TV VANISH:Day 1 DNC, NBC down 24% from 2008. ABC down 36%. CBS took biggest hit, down 45%…NFL TO THE RESCUE!
— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) September 5, 2012
Update:
Mike Flynn at Breitbart.com further reports:
The headline speeches last night in Charlotte were a mayor nobody has heard of and First Lady Michelle Obama. Last night and this morning, the media are tripping over each other to heap praise on Mrs. Obama’s speech, which was mostly a rehash of her speech in 2008, albeit with newly remembered money struggles. She gave a strong performance, but, unfortunately for the Democrats, not many people saw it. Overall, the speech attracted around 11 million viewers on the three broadcast networks. That’s about 400,000 fewer viewers than watch Ann Romney’s speech.
I did not watch Michelle Obama’s speech, because while I don’t believe First Ladies receive quite the hands-off treatment of First Children, I feel a little uncomfortable criticizing a First Lady, even one who has assumed an overtly political role and even when I disagree.
So I just decided not to listen, and apparently thereby joined the empty chair mob.
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NBC down 24% from 2008. ABC down 36%. CBS took biggest hit, down 45%…
With news that the One will speak to 20K chairs, one-fourth the original venue, the hits just keep on coming.
Weather man for WBTV in Charlotte says that he feels Obama’s speech at the Bank Of America Stadium should be fine because the chances of rain don’t look too bad for Thursday night (September 5, 2012).
They’ve already announced a change in venue. Threat of bad weather, doncha’ know?
Definitely watching the Cowboys and Giants tonight instead of Uncle Joe. I know, I know I committed to watching the DNC in an earlier comment, but that was before I knew the NFL was on tonight.
Sorry Joe.
Vice President Joe Biden’s trail of gaffes have caught up with him. In a new poll, more people use negative than positive words to describe Biden, among them idiot, incompetent, buffoon and clown.
Pew Research Center released the word poll on the eve of Biden’s Thursday speech and the results aren’t good.
Smart move. I bet the game will be a lot more interesting.
Will definitely be more intelligent – even if Jerry Jones will be on the field.
Rush just pointed out something I’ve been struck by, but expressed differently.
The DNC so far is OUT-conservative-ing the conservatives. They are running AWAY from who they are.
I spoke of it in terms of cognitive dissonance…as I was simply gob-smacked by the fair-tale told skillfully by Mrs. Pres. Paracosm and some of the other speakers.
If you ignore the unexpected conversion to the “Party of Death”
Sorry, that should have been the “God-less Party of Death”
Yes, that was painful to watch and even more painful to listen to! And did you catch that she repeated what Rahm said about the President taking letters from “regular” folks like you and me to the residence every night and poring over them, wistfully looking up and saying that He has to help these poor folks! Oh, pleezzee. I almost fell off the couch laughing at that one!
Paradoxically, I listened yesterday to an interview of a family that lost their 22 year old Marine…
only to get…FIVE MONTHS LATER…a form letter from Bad Luck Barry. They said it was like losing their boy all over again.
This is the guy who sent a personal note on the death of some obscure rapper/thug, and made a personal call to Sandra FLUCK to commiserate on her being called what she demonstrably IS.
I call TOTAL BS on the entire Mrs. Pres. Paracosm speech. I do not believe a word. I frankly think that neither did she. She IS good, though.
I see that every day here in VA with the advertising for the Senate race.
D-Tim Kaine, former DNC party chair and supporter of the entire Pelois/Reid/Obama marxist agenda is running ads that attempt to portray him as the fiscal conservative in the race. They also attempt to portray his opponent as a reckless spender (for voting for budgets that contain earmarks – the ad says he “voted for ” and list a few).
Neither candidate’s party id is mentioned.
Kaine is NOT running on a single thing he ever voted for while actually in the Senate. He’s simply trying to pretend that he’s the R in the race.
Better yet, Rahm Emmanuel quoted in The Examiner:
““The president arrives, the rain stops, the sun comes out.” Emanuel said. “Coincidence? I think not.”
Emanuel added that last time the president visited, the “it was 71 degrees and beautiful.”
“He arrives, the sun comes out, and things are beautiful again.” Emanuel concluded.”
Really? Really!… Really?
Empty Chairs in front of TV’s – DNC ratings plunge
This just gets better and better. Thanks, Clint.
Will Bidenopolous be speaking in English or Greek?
And who will he plagiarize his lines from this time?
80,000 down to 20,000, soon to be the local IHOP,
A small frog croaking in a small pond,
LOL,
From where I sit Obama has “progressed” from MT canvas (2008) to MT chair (2012) to MT coffer (2012).
Need I understate more?
I saw empty chairs the other day that were more interesting than O.
I was somewhat hoping more people would watch to witness the incredible degeneracy of this party. On the other hand, a reduced audience for vile propaganda can’t be a bad thing.
“On the other hand, a reduced audience for vile propaganda can’t be a bad thing.”
Agree.
Also, less money in the coffers of cBS, aBS and nBS is a bonus!
oops, (TV interference)…MT coffer (2013)
see above, above
For those of us who are too busy to follow the details, compare the Dem shortfall to the RepubCon shortfall. About the same? Or did one party lose more?
So many people have talked about viewing over CSpan, using DVRs to record for later playback and viewing over YouTube, it is easy to justify lower numbers.
