Primetime Coverage on NBC Anchored by Lester Holt, Joined by Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd, Tops Broadcast Across the Board, Averaging 4.3 Million Total Viewers with a 1.5 A25-54 Rating
MSNBC Coverage Anchored by Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams with Chris Matthews Tops FOX News, ABC, and CBS Across the Board
PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 26, 2016) – More Americans turned to NBC News and MSNBC combined for coverage of the first night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention than any other broadcast or cable television network. According to Nielsen Media Research data, the two networks drew a combined total of 8.9 million total viewers from 10-11:30 p.m. ET, including a total of 3.1 million viewers in the key news demographic of A25-54.
The NBC News broadcast network coverage (10-11:25 p.m.) averaged 4.3 million total viewers, outperforming ABC by +186,000 (+5%) and CBS by +1.1 million (+34%). Among viewers A25-54, NBC News averaged 1.7 million viewers, leading ABC by +380,000 (+28%) and CBS by +679,000 (+64%). In A18-49, NBC averaged a 1.1 rating, beating ABC by +33% and CBS by +89%.
MSNBC topped FOX News, ABC, and CBS across the board during the 10-11:30 p.m. ET speeches, drawing an average of 4.6 million total viewers and 1.4 million viewers A25-54. MSNBC also beat FOX News across the board during full primetime coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET with 3.7 million total viewers and 1.1 million viewers A25-54.
Holt anchored NBC News’s primetime coverage of the Democratic National Convention, joined by Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd. The primetime hour featured an interview with Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders. NBC News correspondent Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell also contributed to the network’s primetime coverage. Holt will anchor live inside the convention hall through Thursday.
Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams anchored MSNBC’s coverage from New York, joined by Chris Matthews and the full team of NBC News and MSNBC correspondents and contributors in Philadelphia.
JULY 25, 2016
Broadcast Specials: 10-11:25 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 4.293 | 1.5 | 1.731 | 1.1 | 1.451 |
| CBS | 3.206 | 0.9 | 1.052 | 0.6 | 0.767 |
| ABC | 4.107 | 1.1 | 1.351 | 0.9 | 1.094 |
Cable Primetime: 10-11:30 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| MSNBC | 4.636 | 1.6 | 1.411 | 1.2 | 1.100 |
| CNN | 6.292 | 2.4 | 2.205 | 2.0 | 1.948 |
| FNC | 3.330 | 1.0 | 0.894 | 0.7 | 0.628 |
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For more information contact:
Jake Urbanski
NBC News
o: (212) 664-3211
c: (646) 823-2133
e: jake.urbanski@nbcuni.com
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ABOUT NBC NEWS
More Americans watch NBC News than any news organization in the world. NBC News is a global leader in news across all broadcast and digital platforms. Its leading and award-winning television news broadcasts include NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, TODAY, Meet the Press, and Dateline, as well as primetime specials and breaking news reports. The rapidly-growing NBC News Digital Group, along with the SiriusXM TODAY Show Radio channel, provide continuous content to consumers wherever they are, whenever they want it. NBC News also operates Peacock Productions, an award-winning in-house production company, and the NBC NewsChannel affiliate news service.
NBC News is part of the NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corporation. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit www.NBCUniversal.com.
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