Debate Viewership Down 35% From First 2020 Debate

CNN reports:

CNN’s Thursday night debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was watched by 47.9 million viewers on television, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen. CNN offered a live feed of the telecast to any network free of charge but with strict conditions over its presentation and branding.

On television, CNN drew 8.7 million viewers on its flagship channel. The right-wing talk channel Fox News drew 8.8 million viewers, ABC News saw 8.7 million viewers and MSNBC drew 3.968 million viewers.

The nearly 48 million who watched Thursday night’s debate on television represents a 35% drop in audience from 2020, when more than 73 million people watched the first debate between Trump and Biden across all television networks. In 2016, a record 84 million tuned in to the first debate matchup between Hillary Clinton and Trump.

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47.9 million viewers tuned in to CNN’s presidential debate with Biden and Trump https://t.co/cDPMFuCgMr

— Wynn Westmoreland CNN (@WynnWs) June 28, 2024