TV Ratings: Clinton-Trump Debate Tops 80-Million Record
September 27, 2016 6:37am PT by Michael O'Connell
TV Ratings: Clinton-Trump Debate Tops 80-Million Record
The debate will outrank the 1980 showing between Reagan and Carter as the most-watched ever.
Monday night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was preordained to be one of the biggest TV events of 2016, and initial ratings have it on track to be a record setter.
With ratings for 13 networks boasting live coverage of the debate now in, the event has surpassed 84 million viewers. That doesn't even yet include the likely record-breaking showing among streamers. Regardless, it would put it ahead of the 1980 debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. That set the bar at 80 million viewers.
Adjusted broadcast numbers have the 90-minute showdown easily topping all recent debate coverage. With Nielsen's Fast National ratings, the Big Four broadcast networks' coverage pulled a total 49.1 million viewers ahead of time zone adjustments. That's almost 25 percent increase from the same numbers in 2012. Among the individual networks, NBC currently leads with 18.2 million of those viewers, followed by ABC (13.5 million), CBS (12.1 million) and Fox (5.5 million). PBS drew 3 million viewers. Univision (2.5 million) and Telemundo (1.8 million) add another 4.3 million viewers.
On the big three cable networks alone, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC, the debate added another 26.2 million viewers. All marked increases from 2012. FNC led the trio with 11.4 million viewers, while CNN closely following with 9.9 million and MSNBC rounded out at 4.9 million. (Fox Business Network added 673,000 viewers, while CNBC pulled 520,00.)
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TV Ratings: Clinton-Trump Debate Tops 80-Million Record
The debate will outrank the 1980 showing between Reagan and Carter as the most-watched ever.
Monday night's debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was preordained to be one of the biggest TV events of 2016, and initial ratings have it on track to be a record setter.
With ratings for 13 networks boasting live coverage of the debate now in, the event has surpassed 84 million viewers. That doesn't even yet include the likely record-breaking showing among streamers. Regardless, it would put it ahead of the 1980 debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. That set the bar at 80 million viewers.
Adjusted broadcast numbers have the 90-minute showdown easily topping all recent debate coverage. With Nielsen's Fast National ratings, the Big Four broadcast networks' coverage pulled a total 49.1 million viewers ahead of time zone adjustments. That's almost 25 percent increase from the same numbers in 2012. Among the individual networks, NBC currently leads with 18.2 million of those viewers, followed by ABC (13.5 million), CBS (12.1 million) and Fox (5.5 million). PBS drew 3 million viewers. Univision (2.5 million) and Telemundo (1.8 million) add another 4.3 million viewers.
On the big three cable networks alone, Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC, the debate added another 26.2 million viewers. All marked increases from 2012. FNC led the trio with 11.4 million viewers, while CNN closely following with 9.9 million and MSNBC rounded out at 4.9 million. (Fox Business Network added 673,000 viewers, while CNBC pulled 520,00.)
READ MORE: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed...
