By Helen Coster
(Reuters) – A total of 15.7 million people watched the third night of the mostly virtual Republican National Convention, according to early Nielsen Media Research, fewer than the 21.4 million viewers who watched the third night of the Democratic National Convention, according to comparable early numbers.
The 15.7 million RNC number reflects the audience across six TV networks between 10 p.m EDT and 11:15 p.m. EDT. It does not include online and streaming viewers. A total of 22.8 million people watched the third night of the virtual Democratic National Convention on 10 U.S. TV networks on Aug. 19. A comparable figure for the RNC is expected later on Thursday.
Fox News had the biggest audience for all three nights of this week’s convention, with Democrats beating Republicans in first-night TV ratings, and Republicans narrowly beating Democrats on the second night.
On Wednesday, RNC speakers including White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany spoke of President Donald Trump’s support for women – part of a campaign to portray him as more caring and supportive than his actions, words and tweets have led many to believe.
Vice President Mike Pence and others emphasized the night’s “law and order” theme, with Pence repeating the unfounded charge that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden supports liberal activist calls to “defund” the police.
(Reporting by Helen Coster, Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