Still, I would think that since Neilsen has people keeping diaries as well as measuring what is on the TV, seems like they should be able to make adjustments to get an apples/apples comparison with 2008.
Alternate viewing methods? Fewer viewers? If fewer, less interested or already made their mind up?
Off topic, but talk about copycats, if true!
CNN:
TRENDING: First on CNN: DNC secretly scheduled guests: Actresses Johansson, Portman, Washington
O man, like they got the totally awesome stature of a Clint Eastwood. Totally, man!
So there, GOP!
RNC was down similarly, though. But Day 1 RNC viewership was slightly higher than Day 1 DNC.
I watched the Phillies lose, way better than watching the DNC.
Of course media will spin the First Lady speech. Goodness if msnbc gets any further up the First Lady’s backside theyll need to call in surgeons by the time the day is over.
Come on…stuff like “change the dynamics of First Lady speeches”…”Democrats really know how to do conventions” is simply slop..not reporting.
But whatever. Im with ther Prof on this. No point in attacking a first lady deal but the media that acts like its some giddy teenager holding the bride’s trane at a wedding deserves the critiicism its earned.
“I feel a little uncomfortable criticizing a First Lady, even one who has assumed an overtly political role and even when I disagree.”
Michelle, by her own actions, has made it impossible to give her such respectful treatment.
She has chosen to make herself the face of this administration. She’s done, literally, over a hundred TV appearances. By her own actions she has made herself more important, politically, than Axelrod or Plouffe. She’s almost as much the president as Barack is (though neither wield the power that their Rasputin Valerie Jarrett does).
Treating her with kid gloves at this point is absurd. Its also suicidal.
The future of the nation is at stake. Remember four years ago when McCain didn’t have the stones to confront Obama? They are now hoping that no one will take Michelle to the mat.
We simply can’t afford for her to be given a free pass.
Stop checking the Charlotte weather forecasts, you’ve got it wrong. The reason they’re moving Obama’s acceptance speech has nothing to do with thunderstorms or filling seats. I just spoke with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and she says it’s the earthquake in Costa Rica. Any ensuing tsunami could potentially reach, um, Charlotte NC, and the 20,000 seat arena sits nine feet higher than the 73,000 stadium. Ms. Wassserman-Schultz also pointed out that children are shorter than adults and would drown first, so the change in venues was for the children, you stupid Republicans.
I didn’t listen to the First Lady’s speech either, for two reasons: (1) I don’t need anything extra in my day to piss me off, and (2) I’ve already heard everything Michelle Obama has to say, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Like any Democrat these days, it will have conformed to political need, not reality, and I already have a firm grip on unreality, thank you very much.
Yes! What Henry said.
She was pure boilerplate–boring boilerplate–with a too-tight swimsuit of a dress (from the podium on up). As a woman, I was utterly appalled at her lack of decorum AND blue nail polish. Pretty dress, in a larger size, at a Sunday afternoon luncheon–DNC convention. Nope.
She might be eating too many fruits and veggies. It certainly wouldn’t be anything remotely unhealthy.
there is no sense in watching a speech when the speaker has nothing to say.
someone needs to give the First Klingon a size appropriate mug of STFU and tell her no one wants to hear her stupidities, except other fools.
Actually, they have plenty to say. The trouble is none of it’s true.
I didn’t watch her speech either, but I did read through a number of comments on a few blogs before bed to get a feel. I saw comments like “What is he, stay-at-home mom in chief”, and “hey, who is she talking about? I want to vote for a guy”
Ann Althouse usually does a good job taking apart political speeches, and does so again. Worth the look.
The reason for so many empty chairs is that many people are following Dear Leaders example.
They’re considerate people who don’t want to occupy their chairs while Dear Leader isn’t occupying his. They’re playing golf. They’re at the local hamburger joint. They’ve gone to the local store, but needed to make a dozen campaign stops along the way. They’re doing, uh, you know, uh, things, uh, that are ever, us so, uh, uh, uh, needful, uh, for the people, uh, who can’t do them, because, uh, of the, uh, rich who, uh, won’t share. They’ve left the chairs empty in case company comes. . .
Well I watched her and all I could think was how much time the speechwriters, Valerie and Axelrod spent on this work of fiction’s writing and editing. I’m worried that the poor speechwriter gave up all his literary property rights in the novella and has no claim to any royalties on its republication.
I would guess the Ann vs. Michelle gap is higher than reported, because I believe conservatives are less likely to tolerate watching the RNC on the major networks – which are the stations tracked by Neilsen – since the liberal talking heads commenting are so aggravating.
For watching the RNC a lot of conservatives I know go out of their way to find CSPAN or stream the speeches.
The DNC Convention is just like a TV reality show … without the reality.
You nailed it!
Greatest speech by FL ever. Just ask Chris Matthews.
Even lower ratings because…there’s football tonight!
I did not watch Mooch-elle’s speech last night [why make the BP go up?] – but I’m wondering – did she make a financial plea like “send $3 before midnight tonight to be entered into a contest to blah blah blah”?
I’m not at all surprised. Why would anyone need to hear what she has to say about her husband and his character. We already know them. Ann Romney is a different story.
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Everybody knows the real reason ratings are down. Three’s Company reruns all week.