https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...ewership-for-gop-convention-blew-away-the-dnc
Trump has been crowing that between television and online streaming the Republican National Convention outdrew the Democrats by 25 million viewers. Sounds good for him until you look at the numbers. For the GOP, 147 million screens were counted of which 26 million were televisions and 121 million were laptops and other devices. For Democrats the total was 122 million but with more TV and fewer online.
So, keeping in mind that 147 million is a greater number than half the adult population of the U.S., what accounts for the striking difference between the numbers of television and online viewers?
Answer: satellites.
Past conventions drew television audiences in the same general range as this year’s, allowing for increases over the years in number of TV sets in circulation. The dramatic (and pre-Internet) 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, for example, drew around 16 million households.
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insig...-tv-ratings-democratic-conventions-1960-2004/
And why would five times as many viewers choose their little computer screens over a television? They wouldn’t. But those curious about the freak shows of American politics in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and Australia had only one choice, and a majority tuned in for the biggest freak of them all, while the American audience favored Biden and company.
Trump has been crowing that between television and online streaming the Republican National Convention outdrew the Democrats by 25 million viewers. Sounds good for him until you look at the numbers. For the GOP, 147 million screens were counted of which 26 million were televisions and 121 million were laptops and other devices. For Democrats the total was 122 million but with more TV and fewer online.
So, keeping in mind that 147 million is a greater number than half the adult population of the U.S., what accounts for the striking difference between the numbers of television and online viewers?
Answer: satellites.
Past conventions drew television audiences in the same general range as this year’s, allowing for increases over the years in number of TV sets in circulation. The dramatic (and pre-Internet) 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, for example, drew around 16 million households.
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insig...-tv-ratings-democratic-conventions-1960-2004/
And why would five times as many viewers choose their little computer screens over a television? They wouldn’t. But those curious about the freak shows of American politics in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada and Australia had only one choice, and a majority tuned in for the biggest freak of them all, while the American audience favored Biden and company.

