Nielsen: 26.2 Million Viewers Tuned In to Final Night of Democratic National Convention

The four-day event in Chicago drew audiences of at least 20 million every day, with celebrities such as Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey taking the stage, according to event averages calculated by Nielsen.

On Thursday, as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech, that average rose to 28.9 million, Nielsen said in a Friday press release.

By comparison, the final night of the Republican National Convention drew an average audience of 25.4 million viewers, Nielsen data shows.

Convention viewership has been declining over recent decades, but experts anticipated a small bump for this year's convention due to the tumultuous election cycle.

A special guest at the DNC? These wrong answers (only) were far more entertaining

Looking Back at Previous RNC and DNC Ratings

For convention audience data, Nielsen measures the percentage of television-owning households that tuned in. The Nielsen data captured audience from 15 television networks for Thursday night.

The household ratings for the fourth and final night of the 2024 Democratic convention were 15.2, Nielsen's release stated.

Here are the day-by-day Nielsen household ratings for recent conventions:

2024 DNC

• 2024 DNC Day 4 - 15.2
• 2024 DNC Day 3 - 11.9
• 2024 DNC Day 2 - 12.5
• 2024 DNC Day 1 - 12.0

2024 RNC

• 2024 RNC Day 4 - 14.3
• 2024 RNC Day 3 - 10.6
• 2024 RNC Day 2 - 8.9
• 2024 RNC Day 1 - 10.6

2020 DNC

• 2020 DNC Day 4 - 15.6
• 2020 DNC Day 3 - 14.6
• 2020 DNC Day 2 - 12.6
• 2020 DNC Day 1 - 12.7

2020 RNC

• 2020 RNC Day 4 - 14.7
• 2020 RNC Day 3 - 11.0
• 2020 RNC Day 2 - 12.2
• 2020 RNC Day 1 - 10.7

Highlights from the Democratic National Convention

Harris formally accepted the party's nomination in her acceptance speech that capped off the convention. During her remarks, she shared the story of her working class upbringing, warned about a second Trump presidency, and promised to fight for all Americans.

Rumors erupted over a possible surprise guest Thursday night, but it wasn't Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, as many had hoped. One surprise addition to the convention lineup was Oprah Winfrey, who endorsed Harris in an rousing speech Wednesday.

Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn, co-stars in Shonda Rhimes' political drama "Scandal," made a surprise on-stage reunion. Pink, The Chicks, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend all performed on stage.

Michelle Obama delivered one of the most quoted speeches of the convention, urging the audience to "do something."