MSNBC Edges CNN With Most Viewers for Monday's Democratic National Convention

MSNBC won during the one hour of Monday night’s Democratic National Convention that all three major cable news networks took the events live, according to Nielsen Media Research.

During the 10 p.m. ET hour into 11:15 p.m., MSNBC brought in an average of over 5 million total viewers, of whom 1,008,000 were in the advertiser-coveted age demographic of 25 to 54. CNN was next in total viewers with 4.7 million but won in the key demo with 1,496,000. During that time, Fox News took in slightly over 2 million total average viewers. Of those, 438,000 were in the demo.

MSNBC’s win came after it took second place last time around.

Also Read: 5 Most Memorable Moments on DNC Night 1, From George Floyd's Family to Michelle Obama

CNN topped primetime during the first night of the DNC in 2016, growing 70 percent over its comparable 2012 figures averaging 5,120,000 total viewers from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET that year. That was 37 percent higher than MSNBC’s 3,749,000 and Fox News Channel’s 3,731,000 that year. It is noteworthy that those numbers were from three-hour coverage spans while the 2020 ratings are a single hour of competitive airtime.

The 2020 convention — held remotely due to the coronavirus — was shown on MSNBC and CNN from 9 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. while Fox News took it from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m., making that final hour the most competitive for the big three. Reaction to the first night’s speakers was covered by commentators and correspondents across all three networks. The networks plan to keep their respective schedules through the remaining three nights.

During the two hours when only CNN and MSNBC showed the first night of speeches and performances, CNN averaged 4,713,000 total viewers, with 1,451,000 in the demo. MSNBC averaged more total average viewers — 5,010,000 — but fell behind CNN in demo viewers with 991,000.

Also Read: Trump Falsely Accuses Barack Obama of 'Treason' After Michelle Obama Convention Takedown

The numbers for the competitive hour of DNC coverage this year are noteworthy when considering the day’s entire average: Fox News, far behind during DNC coverage, still won the total day in viewers, averaging 1.8 million, of whom 327,000 were between 25 and 54. CNN was in last place for total average viewers with 1,451,000, but first place in the demo with 390,000. MSNBC averaged 1.6 million through the day while bringing in an average of 286,000 demo viewers.

The first night of the event spawned a number of viral and noteworthy moments, from former Ohio governor John Kasich speaking from a literal “crossroads” for visual effect to former first lady Michelle Obama taking on President Donald Trump directly in a withering speech.

George Floyd’s family also spoke and there were tributes to Americans who have died from COVID-19 amid the ongoing pandemic crisis.

Trump lashed out at both Kasich and the former first lady in Tuesday morning tweets.

All the Broadway Shows Killed (and Postponed) Due to Coronavirus Shutdown

When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed Broadway theaters on March 12, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York theater scene was heating up ahead of the Tony Awards -- with 31 shows playing and another eight scheduled to begin performances by mid-April. Now the theaters will remain dark until at least September -- and the Tony Awards have been postponed indefinitely. But the uncertainty of when theaters (and Broadway-bound tourists) might return has forced some producers to close shows early -- or push new productions to sometime in the future.
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Closed: "Hangmen"

Martin McDonagh’s new comedy, starring Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") and Mark Addy ("Game of Thrones"), announced March 20 it would not reopen after playing 13 preview performances ahead of an expected March 19 official opening.
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Closed: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

The revival of Edward Albee's classic drama, starring Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Everett, had played just nine preview performances before Broadway went dark. With the scheduled April 9 official opening off the table, producers decided to close the show on March 21.
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Postponed: "Flying Over Sunset"

The new musical by composer Tom Kitt ("Next to Normal," pictured), lyricist Michael Korie ("Grey Gardens") and book writer James Lapine ("Into the Woods") was scheduled to begin performances on March 12 ahead of an official April 16 opening. On March 24, the Lincoln Center Theater announced the show's opening would be pushed to the fall -- and then in June pushed it back until spring 2021.
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Postponed: "Birthday Candles"

Noah Haidle's play, starring Debra Messing and Andre Braugher, was due to begin performances in early April. But on March 25, Roundabout Theatre Company announced it would open this fall instead.
Postponed: "Caroline, or Change"

Roundabout also delayed the opening of its revival of the Jeanine Tesori-Tony Kushner musical "Caroline, or Change," starring Sharon D. Clarke in an Olivier Award-winning performance. The show had been set for an April 7 opening at Studio 54.
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Postponed: "How I Learned to Drive"

Manhattan Theatre Club announced on April 7 it was postponing a Mary-Louise Parker-led revival of "How I Learned to Drive" to the 2020-21 season. The Pulitzer-winning drama, with David Morse as co-star, was due to open April 22, just before the cutoff for this year's Tony Awards.
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Closed: "Beetlejuice"

The Tony-nominated musical was being evicted from the Winter Garden Theatre on June 6 (even though ticket sales had dramatically improved over the fall and winter). Now producers are hoping to find a new theater when Broadway opens up, though there's no guarantee that will happen. The adaptation of Tim Burton's 1988 movie played played 27 previews and 366 regular performances.
Postponed: "Plaza Suite"

A new revival of Neil Simon's comedy starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick will now play March 19, 2021 through July 18, 2021. The show had been expected to begin previews at the Hudson Theater on March 13, the day after theaters were shut down.
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Postponed: "MJ"

The new Michael Jackson musical, starring Tony nominee Ephraim Sykes as the late King of Pop, had been planning to begin performances in July for an August opening. But now it's pushed back its debut to next spring, with a new opening night set for April 15, 2021.
Closed: "Frozen"

Disney's stage version of the animated hit "Frozen" became the first long-running show to close due to the pandemic. The Tony-nominated show opened in March 2018 and played 825 performances and 26 previews.
Postponed: "The Music Man"

A new revival of the classic musical starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster was set to begin performances in September for an official opening on Oct. 15. But in June, the production announced that the opening night would be pushed back to
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Closed: "Mean Girls"

The musical, which Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond adapted from Fey's 2004 movie, opened in April 2018 and played 805 performances before the pandemic shut it down. On Jan. 7, 2011, producers announced the show would not reopen.
Photo: Joan Marcus
Postponed: The Tony Awards

Since there's no word yet on when Broadway performances might resume, the Broadway League on March 25 indefinitely postponed this year's Tony Awards, which had been scheduled for June 7 at Radio City Music Hall. Though nominations were announced in October 2020, no date has been set for the ceremony.
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”The Music Man“ with Hugh Jackman and other shows won’t reopen until 2021

When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo closed Broadway theaters on March 12, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the New York theater scene was heating up ahead of the Tony Awards -- with 31 shows playing and another eight scheduled to begin performances by mid-April. Now the theaters will remain dark until at least September -- and the Tony Awards have been postponed indefinitely. But the uncertainty of when theaters (and Broadway-bound tourists) might return has forced some producers to close shows early -- or push new productions to sometime in the future.

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All the Broadway Shows Killed (and Postponed) Due to Coronavirus Shutdown

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