NBC Sweeps Primetime Coverage of the RNC and DNC among Broadcast Networks, Winning Every Night Across All Demos
MSNBC Coverage Tops FOX News, ABC, and CBS Across the Board for Every Night of the Democratic National Convention
PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 29, 2016) – More Americans turned to NBC News and MSNBC combined for coverage of the 2016 Democratic National Convention than any other broadcast or cable television network. According to Nielsen Media Research data, the two networks averaged 9.2 million total viewers during primetime coverage of the DNC speeches from July 25 – July 28, including an average of 3.1 million viewers in the key news demographic of A25-54.
NBC News’s coverage of the 2016 political conventions topped every broadcast network, across all demos. NBC averaged 4.6 million viewers during its eight nights of coverage (July 18 – 21, July 25 – 28), +31% more than ABC (+1.1 million) and +47% over CBS (+1.5 million). In the news demo, NBC averaged 1.7 million A54-54 viewers, leading ABC by +492,000 (+41%) and CBS by +711,000 (+72%).
On Thursday night, the NBC News broadcast network coverage (10-11:40 p.m.) averaged 4.5 million total viewers, outperforming ABC by +670,000 (+17%) and CBS by +864,000 (+24%). Among A25-54 viewers, NBC News averaged 1.7 million viewers, leading ABC by +325,000 (+24%) and CBS by +405,000 (+31%). In A18-49, NBC averaged a 1.1 rating, topping ABC by +21% and CBS by +30%.
MSNBC topped FOX News, ABC, and CBS across the board during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, drawing an average of 4.7 million total viewers and 1.4 million A25-54 viewers. On Thursday night during the 10-11:45 p.m. ET speeches, MSNBC averaged 5.3 million total viewers and 1.5 million viewers A25-54. MSNBC also beat FOX News across the board during full primetime coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET with 3.8 million total viewers and 1.1 million viewers A25-54.
JULY 25 – JULY 28, 2016:
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 4.520 | 1.4 | 1.696 | 1.1 | 1.344 |
| CBS | 3.171 | 0.9 | 1.046 | 0.6 | 0.782 |
| ABC | 3.779 | 1.1 | 1.295 | 0.8 | 1.036 |
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| MSNBC | 4.686 | 1.2 | 1.383 | 0.9 | 1.080 |
| CNN | 6.394 | 1.9 | 2.291 | 1.6 | 1.980 |
| FNC | 2.683 | 0.6 | 0.747 | 0.4 | 0.557 |
JULY 28, 2016
Broadcast Specials: 10-11:40 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 4.516 | 1.4 | 1.698 | 1.1 | 1.334 |
| CBS | 3.653 | 1.1 | 1.293 | 0.8 | 1.026 |
| ABC | 3.846 | 1.2 | 1.373 | 0.9 | 1.106 |
Cable Primetime: 10-11:45 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| MSNBC | 5.272 | 1.3 | 1.527 | 1.0 | 1.241 |
| CNN | 7.505 | 2.4 | 2.812 | 2.0 | 2.481 |
| FNC | 3.031 | 0.7 | 0.785 | 0.5 | 0.630 |
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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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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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