I’ve been waiting all morning for this information to be released. Normally, I don’t post material without adding my own commentary. But I don’t have anything to append except to point out that in 2020, the first debate was in September, not June. The timing this year may have been at least part of the reason for lower viewership. Then there’s the matter of lots of people avoiding the debate because they figured they already knew what the candidates were going to say. Whatever all the reasons for this plunge in viewership, here’s an excerpt of CNN’s coverage of the data:
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.
The 90-minute debate, which sent shockwaves through the political world, was simulcast across 22 networks. CNN, which hosted the debate from its Atlanta studios, 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, including 3 million in the advertiser coveted 25-54 demographic, the network said Friday. 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. [...]