CNN leads in ratings of convention coverage
CNN was also claiming a milestone in the network's history, beating ABC and CBS in head-to-head competition and running in stride with NBC on Wednesday. In nearly three decades, CNN has never beat all three broadcast networks in viewership when competing directly.
An estimated 24 million people watched the convention Wednesday between 10 to 11 p.m. on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, BET and TV One, according to Nielsen Media Research. Viewership on Tuesday, when Clinton spoke, was just under 26 million.
Those numbers don't include commercial-free PBS, which estimates it had 3 million convention viewers on Wednesday, or C-SPAN.
The third day of the 2004 convention, where John Kerry was nominated, had nearly 18 million viewers. Day two that year, which was not shown by the broadcasters, had 5.9 million.
This year on Wednesday, CNN had 5.38 million viewers from 10 to 11 p.m. ET, while NBC had 5.36 million, ABC had 3.48 million, CBS had 3.46 million, Fox had 2.7 million and MSNBC had 2.3 million, Nielsen said.
Recent comments
We'll see if the same media outlets give the same amount of time…
Equal time | Aug. 29, 2008 at 1:37 a.m.
