Two nights in the Democratic National Convention and viewers sitting at home during the coronavirus pandemic appear tapped.
Attendance for the first and second nights of the Democratic convention fell dramatically from the same time frame in 2016 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the Democratic presidency, according to Nielsen Media Research. Only 6.13 million people tuned in to simulcast broadcasts on CBS, ABC, and NBC in the first two nights of the 2020 convention, marking a 48% drop from four years ago, Nielsen reported.
The first two nights of the convention included speeches by former First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, and New York Reporter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Joe Biden accepted the party’s nomination on Tuesday with his wife, Jill Biden, by his side.
TJ Ducklo, the national press secretary for Biden’s campaign, defended the slow broadcast numbers and noted that digital viewing has gone up as the way people view content has shifted to digital streaming formats in recent years.
“28.9 million Americans voted on @DemConvention yesterday on TV and digital platforms, up from 2016 & shattering the previous record for digital streams, totaling 10.2m, even if figures still come in,” Ducklo tweeted on Tuesday. “We’re producing a digital convention, and people are watching.”
The Republican National Convention is set for the last week of August, and President Trump has suggested that some of the live events will take place on the lawn of the White House, where a group of supporters may be present.
“I’ll probably give my speech in the White House because it’s a great place,” Trump said. New York Post. ‘We could have a whole group of people. It’s very big, a very big lawn. We could have a large group of people. “
.
