An estimated 21.9 million people tuned in to watch the third night of the 2012 Republican National Convention on Wednesday, August 29. The first day of the GOP soirée was pushed back a day due to Hurricane Isaac. Day three of the convention was carried live from Tampa, Fla. across nine networks and featured speeches by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and VP hopeful Congressman Paul Ryan.
In 2008, over 37 million people tuned in to catch the comparable day 3 of the RNC— which was 41 percent higher than last night’s viewership. That day in 2008, however, made headlines when Sarah Palin made her much-anticipated debut into the national spotlight.
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 | Day 3-Aug 29, 2012 | ||||
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| All Households |
No common coverage due to Hurricane Isaac |
14.7 | 16,920,000 | 14.7 | 16,697,000 | |
| Persons 2+ | 7.7 | 22,301,000 | 7.7 | 21,942,000 | ||
| Persons 18-34 | 2.2 | 1,483,000 | 3.2 | 2,129,000 | ||
| Persons 35-54 | 6.7 | 5,414,000 | 6.7 | 5,482,000 | ||
| Persons 55+ | 18.8 | 14,661,000 | 17.6 | 13,670,000 | ||
Networks Included:
Day 2 – ABC, CBS, CNBC, CNN, FOXNC, CRNT, MSNBC, NBC and PBS
Day 3 – 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 | Day 3-Sept 3 2008 | ||||||
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |||
| Persons 2+ |
No common coverage due to Hurricane Gustav |
7.3 | 21,528,000 | 12.9 | 37,244,000 | |||
2008 Networks Included
Day 2 - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Day 3 - ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Click here for a historical look at past Republican and Democratic conventions.
