Primetime Coverage on NBC Tops Broadcast Across the Board, Beating Combined Ratings of ABC and CBS in A18-49
NBC is Only Broadcast Network to Grow from 2012 DNC and Day One of 2016 DNC among Total Viewers and A25-54
MSNBC Coverage Tops FOX News, ABC, and CBS Across the Board
PHILADELPHIA, PA (July 27, 2016) – More Americans turned to NBC News and MSNBC combined for coverage of the second 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 9.1 million total viewers from 10-11:15 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 (10-11:15 p.m.) averaged 5.3 million total viewers, outperforming ABC by +1.8 million (+52%) and CBS by +2.3 million (+79%). Among A25-54 viewers, NBC News averaged 1.9 million viewers, leading ABC by +826,000 (+75%) and CBS by +1 million (+117%). In A18-49, NBC averaged a 1.2 rating, beating the combined ratings of ABC (0.5) and CBS (0.7).
NBC was the only broadcast network to grow from day one of the 2016 DNC in total viewers (+23%, +1 million) and A25-54 (+11%, +193,000). It was also the only network to grow from the Tuesday of the 2012 DNC in total viewers (+6%) and A25-54 (+0.5%).
MSNBC topped FOX News, ABC, and CBS across the board during the 10-11:15 p.m. ET speeches, drawing an average of 3.8 million total viewers and 1.2 million viewers A25-54. MSNBC also beat FOX News across the board during full primetime coverage from 8-11 p.m. ET with 3.2 million total viewers and 918,000 million viewers A25-54.
Holt anchored NBC News’s primetime coverage of the Democratic National Convention, joined by Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd. NBC News correspondents Tom Brokaw, Hallie Jackson, Jacob Soboroff and Kristen Welker 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 26, 2016
Broadcast Specials: 10-11:15 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| NBC | 5.280 | 1.6 | 1.924 | 1.2 | 1.528 |
| CBS | 2,947 | 0.8 | 0.887 | 0.5 | 0.599 |
| ABC | 3.463 | 0.9 | 1.098 | 0.7 | 0.843 |
Cable Primetime: 10-11:15 p.m. ET
| Total Viewers | A25-54 Rating | A25-54 Viewers | A18-49 Rating | A18-49 Viewers | |
| MSNBC | 3.834 | 1.0 | 1.170 | 0.7 | 0.873 |
| CNN | 5.929 | 1.7 | 2.051 | 1.3 | 1.682 |
| FNC | 2.851 | 0.5 | 0.634 | 0.4 | 0.450 |
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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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