Not 2008: Big Drop in Viewers for Day One of Dem Convention

Not 2008: Big Drop in Viewers for Day One of Dem Convention

It looks like the Democrats are losing popularity all the way around.

Day one of their "convention" TV viewers are down a whopping 24% from 2008 !!
(The RNC viewership was up 8% from 2008, conservatively speaking of course)

If that is any indication of how voters will react at the polls, well then it looks like a Romney Romp Nov 6th.

The headline speakers last night in Charlotte were a mayor nobody has heard of and First Lady Michelle Obama. Last night and this morning, the media are tripping over each other to heap praise on Mrs. Obama's speech, which was mostly a rehash of her speech in 2008, albeit with newly remembered money struggles. She gave a strong performance, but, unfortunately for the Democrats, not many people saw it. Overall, the speech attracted around 11 million viewers on the three broadcast networks. That's about 400,000 fewer viewers than watched Ann Romney's speech. But, the really bad news for Obama is the massive drop in viewers from 2008.

NBC won the coverage, as it did for the RNC last week. But, its viewership was down 24% from '08. For its RNC coverage on the first night, viewership was actually 8% higher than '08. CBS and ABC have even starker declines, dropping 45% and 38% respectively, compared to '08. Their coverage of the RNC was down also, but a more modest 25% and 38% from '08.

Obviously, people don't only view these events on the three broadcast networks. There is C-SPAN, and a number of cable news stations also carry the speeches. Still, the apples-to-apples comparison is striking. So, on the three broadcast networks, the RNC had more viewers. This, mind you, is before counting the viewers who watched on Fox News.

Not 2008: Big Drop in Viewers for Day One of Dem Convention

The Democrats are on a train heading for a collapsed tressel over a dried up riverbed

It's no big wonder, since people in general are sick and tired of hearing all the garbage

And to think....all they had to do was get some jobs back

As they say..."Too Little Too Late"

Thats too bad, I really dont wanna go to Iran.

But have Republicans gotten any energy?

Seems like it will just be a low turnout for both sides but Obama will still win.

Wait before this gets too crazy,
Got another source besides Britebart et al ?

I'd like to see numbers for the GOP convention. Cnn actually reported "Honey Boo Boo" actually had more viewers than the GOP convention. This is not shocking, bread and circus people. Furthermore, considering Obama in an incumbent there isn't going to be much action at the convention. People know exactly what they are getting so why would they need to watch it?

Originally posted by Iron7
But have Republicans gotten any energy?

Seems like it will just be a low turnout for both sides but Obama will still win.

Yes, if you judge the way the radio talk shows are doing. In 08 all they did was wine and complain, but this time it's like feeding on a freshly killed deer. There's energetic jubilation at the repeated fumbles and gaffs by the Obama team.

Then there are all my friends and neighbors who voted in droves last time shouting " Yes we can !". This time they either are voting Romney or have tuned out of it altogether.

Then there are venues such as this site, the ATS. Last time not even a discouraging word could be said against Obama. This time around there is open rebuke and free speech.

So the energy is in the air. I can feel a 320 Electoral vote win for Romney. Yes I can ! feel it.

both candidates have a less than 50% approval rating

yay 2 party system

Originally posted by Fromabove

Originally posted by Iron7
But have Republicans gotten any energy?

Seems like it will just be a low turnout for both sides but Obama will still win.

Yes, if you judge the way the radio talk shows are doing. In 08 all they did was wine and complain, but this time it's like feeding on a freshly killed deer. There's energetic jubilation at the repeated fumbles and gaffs by the Obama team.

Then there are all my friends and neighbors who voted in droves last time shouting " Yes we can !". This time they either are voting Romney or have tuned out of it altogether.

Then there are venues such as this site, the ATS. Last time not even a discouraging word could be said against Obama. This time around there is open rebuke and free speech.

So the energy is in the air. I can feel a 320 Electoral vote win for Romney. Yes I can ! feel it.

edit on 5-9-2012 by Fromabove because: (no reason given)

If Romney was somebody else maybe. As it is nobody is excited by him. I think the GOP knew this was lost cause and held back good candidates for 2016. The GOP convention was Romneys big chance to wow people and instead he was upstage by an old man yelling at a chair. Ryan who was suppose to bolster Romney and his flip flops and mistakes has ended up being worse than Romney. Honestly when I look at the polls with the electoral college post GOP convention it seems nearly impossible for Romney to come out on top. 2016 with Jed or Rubio it will be a different story. Romney was the best choice of a terrible primary group and that does not create excitement. The hard right turn will energize enough support from the middle to keep Romney from a win and it might not be enough to get the GOP base out which was the entire point.

reply to post by MrSpad


Well, say what you will. All I know is what I hear fro "former" Obama supporters and from all the other areas I described. It will be Romney this time around.

reply to post by antonia


Exactly. How does it compare?

What a lovely example of spin by the OP. It says a lot about what he thinks of the collective intelligence of ATS.

Oops you sited Brietbart again, no need to respond as I know you know that they are an utter garbage resource.

Originally posted by antonia
I'd like to see numbers for the GOP convention. Cnn actually reported "Honey Boo Boo" actually had more viewers than the GOP convention. This is not shocking, bread and circus people. Furthermore, considering Obama in an incumbent there isn't going to be much action at the convention. People know exactly what they are getting so why would they need to watch it?

Both parties have had a loss, Republicans had a slight loss of about 5% from 2008. Democrats had a huge loss on the major networks. They did have a gain on streaming and small networks, not sure why that was.
These are the 2012 numbers for viewerships on the networks.

RNC
2008 Total 23.1 Million.
2012 Total 22.3 Million total (19.2 million on the big 5)
Fox 6.9 million
NBC 4.8 million
CBS 3.1 million
ABC 2.9 million
CNN 1.5 Million
MSNBC 1.5 million
PBS 1.3 million
finance.yahoo.com...

DNC
2008 Total (cant find)
2012 Total 26.2 Million (17.1 million on the big 5)
Fox 2.3 million (NA)
NBC 5.3 million -24%
CBS 3.2 million -45%
ABC 2.5 million -36%
CNN 3.8 million -9%
MSNBC 4.1 million +100%
PBS 3.8 million (NA)

www.deadline.com... -americas-got-talent-down/

Yet we have articles like these.
TV Ratings: DNC Outpacing RNC as NBC Tops Broadcast Net Coverage
www.hollywoodreporter.com...

TV Viewership Strong on DNC's First Night
online.wsj.com...

I guess you need to spin it somehow.