Though ABC, CBS and NBC haven't finalized their 2000 plans, officials at all three networks said yesterday it's possible they may drop a full night of the GOP's and Democrats' planned four-night events. The Democrats averaged 13.2 million homes per night in '96, a 24 percent decrease from 17.4 million in 1988. In fairness, it should be noted that CNN and PBS got into the act beginning in '92, adding several million viewers to the mix. Any way you cut it, it's not your mother's convention coverage anymore. We have to do things differently.
Nothing's off the table, but nothing's on it, either.
As network viewership of conventions has decreased, so has the Big 3's coverage. In 1988, ABC, CBS and NBC devoted a total of 2,051 minutes' coverage over four nights to the Democratic convention, says Nielsen. It dropped to 1,203 minutes in '92, falling to 991 minutes in '96. For the Republicans, the combined Big 3 coverage went from 2,099 minutes in '88 to 1,227 minutes in '92 to 904 minutes in '96. I'm sure we'll cover the nominee's speech, but in terms of other events, we'll wait and see.