Almost 60 million people watched Tuesday night’s debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, according to initial Nielsen research.
That total audience figure is 10 million more than watched this cycle’s first presidential debate between Trump and President Biden in May, but well short of the record 84 million that watched a 2016 clash between Trump and then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
ABC, which hosted Tuesday night’s debate from Philadelphia, hauled in a whopping 18 million viewers, including more than 6 million in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic.
NBC’s simulcast of the debate came in second, raking in 9.7 million viewers, while Fox News took the top spot among cable news channels, hauling in 8.6 million, more than double CNN’s audience. NBC News also said the debate earned for the streaming platform’s largest prime time audience ever, though it did not provide specific figures.
A number of other networks, including CBS, Fox Business and NewsNation, also simulcast the debate.
The Nielsen figures do no represent the tens of millions of Americans who watched the debate online via streaming on YouTube, Roku or other connected TV devices, or those saw clips of the event’s top moments on social media.
The debate came during a crucial time for ABC, owned by Disney, which like all major media conglomerates is grappling with dwindling advertising revenue for linear television assets and widespread cord-cutting by consumers in favor of streaming platforms.
During the debate, Harris and Trump clashed over issues ranging from the southern border to the economy and fracking.
Trump and his allies have accused ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis — who offered real-time fact checks of the former president during the broadcast — of bias against the former president.
Harris’s campaign, meanwhile, has signaled she is willing to participate in a second debate, while Trump on Tuesday indicated he has not decided if he will debate her again.
