Joe Biden accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president, pledges to unite and protect America
Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at night four of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Roughly 21.7 million people tuned in to watch Joe Biden accept the Democratic presidential nomination across six networks on Thursday night, down from the viewership for Hillary Clinton’s address four years ago.
When Clinton gave her speech in 2016, 27.8 million people tuned in across the same six networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, according to Variety.
WASHINGTON POST CRITIC CALLS DEM CONVENTION 'AWARD-WORTHY TELEVISION'
The numbers will cause speculation about whether Democratic National Convention viewership coincides with voter enthusiasm, as Biden attracted a smaller audience than Clinton.
“Media Buzz” anchor Howard Kurtz said the Democratic National Convention was “drained of any drama” because it was held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Also, despite the fact that 21 million watched... most Americans are being inundated with coverage and clips of the Biden speech, the Obama speech and so forth. Mostly positive and can tend to shape opinion,” Kurtz said Friday on “Bill Hemmer Reports”
With the rise of cord-cutting and viewing live events on mobile devices, the two Democratic acceptance speech audiences could have been closer than the numbers appear. Either way, progressive journalist Jordan Chariton, who covered ratings for TVNewser earlier in his career, doesn’t believe the comparison is far.
“I think it’s apples to oranges,” Chariton told Fox News. “Less people are going to watch a virtual convention.”
Chariton also predicted next week’s Republican National Convention would see a drop compared to 2016.
“We’re in an economic disaster and many people are trying to figure out how to avoid eviction, rather than watching a political pageant show,” Chariton said.
DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall agreed that the slight decline shouldn't come as a surprise, but he feels it could be a sign that the left isn’t particularly excited about Biden.
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“The Biden camp points to viewer increases in online platforms, which is surely noteworthy in this era. Nonetheless, the soft television viewership could be concerning to the Democrat establishment as a reflection of low enthusiasm for Biden,” McCall told Fox News, noting that polling has already shown that Biden supporters “aren't really driven by support for Biden as much as by opposition to Trump” so the theory is probably moot.
“Ultimately ... the TV ratings for the DNC convention should have little impact on what happens in November,” McCall said.
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