Trumped in the Ratings

Bad news for Donald Trump: The Democratic National Convention is handily beating his Republican National Convention in the one area he cares about most: television ratings.

After night one of the DNC bested night one of the RNC (an average of 20 million viewers to 18.1 million), night two saw the gap open up even wider. The Michelle and Barack Obama-powered evening averaged 20.8 million viewers across television, dwarfing the average of 14.8 million viewers who tuned into night two of Trump’s coronation.

The strong ratings are a reflection of the electric energy coursing through the Democratic Party after President Joe Biden stepped aside and passed the torch along to Vice President Kamala Harris. The last-minute handoff to Harris has rebooted the party, leading to viral memes, record fundraising, and now muscular television ratings.

MSNBC, notably, posted the strongest total viewership on night one and night two of the DNC. The progressive news channel averaged 5.1 million viewers from 10pm to midnight ET on Tuesday, during which the keynote speeches were delivered by the Obamas. That number put the channel far ahead of even its broadcast television competition.

Conversely, Fox News, which posted staggering ratings and led the television networks during the RNC, has struggled during the DNC. While the right-wing channel often leads cable in the ratings, its conservative viewership has very obviously chosen to tune out the Democratic programming that has taken over the network’s air.

During the key 10pm to midnight window, Fox News averaged only 1.7 million viewers. That put the network behind not only MSNBC, but in last place, trailing CNN (3.7 million), ABC News (3 million), NBC News (2.7 million), and CBS News (2.2 million). Fox News also registered last in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 demographic, averaging 296,000 viewers (CNN won that category, averaging 1 million viewers).

Of course, the fact that MSNBC is faring well during the DNC, and the fact that Fox News is clearly not, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. What is, ultimately, notable is how much more interest there is, at this current stage of the race, around Harris’ campaign. It’s evident in the record fundraising she is posting. It’s evident in the crowds she is drawing to rallies. And it is also evident in the television ratings the DNC is posting.