More than 18 million people tuned into the first night of the Republican National Convention, an uptick from viewership during the 2016 and 2020 conventions.

The RNC began Monday night with former President Donald Trump becoming the party’s official presidential nominee after surviving an assassination attempt. Soon after his nomination, Trump tapped Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) to be his running mate. More people tuned into night one of the convention than tuned into night one in 2020 and in 2016.

In 2016, when Trump launched his first of now three presidential campaigns, under 16 million people tuned into coverage of the first night of the RNC. That number is down 23% from the 2012 RNC when 22.5 million people tuned into the first night’s coverage.

Despite many people being under stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19, just 10.7 million people tuned into the first day of the RNC in 2020. 

Total viewership was lower in 2020 than in 2016 with 23.8 million people watching the RNC in 2020 and 32.2 million tuning into the RNC in 2016. 

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USA Today reported viewership has dropped because people now know what to expect with party conventions as they have grown more choreographed and strategic.

The last night of the convention is typically when the highest viewership occurs as most people are more inclined to tune into the acceptance speech of the party’s nominee.