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Republican Convention Bombs As Viewership Drops by 17 Million
The GOP’s Mitt makeover isn’t going over well with American television viewers. Compared to night two of the 2008 Republican convention, viewership is down by 17 million.
Paul Ryan is no Sarah Palin. The viewership for Paul Ryan’s speech was down across every network compared to what Sarah Palin averaged in 2008. NBC was down 3.5 million viewers. ABC was down three million viewers. CBS and MSNBC were down 2 million viewers each. CNN lost a whopping 5 million viewers compared to Palin’s 2008 speech. Even Fox News was down 1.5 million viewers. In total, only 20 million people tuned in for Paul Ryan compared to the 37 million who watched Sarah Palin.
Ryan’s ratings nosedive isn’t the Republican convention’s only problem. Only Fox News and ABC saw their viewership rise or stay the same from night one to night two. Fox News saw their viewership rise from 6.89 million on night one to 7.70 million on night two, while ABC has drawn to 2.86 million viewers on each night.
What really jumps out in the ratings data is how limited the appeal of this convention is. Fox News has led the ratings for all networks on both nights. If the Romney campaign was hoping to reach Independents with their convention, it isn’t working. Over one third of the total audience is coming from the Republican cheering section known as Fox News.
Ryan’s ratings collapse highlights his limited popularity. As you could tell by the reception in the convention hall, Paul Ryan is beloved by the right. His appeal though seems limited just to the right. Ryan and the Romney campaign did themselves no favors by having him give a speech that was loaded with falsehoods, while also being completely devoid of any hope, optimism, or vision for the future.
Republicans love nasty negative politics, but America doesn’t. Voters love optimism and vision, but Mitt Romney has not highlighted any of this during his convention. Instead the Republican Party has presented an angry gloom and doom fest where speaker after speaker tell us all how lousy everything is, and that it is all Barack Obama’s fault.
Since voters don’t like Mitt Romney, it seems the Republican Party has decided that it must terrify America into supporting him. That type of strategy makes for a depressing convention, and even worse, it’s bad television.
Paul Ryan’s speech was delivered like an oral book report by someone who was making up the book as he went along. It is no surprise that viewers aren’t tuning in to the Republican convention. This is convention that lacks warmth, charisma, and star power.
The Republicans were hoping to reinvent Mitt Romney, but they got was confirmation that America is just not into both of them.
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43 Responses to Republican Convention Bombs As Viewership Drops by 17 Million
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D. W. Skinner
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:49 pm
yeah… forty year old reruns of Gunsmoke were more exciting.
Tony Smith
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
Although I hate the Repubs, this year’s election isn’t nearly as electrifying as 2008. I suspect the Dem ratings will drop as well.
Dale S
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 6:23 pm
You can’t make or sell policy by hours of bashing Obama.
Linda Pollack Mercer, M.D.
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
I would advise you not bet on that, Tony.
holly homan
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:24 pm
This is convention that lacks warmth, charisma, and star power.
This says it all. Paul Ryan is a sociopath. Mittens is not only a sociopath, I’m sure he has Asperger, which is on the atuism spectrum. I work with autistic students and have had for many years. I have also studied sociopths extensively. Romney suffers from dual disabilities. His inability to connect with people on a personal level, his inability to understand what humor and what a joke is, are just two symptoms of people who have autism.
HOBBS77
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
BillClinton and company will blow the RNC away….and Obama will destroy Romney in the debates…
J. Doyle
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s sick of the “We Hate Obama, but We Don’t Have a Plan, so We’ll Just Bash Democrats in General, and Obama in Detail.” rhetoric. Conventions are supposed to be uplifting, this one is about hate and fear mongering.
ibwilliamwsi
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Dale, there’s a sucker born every minute, and they’re buying the bashing. All bitchin’ aside, we have to get out the vote.
Obama/Biden 2012
Michael Case
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
I was actually into my box set of “Route 66″ episodes…
Chuck
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
can you imagine what we could have done to improve our country with all the money that has been wasted on these guys?
Carrie
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
I tried to watch but it’s all the same whining no hope no policy just hate
Dominique
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
I suspect viewership for the Democrat convention will be down, too.
We’re all pretty much sick of the lying stinking thieves in Washington, D.C… both the ReThugLicans and the DontMocrats.
Let ALL the candidates get TV time; allow ALL candidates to participate in the debate (NO MATTER WHAT); let U.S. citizens here EVERYBODY.
See how long the 2 party system lasts.
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
I am hoping that news of Ryans lying last night will kindle interest in the Dems convention. But you could very well be right
Robert Medley
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
I love listening to the Republicans try and tell themselves this is going to be there election. The only reason you even had anyone voting or coming out during the debates was so Mitt Romney would not be named the candidate. The only reason they will get any majority is because of the messed up practices there trying to pass off as fair by limiting voters with set voting times per party and changing registration times with limited locations in certain states. Of course the ROMNEY/RYAN ticket would not have enough if they made it illegal for democrats to vote in the states trying to pull this.
rjwalker
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
SO far the convention is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
On a muggy day.
