Cable overnights: CNN roars ahead on night one of DNC

Seeing big gains vs.2012, CNN jumped out ahead of the other broadcast and cable networks on Monday during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

The network averaged 5.12 million total viewers in primetime, according to Nielsen overnights, up 70 percent compared to 2012, when the convention took place in September.

MSNBC placed a rare second among the cable news networks, averaging 3.749 million viewers, just ahead of Fox news Channel’s 3.731 million.

FNC led during the Republican National Convention, but its right-skewing audience isn’t as interested in the DNC.

Among adults 25-54, the key news demo, CNN drew 1.7 million, compared to 1.075 million for MSNBC and 858,000 for FNC.

CNN topped all the broadcast networks from 10 to 11:30 p.m., when the broadcast networks also aired convention coverage. It averaged 6.208 million, and MSNBC was second with 4.597 million.

NBC was the top broadcaster at 4.293 million, followed by ABC at 4.107 million, FNC at 3.33 million and CBS at 3.206 million.

Overall, night one of the DNC averaged 25.9 million total viewers, compared to 22.5 million for the first night of the RNC. It was highlighted by a speech from Michelle Obama.

Beyond the DNC

Meanwhile, elsewhere on cable Monday night, VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta” was the night’s top entertainment program in adults 18-49, posting a 1.4. That beat all but two shows on broadcast.

WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” delivered a 1.2.

Tags: cable, cable overnights, cnn, convention, democratic national convention, dnc