Democratic convention second-night ratings far surpass Trump’s RNC following speeches from Obamas

During former president Barack Obama’s speech on Tuesday, viewership jumped above the night’s average, to reach 21.6 million

Viewership of the Democratic National Convention spiked on its second night and peaked at an average of 20.6 million viewers, up from 20 million on Monday, according to Nielsen.

As with Monday, the measurements were taken from 12 TV networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, Scripps News, CNN, CNNe, FOX Business, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation and PBS.

Tuesday’s convention featured speeches from Barack and Michelle Obama. During the former president’s address, according to Nielsen, viewership jumped above the night’s average, to reach 21.6 million.

The first night of the DNC averaged 20 million viewers across 13 networks, and surpassing the audience for the first three days of the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Former first lady Michelle Obama greets her husband, former president Barack Obama, on stage during night two of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Viewership of the DNC spiked during their speeches (REUTERS)

The first three days of the RNC reached 18.1 million, 14.8 million and 18 million viewers, respectively, according to Nielsen. Donald Trump headlined the final night of the convention, which averaged 25.4 million viewers and peaked with 28.4 million.

According to Michael Mulvihill, TV analyst and president of insights and analytics at FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, and Tubi, the DNC also had significantly more viewers percentage-wise.

DNC had 11.9 percent of sampled households watching in 44 major metro areas across seven networks on Tuesday, compared with the RNC’s 7.7 percent rating, a difference of over 50 percent, Mulvihill posted on X.

He pointed out that on night one, the DNC beat the RNC by 21 percent in the overnight figures, then 10 percent in the full nationals.

“Expect some narrowing of this gap when the whole country is in,” Mulvihill wrote.

Wednesday night’s schedule in Chicago will include speeches from former president Bill Clinton and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The headliner is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who will officially accept the Democratic nomination for vice president. Award-winning musicians Stevie Wonder and John Legend are among the performers.

The fourth and final night of the DNC will see Kamala Harris take the stage, accept the party’s nomination for president and officially close the convention.