The highly anticipated presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has captivated a massive audience, surpassing previous debate viewership. The event, which aired on Tuesday, October 10, garnered approximately 67.14 million viewers across major broadcast and cable networks, according to final Nielsen ratings. This figure represents a substantial increase of nearly 16 million viewers, or 31%, compared to the June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden.
The debate, produced by ABC News and simulcast across multiple platforms, saw preliminary figures from eight major outlets reaching 57.75 million viewers, already exceeding the June debate’s total. This robust turnout reflects a heightened public interest, spurred by the contentious nature of the debate and the stakes involved.
In terms of individual network performance, ABC News led the ratings with a commanding 19.05 million viewers from 9:00 to 10:45 p.m. ET. NBC followed with 10.08 million viewers, while Fox News attracted 9.06 million. MSNBC secured fourth place with 6.38 million viewers, narrowly ahead of CBS, which had 6.19 million. The Fox broadcast network drew 4.85 million, CNN had 4.39 million, Telemundo 1.16 million, Univision 975,000, and Fox Business 295,000. The remaining 4.7 million viewers were distributed across other platforms.
These figures reflect TV viewership only and do not account for streaming numbers. ABC reported an additional 7.4 million viewers who streamed the debate on ABC News Live via Hulu, Disney+, and ABC-owned apps.
The debate’s strong performance outstrips the average viewership for presidential debates, which has historically hovered around 59.2 million viewers across 35 debates since 1960. The highest viewership record stands at 84 million for the first Trump-Hillary Clinton debate in 2016, with two 2020 Biden-Trump debates averaging 68.05 million viewers.
The September 11 debate stands out as a significant moment in the election season, showcasing a higher level of engagement compared to recent debates and reflecting a keen public interest in the political discourse.
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