In the dark.
dorothy Holtz
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
A bottle of bourbon helps–got to know what the Republicants are spouting.
Elle
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:38 pm
Well, the good news is that Honey Boo Boo is more popular than the GOP. Or bad. Oh wait. Never mind.
oldladyDem
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
Holly Homan. I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t know what. I thought it was early stages of dementia. What a mess, their candidates are both unfit. I believe one of the commentators was trying to tell us 2 nights ago. He’s always disengaged and his speech is flat and uninspiring. Ann looks more worried instead of proud.
BlueSkyCO
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 1:24 am
I agree. With elections being bought and sold, voters being disenfranchised, voting machines being rigged, and all the rest of it … I wish we were ready for a King and Queen. And, I’d pick President and Mrs. Obama. And, so would the WORLD at large!
Tim the Slipperman
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 1:31 am
I hope you’re wrong about Romney being on the autistic spectrum. Not only that, but given how he wants to take away what little help and support people on the autistic spectrum do get, it just wouldn’t make any sense to me. I happen to have Asperger’s myself, and believe that if Romney does become President, that people with autism will lose the support they’ve been previously getting and will also see even more oppression and apathy from the government – and American society in general – than they have before. If one has autism or a child with autism and wants to maintain or improve their support system (health care, disability benefits, etc), they would be better off voting for Obama. Or even a third-party or write-in candidate, if they happen to dislike Obama.
Gray
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 1:43 am
Tony,
Think about it for a minute. Scratch that….Try and think for a minute…Mitt Romney 0% of the African American Vote. Down 50 points with Hispanic Voters, Down 30 plus points with women…and if dogs could vote, he’d have trouble there too.
And now, as if that weren’t sad enough, he is down even with Fox Viewers?
You said you would be that the Democratic Convention would be similar…remember what I said earlier about trying to think…..how much do you want to bet on that again?
W.R.
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 2:56 am
WOW, HMMM SET VOTING TIMES IS UNFAIR? WHY DON’T WE TALK ABOUT… HMMM IF YOU DONT NEED AN ID TO VOTE, ALL THE ILLEGALS CAN VOTE FOR OBAMA SO THEY CAN GET WORK PERMITS, AND WELFARE…. SOMETHING AMERICA CAN NOT AFFORD! LITERALLY.. GETTING AN ID DOES NOT INFRINGE ON ANY OF THE POOR.. YOU CAN GO TO YOUR LOCAL TOWN CLERK AND GET A DAMNED ID FOR FREE!!BUT THAT SEEMS TO BE HIS STRATEGY TO GET VOTES THIS YEAR. LOTS AND LOTS OF ILLEGALS… AND THEIR FAMILIES….
Robert MedleyReply
August 30th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
I love listening to the Republicans try and tell themselves this is going to be there election. The only reason you even had anyone voting or coming out during the debates was so Mitt Romney would not be named the candidate. The only reason they will get any majority is because of the messed up practices there trying to pass off as fair by limiting voters with set voting times per party and changing registration times with limited locations in certain states. Of course the ROMNEY/RYAN ticket would not have enough if they made it illegal for democrats to vote in the states trying to pull this
TALK ABOUT FEAR MONGERING… WOW SO SAD RUMORS LIKE THIS HAVE TO BE THROWN IN THE MIX TO GET PEOPLE RUNNING SCARED AND VOTING FOR DIMMY AGAIN…
Tim the SlippermanReply
August 31st, 2012 at 1:31 am
I hope you’re wrong about Romney being on the autistic spectrum. Not only that, but given how he wants to take away what little help and support people on the autistic spectrum do get, it just wouldn’t make any sense to me. I happen to have Asperger’s myself, and believe that if Romney does become President, that people with autism will lose the support they’ve been previously getting and will also see even more oppression and apathy from the government – and American society in general – than they have before. If one has autism or a child with autism and wants to maintain or improve their support system (health care, disability benefits, etc), they would be better…
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 7:07 pm
The disparate and adverse effect that the voter ID laws have on the poor and on racial minorities is a prima facie argument that their imposition must be a response to an overwhelming problem with vote verification. In instance after instance after instance, the advocates of more stringent voter ID laws have failed to show that there is a problem in this country with endemic vote fraud. This is the reason that most such laws have been struck down in court.
But striking down voter ID laws in court is the wrong approach. There is nothing inherently wrong with demanding that voters identify themselves with spedified documents.
The Democratic Party and its allies should take the push toward voter ID as a challenge for voter enrollment and orgamization. We should deliver so many voters to the polls on November sixth that all the battleground states go definitively Democratic and re-elect Obama-Biden by a large margin.
