Television viewership for Monday’s opening night of the virtual Democratic National Convention was down nearly 30 percent compared to four years ago.
Preliminary figures from Nielsen Media Research found that 18.6 million Americans tuned in, though the Biden campaign said digital views were up compared to 2016, when fewer than 26 million watched.
MSNBC drew the biggest TV audience of the cable and broadcast networks, with 5.096 million viewers tuning in from 10 p.m. to 11:15 pm ET. CNN was second with 4.777 million viewers, followed by ABC with 2.442 million, NBC with 2.282 million, Fox News with 2.099 million and CBS with 1.985 million.
The convention’s programming on Monday began at 9 p.m. ET, with the same start time slated for the three remaining nights.
TJ Ducklo, national press secretary for the Biden campaign, tweeted that digital views were up from 2016 and that the campaign is “producing a digital convention, and people are watching.”
Monday’s events were hosted by “Desperate Housewives” star Eva Longoria, with former first lady Michelle Obama giving the final speech of the evening.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head,” Obama said in her pretaped remarks, which were recorded before presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden named Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate on Aug. 10.
President Trump responded on social media, calling Obama’s speech “divisive.”
“She was over her head, and frankly she should’ve made the speech live, which she didn’t do,” Trump said during a White House event commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.
The virtual format was panned by some on both the left and the right, with former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson comparing the event to “binge watching a Marriott commercial.”
Former President Clinton, Jill Biden and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are slated to speak on Tuesday night.