More than 22 million people — and 17 million U.S. households — watched the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 25.
A large percentage of African American households (24%) tuned in for the night’s speeches, which included a keynote address by Michelle Obama.
Among White households in the U.S., 14.6% watched the convention Monday night, while just 7.3% of Hispanic households tuned in.
Viewers age 55 and older also dominated the TV audience Monday night – 16.6% of all Americans in that age group watched the first night of convention coverage broadcast live during primetime on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, and TV One.
| RATING | NUMBER OF | |
|---|---|---|
| All Households * | 15.1 | 17,111,710 |
| Persons 2+ * | 7.8 | 22,296,685 |
| Persons 12-17 | 1.7 | 417,496 |
| Persons 18-34 | 4.6 | 3,156,100 |
| Persons 18-49 | 5.9 | 7,678,484 |
| Persons 55+ | 16.6 | 10,079,978 |
| African American Households ** | 24 | 3,282,817 |
| Hispanic Households ** | 7.3 | 869,029 |
| White Households ** | 14.6 | 12,751,698 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (August 25, 2008) | ||
| *Combined figures are the sum of the networks during the common hour of coverage. Included networks are ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, BET, and TV One. | ||
| **Ratings for African American, Hispanic and White households are expressed as a percent of those specific universe estimates. | ||
Convention coverage varied by network; all eight networks aired live coverage from approximately 10pm to 11pm EST.
View comparable TV ratings for Day 1 of the 2004 Democratic National Convention (Monday, July 26, 2004).
Read the Los Angeles Times’ coverage of Nielsen’s findings.
Why aren’t CSPAN and PBS included in this survey? I know I have been watching on CSPAN most of the time. I doubt I am alone.
Hi Jason,
With PBS, we measure in a more customized way that matches their unique needs. Just as PBS does not distribute programs in the same way that broadcast networks do, we do not provide ratings in the same way. For example, commercial broadcast network affiliates typically air network programs at the same day/time as other affiliates. PBS stations often pick and choose which programs to carry and subsequently frequently schedule them at different times. And, PBS does not have the same need to understand audiences to satisfy advertiser needs. The result is that PBS identifies those programs for which it wants national audience estimates and provides Nielsen with a line-up of stations around the country that air that program along with days and dates the shows air. Nielsen then verifies that the stations carried the show using electronic verification and produces audience estimates. This is a more time-consuming method than is used with commercial broadcast and cable networks – and is only done for those national programs that PBS selects. National convention viewing to PBS has not been reported by Nielsen. Any estimates that PBS has issued are their own, based on procedures that PBS would have to explain.
C-SPAN is not included because Nielsen does not measure and report C-SPANs’ audiences. Many cable networks choose not to have Nielsen measurement for a variety of reasons specific to the network. For example, the home shopping networks do not subscribe to Nielsen. It is probably safe to say they measure their success by other means.
Leave your response!
Recent Stories
Monthly Archive
Top Ads