67M+ Viewers Watch Trump-Harris Debate

ABC News’ broadcast of Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump reeled in more than 67 million viewers, according to ratings data from Nielsen.

Forbes reports NBC had the second largest audience overall for its simulcast of the debate, drawing a total audience of 9.701 million viewers, followed by Fox News (8.668 million viewers), MSNBC (6.015 million viewers), CBS (5.908 million viewers), Fox Broadcast (4.740 million viewers), CNN (4.114 million viewers), and Fox Business (287,000 viewers).

Among viewers 25-54, the key demographic group valued by advertisers, ABC had the largest single audience with 6.241 million viewers, followed by NBC (3.578 million viewers), Fox Broadcast (1.855 million viewers), Fox News Channel (1.823 million viewers), CBS (1.804 million viewers), CNN (1.453 million viewers), MSNBC (1.115 million viewers) and Fox Business (59,000 viewers)—all according to early overnight ratings data compiled by Nielsen.

The debate’s viewership was up significantly from the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, which drew an audience of 48 million viewers and derailed the president’s re-election campaign. Biden’s performance in the CNN debate was so shaky he soon announced he would step down, and endorsed Harris.

Discussion of the debate dominated cable news Tuesday night, with Fox News leading overall in prime time with an average total audience of 7.440 million viewers. MSNBC was second with 5.291 million viewers, followed by CNN (3.413 million viewers).

In the key demo, Fox News led in prime with 1.524 million viewers, followed by CNN (1.164 million viewers) and MSNBC (930,000 viewers).

The debate’s total viewership figures will almost certainly rise when final ratings data is published, but it’s unlikely Tuesday night’s face-off will come close to the most-watched presidential debate on record, the first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in September 2016, which drew 84 million viewers.

The 1980 debate between President Jimmy Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan remains the second most-watched debate overall, with a total audience of 80.6 million viewers.