Cable Networks Pull Partisan Eyeballs For Convention Coverage

By Christopher Zara | September 05 2012 5:12 PM

Despite contrasts in their political ideology, Democrats and Republicans have one thing in common this convention season: They're both preaching to the choir.

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Michelle Obama struck a cord at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) Tuesday night in Charlotte. The First Lady, or "FLOTUS," stood at the podium and shared a heartwarming story about her family, her husband's past, their shared values, and their dream to build a better country based on those values. The reaction from her convention speech helped DNC explode past the RNC in social spheres like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

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According to Nielsen, the left-leaning MSNBC (Nasdaq: CMCSA) was the clear ratings winner among cable news networks that covered the opening of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday. That's a decidedly different story from last week, when Fox News Channel (Nasdaq: NWS) led a clear victory over both MSNBC and CNN (NYSE: TWX) during coverage of the Republican National Convention.

MSNBC's Tuesday broadcast of the DNC, which aired from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., attracted 3.3 million viewers. CNN pulled in 3 million viewers, proving that centrists may lean liberal after all.

Fox News, which typically beats both networks on any given night, attracted just 2.5 million viewers on Tuesday. However, the right-of-center network scored the biggest convention numbers yet during last week's RNC, topping off at 7.2 million viewers on Tuesday, Aug. 28. On that same night, CNN pulled in a paltry 1.5 million viewers.

The most-watched hour during Tuesday's DNC broadcast was 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. when San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and first lady Michelle Obama gave speeches. During that hour, all three cable networks were eclipsed by NBC, which attracted 5 million viewers. MSNBC came in second, followed by CNN, CBS and ABC. Fox News finished dead last.

So far, Dems have overtaken Republicans in combined cable and broadcast viewers. During the peak 10 p.m. hour, the DNC attracted 21.9 million viewers compared the RNC's 20.5 million.

The ratings of both conventions agree with a wealth of media studies showing how consumers are attracted to news sources that align with their political viewpoints.