Yesterday’s CNN debate on Biden and Trump was watched by 51.3 million viewers

Top line

About 51.3 million viewers watched President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump debate on TV on Thursday, according to Nielsen data, a significant drop from 2020, though more viewers likely watched the event online — seen by many as the highest-stakes event of the campaign and a disappointing performance by Biden.

A CNN poll taken after last night’s debate shows that 67% of observers believe he was president … (+) Donald Trump has overtaken President Joe Biden.

Key facts

According to Nielsen, the presidential debate – hosted by CNN and broadcast on several stations – was watched by approximately 51.3 million viewers last night, a decrease of approximately 30% compared to the first debate in 2020.

CNN reported that it ranked first among broadcast and cable networks with about 9.5 million viewers, while Fox News drew about 9.3 million viewers, ABC News 9.2 million viewers and MSNBC 4.1 million viewers — a rare ratings success for CNN.

Nielsen reported that of its 51.3 million listeners, about 34.1 million – or 64% – were over the age of 55, compared to just 4.1 million between the ages of 18 and 34 and 10.9 million between the ages of from 35 to 54 years old.

Viewership for the Trump debates peaked in 2016, when 84 million viewers — the most of any presidential debate — tuned in live, according to Nielsen data, though the numbers have steadily declined since then, with the second Trump-Clinton debate drawing 66.5 million viewers and the third averaging 71.6 million.

However, the decline in television viewership may be partly due to the shift from traditional television to streaming platforms, as many viewers are likely to watch the debate via various live streams.

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A surprising fact

According to the station, CNN and YouTube’s digital resources have reached 30 million views.

Tangent

Even if a presidential debate has “low” viewership, it has historically attracted more viewers than most other television events. For comparison, this year an average of 11.3 million viewers watched each NBA Finals game between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, an average of 9.11 million viewers watched last year’s MLB World Series on Fox and this year’s NHL Stanley Cup games were watched by an average of 4.2 million viewers.

Big number

67% That’s the percentage of viewers who said Trump did better than Biden in CNN’s post-debate poll. Before the debate, 55% of viewers said they expected Trump to do better.

Key background information

Thursday’s debate was the first-ever between a former president and a current president, and it was widely considered one of the most important moments of the election season so far. This time, the debate was played by a new set of rules, with both candidates having their microphones muted when it wasn’t their turn to speak and there was no live audience. During the debate, Biden called Trump a “convicted felon,” a “loser,” and a “sucker,” while Trump responded by calling the president a “criminal,” referring to unproven allegations. Biden used his influence as vice president to benefit his son, Hunter Biden. Both also called the other the worst president in the country’s history. Trump, for his part, made a series of false claims about abortion, voter fraud, and other topics and did not answer many questions. Despite that, Trump was widely considered the winner after the showdown, while Biden struggled, losing his train of thought and stumbling over his words several times, leading some pundits to say Biden should drop out of the race. Biden’s team told CNN on Friday that the president would not drop out of the race and said he was still prepared to debate again in September.

What to look for

Will the next debate do better in terms of viewership? Trump and Biden are scheduled to face off again in September in a debate hosted by ABC News.