According to Fox Sports’s president of Insights and Analytics, Vice President Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech drew 22% more viewers than former President Donald Trump’s speech.
Michael Mulvihill shared via social media that Harris’s speech, which started at 10:30 and ran to 11:15, saw a 15.0, while Trump’s speech in late July, which also started roughly at 10:30 and ran through to midnight, pulled a 12.3 number. Mulvihill appears to be referencing early Nielsen numbers, which are subject to slight change when final numbers are released later in the day.
UPDATE: New numbers have shown a much bigger number for Harris;
Just in from Nielsen: The final night of the DNC drew an average of 26.2 million viewers across 15 networks — roughly 6 million more than the three nights prior.
Viewership surged during Kamala Harris’ speech with 28.9 million viewers tuning in from 10:31pm to 11:11pm ET.
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) August 23, 2024
This comes in at roughly the same number of viewers Trump had during his speech, according to Variety:
The 2024 Republican National Convention hit its highest viewership on its final night, averaging 25.4 million viewers across networks on Thursday. Viewership peaked at 28.4 million from 10:45 to 11:00 p.m, on the early side of a 90-minute speech made by former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Mulvhill posted on X:
Overnight ratings for the *entire show* on Night Four of the conventions. Seven networks combined:
DNC – 14.3 (9-11:15p)
RNC – 12.2 (10p-12m)
Difference: 17%
— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) August 23, 2024
Mulvihill also shared how Harris’s speech compared to Trump’s in terms of viewers in major markets in multiple swing states:
How did Harris and Trump speech ratings compare in top swing state markets?
Philly: Harris +50%
Pittsburgh: Trump +2%
Detroit: Harris +36%
Milwaukee: Trump +10%
ATL: Harris +21%
PHX: Harris +3%
Charlotte: Harris +1%
Raleigh: Harris +31%
Greensboro: Trump +11%
Vegas: Trump +1%— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) August 23, 2024
“WEST PALM BEACH was the top market for Vice President Harris’s acceptance speech with a 20.2 rating,’ Mulvihill noted in a follow-up post, adding, “West Palm was also the top market for Donald Trump’s acceptance speech last month (19.9).’
West Palm Beach is, of course, the market that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
