Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Popular? Democrats Trump Republicans in First Night of Convention TV Ratings

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Nielsen ratings is reporting that last night was huge for the Democrats.

Their convention scored 20 million viewers over all networks including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and all the broadcast channels.

That’s higher than any of the first three nights of the Republican convention. The fourth night of the RNC scored 25 million. That could be eclipsed this Thursday.

Last night’s DNC was a lovefest, with one great speaker after another. Highlights included Hillary Clinton, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Jill Biden, and of course the powerful and emotional speech from Joe Biden.

The show ran from 10pm to 12:30am on the East Coast.

The Democrats didn’t stop in their accurate attacks on Trump and the GOP. But they did something the Republicans didn’t: they offered hope, a path forward, and used the word “joy” as much as possible.

Unlike the GOP, the Dems do not think we live in a ruined third world country where everything has gone to hell. They believe in the future. It was a reassuring night of TV about America.

Tonight comes Barack Obama, who should send the ratings soar.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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