More than 18 million people tuned into the first night of the RNC in Milwaukee, Nielsen says

More than 18 million viewers turned on their television to watch the first night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, according to Nielsen, a company that measures media audiences.

That’s higher than viewership on Day 1 of the 2020 convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, which was about 12 million, Nielsen said in a Tuesday release. These numbers don’t include people streaming the convention online.

TV coverage changed the nature of political conventions, USA TODAY has reported , making them more choreographed and strategic. In turn, viewership has dropped as audiences have started to feel like they know what to expect when they tune in. In 2020, for example, 23.8 million Americans watched broadcasts of the Republican convention, according to Nielsen, compared to 32.2 million in 2016.

Viewership is typically highest on the last day of the convention.

Madeline Heim is a Report for America corps reporter who writes about environmental issues in the Mississippi River watershed and across Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: More than 18 million people tuned into the first night of the RNC in Milwaukee, Nielsen says