An estimated 22.3 million people tuned in to watch the opening night of the 2012 Republican National Convention on Tuesday, August 28, which was pushed back a day due to Hurricane Isaac. Day two of the convention was carried live from Tampa, Florida across nine networks and featured speeches by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Ann Romney.
The 22 million plus viewers of last night’s RNC—which included three more networks than the comparable night in 2008—bested that night by 800,000 viewers.
While coverage varied by network, all nine aired live coverage from approximately 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM. The chart below highlights the sum of the average audience for these networks during common coverage.
| Sum of Networks Live + Same Day | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1-Aug 27, 2012 | Day 2-Aug 28, 2012 | |||
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| All Households |
No common coverage due to Hurricane Isaac |
14.7 | 16,920,000 | |
| Persons 2+ | 7.7 | 22,301,000 | ||
| Persons 18-34 | 2.2 | 1,483,000 | ||
| Persons 35-54 | 6.7 | 5,414,000 | ||
| Persons 55+ | 18.8 | 14,661,000 | ||
Networks Included:
Day 2 – ABC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, FOXNC, CRNT, MSNBC, NBC and PBS
| Sum of Networks Live + Same Day | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1-Sept 1, 2008 | Day 2-Sept 2, 2008 | |||
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| Persons 2+ |
No common coverage due to Hurricane Gustav |
7.3 | 21,528,000 | |
2008 Networks Included
Day 2 - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Click here for a historical look at past Republican and Democratic conventions.
