TV Viewership Up Slightly For 2012 GOP Convention
By Pat Loeb
TAMPA, Fla. (CBS) -- With prime time coverage now on nine networks, the Republican National Convention is getting more viewers than four years ago.
Nielsen estimates that 22 million people watched the first night's telecast of the GOP convention on Tuesday (delayed one day by the passage of Isaac).
The convention is being aired on three more networks than carried the 2008 edition, and it's attracted about 800,000 more viewers -- a 0.4-percent ratings increase.
"I don't know about the entertainment value, but it's interesting, I'll give 'em that," said one man who had watched some of the proceedings.
Another man said he hasn't turned on the Republican convention in his home because, in his words, "I'm a union worker."
The convention's biggest audience by far is people over the age of 55 -- it gets nearly 19 percent of those TV viewers. But it gets just two percent of viewers between the ages of 18 and 24.
