TV networks are reportedly afraid of giving the RNC too much airtime, so they cut the DNC's time short too

Eva Longoria hosts the Democratic National Convention.
(Image credit: Handout/DNCC via Getty Images)

Major broadcasters only offered the Democratic National Convention an hour of airtime for a different reason than they usually do, The Daily Beast reports.

Most presidential election years, TV networks limit the parties' conventions' airtime to an hour, saying viewers would lose interest if they were longer. But this year, they told Democrats they could only have an hour of airtime because they feared giving Republicans more time than that, multiple sources told The Daily Beast.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

At the time of the meetings, Democrats were able to show executives exactly who would be speaking each night at their virtual convention. Meanwhile the Republican National Convention schedule is still up in the air, at least publicly.

Regardless of the time limit, the first night of this year's DNC had a far lower viewership than 2016's. About 26 million people tuned in last election, while just 18.7 million did Monday night, according to Nielsen.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.