KatzKids
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 6:32 am
Chris Mathews was interviewing some of the attendees & a couple were brainless blonde beauties, no doubt vying for a Fox job. They LOVED Romney & his speech, but couldn’t answer anything specific about what they loved. (surprise) Others spoke the GOPTP talking points but were visibly down in the dumps. One couple thought the whole convention and their race baiting hate speech was beyond disgusting and inappropriate. No votes for R&R there.
Here’s hoping even more of Republicans attending the convention shared the disgust. I sure haven’t seen much excitement on the faces of the participants, especially compared to last year’s convention.
Sam
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 8:35 am
Our convention will be all the way lively, and positive. Dems know how to party. And Dems deliver optimism and hope to the people.
Sam
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 8:51 am
You are spot on! Our convention will be electric.
Sam
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 9:00 am
Shiva, Dominique is not right. Our Dem convention will be electric. We Dems inspire and give hope. The Repubs are just the opposite.
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Sam, I hope you are right, I have my ideas of what the Dems should present to electrify and inspire the nation.
Hopefully, the Dems will use a lot of video and personal testimonials to how their policies have kept jobs in Anerica, brought jobs to our communities and aided and assisted people in hard times.
One would hope the Dems will concentrate on the service that government provides for us, from soldiers, sialor, airmen and marines overseas defending us to teachers working with kids of all levels of ability.
One would hope that the Democratic Convention will feature the mayors, governors, state legislators and others who make government work.
One would hope that instead of delivering applause lines and acting like big kahunnas, Vice President Biden and President Obama will remind us of the reasons we elected them to serve and offer us their programs and visions for our shared future.
Sam
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 9:06 am
””One couple thought the whole convention and their race baiting hate speech was beyond disgusting and inappropriate.”’
To KatzKids, This is what the Repubs did in 2008, remember Palin’s hateful racist speech.
Alex
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 12:04 pm
First I’d like to compliment all who commented on this page. This is one of the VERY few sites I’ve seen where vulgar ranting at one another, or the candidates, did not rule the day. CONGRATS on this display of intelligence and, wait for it … RESPECT.
Second, what I want to see, what we all NEED to see, is some SERIOUS dialogs and debating on the key ISSUES, period. Whether folks are ready to hear it, or not is irrelevant. Facts, figures and a series of plans (good or bad) need to be presented. This is what all AMERICANS should be demanding. This is what the media should be promoting (if all they want is better viewership).
Meanwhile, we have what I’ve started calling, “Fool’s Rule #1 — Blame the one for the follies of many, leaving the Fool responsible for nothing, and capable of even less.”
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:52 pm
I would like to second Alex’s sentiment and send out my warm note of appreciation to all those who keep the tone of this publication so high minded and serious. Thanks to all.
In passing, I would also like to note the excellent job Mrs. Romney did for her husband and for the GOP down ticket candidates.
In her speech, Mrs. Romney was talking to the Mom’s who home school or who volunteer as class mothers for their kids.
In very many instances, these women are highly educated, and have had successful professional jobs. They gave up these jobs to take care of their kids, their husbands and their homes. They work hard and receive no monetary pay.
Stay at home Moms rewards are a sense of accomplishment, love and appreciation. Mrs. Romney has more authority and validity than Mrs. Obama, a lawyer, or Mrs. Biden, a college professor, in speaking to stay at home moms, a very numerous, energetic and loyal group.
Governor Romney’s respectful and appreciative approach and embrace of his wife after speech was pitch perfect.
Mrs. Romney delivered one of the few constructive and uplifting addresses of the GOP 2012 Convention, and protected and expanded the GOP base. Her performance is probably the biggest factor in the post convention bounce the GOP received.
Don
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Only watched RNC for a few minutes’ Im looking forward to the real convention comeing up this week. The one with prefessionals that don’t mock people and throw peanuts at people.
Kimbutgar
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 2:30 pm
I have an autistic son who is turning 20 and I am so scared for his future if rmoney wins and the repugs take both houses. Paul Ryan’s hero Ayn Rand felt that people with disabilities are bottom feeders and Eugenics is the solution. These people and the ugly GOP supporters scare me.
SueinCA
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Paul Ryan’s speech was delivered like an oral book report by someone who was making up the book as he went along.
My son did this one time. I guess he thought I would not read the book. He stayed up until 11 that night to re-write his report.
Too bad republicans don’t have the same concern as I did with falsehoods about an astronaut – Ronald McNair.
