More than 20 million viewers tuned into the first night of the 2024 DNC, Nielsen
More than 20 million people tuned into the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Nielsen said in a Tuesday press release.
The convention kicked off Monday night in Chicago, where Democratic nominee Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance and President Joe Biden capped the night with a speech celebrating his legacy.
The convention viewership is slightly up with that of the opening night of the 2020 Democratic convention (19.75 million viewers), when in-person events were scaled back or canceled due to the pandemic, according to Nielsen data. But it drew nearly 2 million more viewers than the first night of the 2024 Republican National Convention, Nielsen data shows.
While Nielsen ratings do not capture those who streamed online, experts still say viewership of conventions has been waning as they turn into predictable pep rallies. Still, audience can come back with an element of something unexpected, and one expert previously told USA TODAY this season's campaigns are the "fiercest competing political reality shows."
Democratic convention live updates: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama set to take the stage
Looking back at previous RNC and DNC ratings
For convention audience, Nielsen measures the percentage of television-owning households that tuned in. The data captures audience from 13 television networks.
The household ratings for the first night of the 2024 Democratic convention was 12, Nielsen's release stated.
The final day of the conventions usually draw the most viewers. Here are the day-by-day Nielsen ratings for the recent conventions:
2024 RNC
2024 RNC Day 4 - 14.3
2024 RNC Day 3 - 10.6
2024 RNC Day 2 - 8.9
2024 RNC Day 1 - 10.6
2020 RNC
2020 RNC Day 4 - 14.7
2020 RNC Day 3 - 11.0
2020 RNC Day 2 - 12.2
2020 RNC Day 1 - 10.7
2020 DNC
2020 DNC Day 4 - 15.6
2020 DNC Day 3 - 14.6
2020 DNC Day 2 - 12.6
2020 DNC Day 1 - 12.7
How to watch the Democratic National Convention
The convention is taking place Monday through Thursday this week at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, will be the main venue for the DNC. Chicago has hosted the Democratic Convention 11 times, most recently in 1996 when the United Center saw President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second time.
The convention will air live on its website, from the United Center in Chicago between 6:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern (5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m Central) on Monday, and 7 p.m to 11 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) the other days.
USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DNC ratings Monday night 1: Nielsen reports 20 million viewers
