Former Vice President Joe Biden’s Democratic convention speech Thursday night failed to garner the high ratings Democrats hoped for, despite the fact that more Americans are at home and cable news enjoys its highest viewership in years.
According to The Hill’s media reporter Joe Concha, less than 22 million people tuned in, marking a more than 20 percent decrease from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech four years ago and a nearly 40 percent decline from then-businessman Donald Trump’s.
And before you cite cord-cutting, please know that the cable news networks are all enjoying their highest-rated years on record.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) August 21, 2020
Biden’s low ratings already come as the DNC’s virtual convention struggled to attract viewership. Night two of the online quadrennial event, which is the hallmark of the presidential campaign season, suffered a 48 percent drop in viewership from the same night in 2016. Instead, more Americans were watching “America’s Got Talent” on NBC.
Tuesday’s prime time power-player lineup included former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Democratic freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Republicans will hold their virtual convention online next week.
