The closing of the Democratic National Convention drew a big audience Thursday — topping both the final night of the party’s gathering four years ago and that of the Republican convention in July.
Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the party’s nomination to top the Democratic ticket and oppose Republican nominee Donald Trump. Coverage of the Democrats’ closing night averaged 26.2 million viewers across 15 broadcast and cable networks, about 820,000 more people than the 25.38 million who watched the final night of the Republican National Convention.
Thursday’s total is up substantially over the first three days of the Democratic convention, which averaged 20.33 million viewers and was very consistent night to night: Monday averaged 20.03 million viewers, Tuesday brought in 20.78 million and Wednesday drew 20.18 million across broadcast and cable networks. Adding in Thursday’s total, the convention as a whole averaged 21.8 million viewers in primetime, a slight improvement the 2020 convention’s four-night average of 21.59 million viewers.
The DNC’s four-day average also topped the July Republican convention in TV viewers by a 14 percent margin; the RNC averaged 19.07 million viewers over four nights.
