Republican Convention Viewership Rises To More Than 25 Million On Final Night Featuring Donald Trump’s Speech

Ted Johnson

19 July 2024 at 5:39 pm·1-min read

The final night of the Republican National Convention featuring Donald Trump’s acceptance speech drew 25.38 million viewers Thursday, rising from the same night in 2020, according to Nielsen.

Nielsen said that the audience peaked in the 10:45-11 p.m. ET window with 28.4 million, as Trump recounted the assassination attempt on his life.

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The Nielsen figure is across 14 networks, and the measurement is from 10 p.m. ET to 12:15 a.m. ET.

An estimated 23.81 million watched the final night of the convention in 2020. The 2024 audience, though, was smaller than the one in 2016, when Trump’s acceptance speech drew 32.2 million.

An estimated 18.36 million viewers were 55 and older; 4.94 million were 35-54; and 1.35 million were 18-34, Nielsen reported.

Fox News drew an overwhelming share of the viewers, with 9.43 million viewers during the Trump speech time frame, roughly 10:30 p.m. to 12:05 p.m. ET, according to early Nielsen figures. NBC News averaged 3.56 million, ABC News averaged 2.68 million, CNN posted 2 million, CBS News averaged 1.84 million and MSNBC averaged 1.09 million.

In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 1.82 million, followed by NBC News with 791,000, ABC News with 679,000, CNN with 635,000, CBS News with 496,000 and MSNBC with 133,000.

More to come.

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