In TV news matchup, cable wins convention coverage

And the winner of the 2008 national political conventions: cable news.

Cable news networks logged record viewership during the two weeks of back-to-back convention coverage, a sign of their growing dominance during breaking news events.

The final numbers showed a partisan divide in the audience: CNN won the biggest audiences during the Democratic convention –- a first for that network -- while Fox News swept the ratings during the GOP gathering for the second year.

Of the 38.9 million people who watched Sen. John McCain’s acceptance speech Thursday night, about a quarter tuned in to Fox News, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network had 9.1 million viewers at that hour, about the same number it attracted for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech Wednesday night, the highest-rated convention telecasts in cable news.

NBC drew the second-largest audience Thursday with 8.7 million viewers. ABC had 6 million, CBS attracted 5.3 million, CNN followed with 4.8 million and MSNBC drew 2.5 million.

Overall, an average of 8.1 million people tuned in to Fox News during the key 7 p.m. hour throughout the three nights of televised coverage of the Republican convention, while CNN drew an average of 5.6 million viewers over the four nights of the Democratic convention.

-- Matea Gold