TV Ratings: DNC Opener With Michelle Obama Tops RNC Launch

ABC News lead the pack on night one with 4.2 million viewers. Getty Images

ABC News lead the pack on night one with 4.2 million viewers.

The Democrats have a high ratings bar to hit during the 2016 DNC. The party's last convention, a tight three days, outpaced the RNC by a significant margin. 

If early numbers are any indication, the DNC is at least off to a good start. Fast Affiliate ratings for the broadcast networks have 10.6 million tuning in during the shared 10 p.m. hour of primetime. That's up five-tenths from the first night of last week's Republican National Convention, when the GOP lured 10.1 million to broadcast. 

ABC News led the pack with 4.2 million viewers. NBC followed with 3.8 million, with CBS pulling another 2.6 million.  

All told, the first night of the 2012 DNC brought in 26.2 million viewers in the shared primetime hour of 10 p.m. That was the second-highest-rated night of the convention, which peaked two days later with President Obama re-accepting the nomination for president to a TV crowd of 35.7 million viewers. This year will play out a little differently, with the convention lasting four days. 

This time last week, early RNC numbers had 10.1 million tuning into the broadcast coverage of the opening night. That went on to gross 23 million viewers for the night across broadcast and cable — with a significant portion of the total audience coming from Fox News Channel and CNN. Details on cable viewership will arrive later.

Night one of the DNC suffered no shortage of star power. First Lady Michelle Obama, one-time candidate Bernie Sanders and party golden boy Cory Booker were among those who turned out to shill for Hillary Clinton. It follows a RNC that many called out for an uninspired roster of speakers. 

ABC also received a win in non-convention primetime coverage thanks to The Bachelorette, which led the night with a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49. American Ninja Warrior notched a 1.6 rating for NBC, down two-tenths from last week. So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation (0.7 adults) was flat for Fox. 

TV Ratings

Michael O'Connell