Washington — Greater than 67 million viewers tuned in to the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris this week, far surpassing the viewership of the matchup between President Biden and Trump earlier this 12 months.
How many individuals watched ABC’s presidential debate?
The ABC Information debate had an estimated viewers of 67.1 million, and aired throughout 17 stations, in keeping with Nielsen, a media analytics firm. The 90-minute debate was held on the Nationwide Structure Heart in Philadelphia in a high-stakes showdown that will form the rest of the marketing campaign with Election Day quick approaching, because the candidates clashed over immigration, abortion, the financial system, international coverage and extra.
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The talk got here because the presidential race has been remodeled in latest months, with a brand new Democratic ticket following the president’s choice to depart the race. Mr. Biden and Trump confronted off in CNN’s presidential debate on June 27 in Atlanta, in a matchup that garnered 51.3 million viewers and got here unusually early within the marketing campaign cycle.
Harris and Trump’s extremely anticipated matchup marked the primary time the 2 had met, and might be the one time they go face to face on the controversy stage. Whereas the Harris marketing campaign wasted little time earlier than calling for a second debate after the primary wrapped, Trump has been noncommittal about whether or not he would take part in a rematch.
Heading into the controversy, Harris and Trump have been locked in a decent race in the important thing battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, in keeping with CBS Information polling.
How do the controversy rankings examine to previous debates?
Viewership has shifted dramatically lately, with many Individuals choosing streaming and social media platforms and altering the standard tv viewers within the course of. Whereas the Harris-Trump matchup marked a rise in viewership from the June debate, it fell wanting the primary debate within the final presidential election.
In 2020, greater than 73 million individuals watched the primary debate between Biden and Trump throughout all TV networks.
Nonetheless, the ABC Information debate drew round 19 million viewers to the community itself, which it stated represents the most-watched debate within the final 16 years on on any community. CNN drew round 9.5 million tv viewers to its flagship channel in June.
When was probably the most watched presidential debate?
A file 84 million individuals tuned in for the first debate between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Trump in 2016, marking the very best viewership of any single debate. Earlier than that, the earlier file was 80 million, which was set by the 1980 debate between former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
