The numbers are in: 51.3 million Americans tuned in live to Thursday night’s televised debate between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.
The prime-time fight, hosted by CNN and simulcast on more than a dozen networks, was easily the most-watched moment of the 2024 presidential campaign, the kind of mass civic gathering that is increasingly rare in a world in which the news is chosen. media era. And the figure released Friday by Nielsen, which primarily measures traditional television viewing, did not include the likely millions more who watched the news on digital news sites and social media platforms.
The size of the television audience, similar to that of an NFL conference championship game, could be discouraging news for the Biden campaign, given the president’s shaky and shaky performance, which sparked panic in the upper echelons of the Democratic Party.
But viewership was also down 30 percent from the first Biden-Trump debate in September 2020, which recorded more than 73 million viewers. Nielsen said Thursday’s showdown in Atlanta was the lowest-rated general election debate since George W. Bush and John Kerry’s final meeting in 2004.
Part of the drop can be explained by timing: The Biden-Trump debate took place much earlier than usual, long before many casual voters were focused on the election. Overall television audiences are also lower in the summer, and the number of households with active cable TV subscriptions has fallen precipitously since 2020.
CNN, which hosted the debate (and provided the moderators, Dana Bash and Jake Tapper), had the largest audience of any network, although just barely. About 9.5 million people watched it live on CNN, compared to 9.3 million who watched it on Fox News and 9.2 million who watched it on ABC.
CNN was the clear winner among adults 25-54, the most important group for advertisers. At 10 p.m., which included a round of post-debate analysis, Fox News edged out CNN in total viewers.
According to Nielsen, the television audience for the debate was older: approximately two-thirds of viewers were over 55 years old. Those who tuned in to watch the candidates did not stop doing so: the live television audience remained practically the same during the 99 minutes of broadcast.
For CNN, which has endured a difficult period of management changes and sagging ratings, the debate was a much-needed boost. The network has fallen far behind its rivals; Before Thursday’s debate, it was on track to record its lowest-rated month in prime time since 1991.
Whether another face-to-face presidential event will happen this year is an open question. The candidates agreed to meet again on Sept. 10 for a debate sponsored by ABC. But either Biden or Trump could choose to back out of that event depending on where the race stands after Labor Day.