Bob Zimmerman
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 8:05 pm
John McCain was a war hero and still had some of his “maverick” credentials, whereas Romney comes across as just another corporate CEO. Palin was a surprise because nobody knew her and she was a woman, and she came out of nowhere literally. Ryan is overated by the political wonks and of course that is one of the flaws of our political reporting.Also Ryan comes from the House which has the lowest favoribility ratings in history. Somehow he is identified as a deficit hawk when nothing could be further from the truth. The 2008 conventions also benefited immensly from the star power of Barack Obama whose star was bright enough to even illuminate the Republican convention.
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:43 pm
Ryan appears to have very strong appeal with the TEA Party and is acceptable to the GOP establishment, too.
Romney was balancing the GOP ticket to assure that the main factions of the party are well represented.
Romney did his job in nominating Ryan and Ryan appears to have done his job in motivating the TEA Party to support the 2012 GOP ticket.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:47 pm
It just proves that the tea thugs want the DEMS to fix the deficits while they support the ones who created them.
Inez
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 11:15 pm
I couldn’tbear to listen to the distortions of the truth by so called leaders. Maybe the NATION should require public lie detector tests for politicians aspiring to become country leaders, ie President and Vice President! What a debacle with Clint, hair in disaray mumbling some stupid questions to the empty chair( empty suit). And his,Any adult knows what that meant of the. crude comment, “I couldn’t tell him to do that to himself.”. Shame on him and the horse he rode away on. OH< NO that was the elephant in the room! I did enjoy Rachel Maddox and guests after the conviction.
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:40 pm
Clint Eastwood’s monologue was a model of how far from fairness and equity the GOP has gone on racial issues.
The GOP and conservatives, saw only what was obvious, a has been star talking to an empty chair.
Many literate people saw Harry Callahan adressing Ralph Elison’s Invisble Man.
The biggest difficulty with the GOP remains their utter lack of imagination and the concomitant inability to comprehend the insults they inflict with their self-righteousness.
bobb dobbs
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 10:42 am
An honest reporter would have noted that 2008 was anomalously high, and that the 2012 viewership was large in comparison to previous conventions. But then liberal biased reporters and the truth are usually strangers.
Shiva (Moderator)
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 10:49 am
Reminds one of Romney and Ryan doesnt it?
Blame Honey Boo Boo
“Mitt Romney and company couldn’t beat the allure” of little Honey Boo Boo, says Sheila Marikar at ABC News. The sassy former Toddlers & Tiaras star on TLC’s controversial new reality show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo trounced all comers, pulling in the biggest audience on cable Wednesday night. Honey Boo Boo drew 2.9 million viewers at 10 p.m. Fox News, which had the biggest convention audience, trailed far behind with 1.2 million adults watching.
But then again you have no idea what you are talking about
blog.nielsen.com/nielsenw...
An estimated 30.3 million people watched the fourth and final night of the 2012 Republican National Convention on Thursday, August 30. [...]
In 2008, more than 38.9 million people watched the comparable closing night of the RNC when John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination— about 8.6 million more people than last night’s viewership.( no palin that night)
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:36 pm
Bobb. before accusing someone of lying due to their political slant, you might want to take a look at your own methodology.
It appears that the 2008 conventions were not anomalously highly attended as you claim, but that they continued the trend toward lower levels of participation, attendance and viewership that has overcome the 2012 convention.
Is one really to believe that 2008 was a more riveting policitcal year than 1960, 1968, 1972?
Even “normal” years like 1984, 1992 and 2004 had more compelling issues and infinitely more varied and interesting political personalities thatn the ones campaigning this year.
All of those politcal conventions enjoyed bigger partiticipation in terms of the proportion of the people attending and following their proceedings than 2008.
Robert Chapman
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 6:14 pm
As much as I would like to ascribe the drop-off in the GOP convention ratings to lack of interest and motivation on the part of electorate, I think it would be dangerous to do so.
Thare are other variables to consider in developing a hypothesis on what, instead of lack of interest changed Americans’ TV viewing habits regarding the 2012 GOP convention.
The biggest is that fewer and fewer people get their news and information through live broadcast TV coverage. Even NFL fans more and more are eschewing watching the live game broadcasts and are opting to watch the highlights reels that come out on Sunday and Thursday evenings and which are available through the internet on phones and PCs at any time.
The lower viewership of the GOP proceedings might be just another manifestation of Americans’ ability to view the particular footage that interests them at times of their own choosing.
In a similar vein, the public might no longer view the convention as a matter of such importance. In an age when people can watch candidates’ daily and see their performances at later times, and have those performances parsed on a 24 hour cycle, the idea of staying up late on a week night to watch a political speech may have lost some of its attraction.
Another factor is the increasingly scripted nature of the conventions. Like other big award shows, the national political conventions are highly scripted and hence highly predictable. There is little to be gained from sitting in the living room and wondering whether, in fact, the balloons are going to drop.
The conventions mght consider asking that one network only cover the different nights of their conventions and then work with each to devise formats, themes and presentations that would attract higher audience numbers.