The final night of the Democratic National Convention averaged 23.6 million viewers, its largest audience of the week, as Joe Biden accepted his party's nomination for president.
TV viewing of Biden's speech, delivered from Wilmington, Delaware, fell 21% short of the 29.8 million who watched Hillary Clinton's address when she was nominated in 2016.
MSNBC had the largest audience with 6.1 million viewers from 10 to 11:30 p.m. EDT, followed by CNN (5.5 million), ABC (2.97 million), Fox News (2.95 million), NBC (2.15 million). CBS (1.98 million), Univision (1 million), Telemundo (755,000) and CNN Espanol (36,000), according to Nielsen data.
PBS, Fox Business and Newsy also carried coverage. Nielsen will include viewers for those networks in an updated figure later Friday, which will boost the overall audience number.
While there is no official tally available, it's likely that more younger viewers watched the proceedings on streaming platforms such as Facebook and YouTube and the streaming channels offered by the networks. Usage of traditional TV among viewers under age 50 has declined substantially since 2016.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the look of the convention, which was originally scheduled to be held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Some portions did broadcast from the Wisconsin Center, but there were no live audiences. All of the major speeches were delivered from remote locations.
MSNBC had the largest audience for the week, a first for the NBCUniversal-owned channel in its 24 year history, averaging 5.8 million viewers over the four nights.
In recent years, CNN has been the most watched network for Democratic convention coverage, while the conservative-leaning Fox News Channel dominates during the Republicans' week. The GOP holds its 2020 convention, where it will renominate President Donald Trump, next week.
But MSNBC's courtship of progressive viewers in prime time likely made it a destination for devoted Democrats. The channel's two opinion hosts, Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid, were featured prominently alongside anchors Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace.
CNN was still the most-watched network among viewers 25 to 54, the audience advertisers seek most when they buy commercial time on news programming.
