Viewer interest in the primary debates of both parties remains higher than previous years, with the second Democratic get-together of 2015 drawing a good-for-Saturday 8.55 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen estimates. The first debate of the year to air on a broadcast network drew more than double what CBS typically draws on Saturday nights.
Variety reports the 8.55 million makes Saturday’s debate from Des Moines, Iowa, the lowest-rated of the six debates in recent months — and well below the 15.8 million who watched the year’s first Democratic debate of the year on CNN last month — but this was the first one to be held on a Saturday, when viewing levels are at their lowest of the week. Four years ago on the second Saturday of November, a Republican primary debate on CBS averaged 5.48 million viewers, and a mid-November Democratic debate on CNN in 2007 drew a little over 4 million.
This fall, CBS has averaged about 4.2 million viewers for its regular crime-series programming on Saturday nights. Demographic breakdowns weren’t available, but the debate figures to draw in the vicinity of a 1.8 rating in adults 18-49 and a 2.0 in adults 25-54 when final nationals are released by Nielsen on Tuesday.
In addition to the 8.55 million viewers from 9-11 p.m. ET, CBSN set viewership records for its debate coverage, drawing 1.2 million streams across connected TV devices, mobile and online platforms. CBSN also set full-day viewership records with 2.4 million total streams on Saturday.
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