Shakeups in the 2024 race provide much-needed jolt in interest for news outlets
By Oliver Darcy, CNN
Milwaukee (CNN) — America’s eyes are finally fixated on the 2024 election.
After months of tuning out what had been a fairly predictable and uneventful race between the two party incumbents, recent earthshaking events have upended the state of politics, adding an unexpected wrinkle to the storyline and prompting audiences to turn their attention to the high stakes showdown between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
In other words: the 2024 drought appears to be over as Americans show renewed interest in a race that has suddenly been thrown into upheaval.
In recent weeks, tens of millions of people, thirsty for information, have turned to news organizations for coverage of the consequential CNN presidential debate and its aftermath, the attempted assassination of Trump, and the Republican National Convention.
The CNN debate averaged 51 million viewers, networks averaged about 19 million viewers after Trump was shot, and the first night of the RNC averaged 18 million viewers. On digital platforms, numbers have also traveled upward, with the major events sending spikes of traffic to news organizations.
To be clear, the television ratings and interest generated by the twists and turns of the 2024 election have not been historic by any means. Viewership is relatively in line with years’ past, if not a bit lower. But the startling news cycle has, unquestionably, breathed life into what had been a sleepy race, offering jolts to the system.
Last week, as the news cycle took yet another abrupt turn, the cable news networks topped both primetime and total day viewership across cable, posting double-digit percentage increases over last month.
Prior to the presidential debate, which set off alarm bells over Biden’s acuity and stamina, audience levels had hovered at lows, with most of the country opting against investing their time following incremental updates on a race that many had already made up their minds about. But with Biden’s 2024 future now in serious doubt, and Trump having just survived an attempt on his life, Americans are standing to attention, eager to learn what comes next.
That offers a glimmer of good news for the media industry, which usually enjoys surges in audience levels and advertising revenue during major election seasons. And it is especially welcome this year, with media organizations struggling amid a difficult business environment.
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