Democratic Convention ratings tepid
By Michele Greppi and Andrew KrukowskiPreliminary national television ratings data from Nielsen Media Research indicate that interest in the first night of the Democratic convention as covered by the three major broadcast networks was tepid, to say the least.
Article Continues… (Crain’s New York Business)
Don’t get me wrong, as a registered Republican who leans Libertarian (mmmmm, small government), I’d love to say this means nobody cares about the Democratic Party. Love to.
However, I simply can’t. For starters, this is a preliminary rating, and those often change once more information comes in. In addition, this article doesn’t yet contain cable ratings, which could significantly increase the numbers of viewers. That’s most likely the biggest problem with a boat-load of networks carrying the same event; data collection on viewership requires more math.
Second, even though most polls say the majority of people still get their information from television, the number that find their news online is slowly growing. Let’s face it, why should I sit through an hour or more of network coverage when I can get a summary online almost immediately after it happens?
Third, I suspect that most casual viewers/voters won’t tune in until Thursday. Why listen to a bunch of filler when Barack is the main event?
While I’d love to say “nobody cares about the Democratic Party,” truthfully, I’d much rather see both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions kick some Olympic booty when it comes to ratings. Why? Because that would mean people cared more about the welfare of others and the direction this country is headed than about trivial entertainment. That would be a great day, indeed!
