plus increased by 29 percent.
The cable effect was profound on Night 4, and certainly more so than the first three nights, seeing as earlier indicators from broadcast-only viewership indicated a decrease.
That said, across the 13 aforementioned cable and broadcast channels, the RNC Night 4 audience fell just shy of the DNC’s own closing night (which drew 24.6 million). Similarly, Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s Night 4 nomination acceptance speech outdrew President Donald Trump’s, 23.6 million viewers to 21.6 million.
Elsewhere on Thursday, CBS’ Big Brother (4 mil/1.0) was steady week-to-week, leading the quiet night in both measures.
The Live+Same Day Nielsen numbers reported in our ratings column do not reflect a show’s overall performance, given the increased use of delayed playback via DVR and and streaming platforms. These numbers instead are reported simply to illustrate any trends or superlatives. Kids, ask parents before calling.
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