Presidential Debate Ratings: 63.2 Million Viewers, ABC, CNN Win

The second Presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain was a bigger television event than the first — but not as big as the debate between their running mates, which set several ratings records last week. Tuesday night's debate drew 63.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings, or approximately 66 million viewers including PBS (which Nielsen does not count).

ABC won the debate among the networks, while CNN took top billing among the cablers.

The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd reports the numbers:

Tuesday night's presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama was seen by 63.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That's about 21% more than watched the candidates' first showdown two weeks ago -- an event seen by 52.4 million -- and ranks as the highest-rated top-of-the-ticket debate since 1992.

Yet last night couldn't compare to Thursday's vp showdown between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, which was seen by 10% more viewers than last night (70 million) and retains the record as the second-most-watched debate of all time.

Tuesday's bout will stand as the highest-rated presidential debate since Bill Clinton, Ross Perot and George Bush squared off for their second debate in 1992.

Network News
ABC: 13.2 million
NBC: 10.9 million
CBS: 9.4 million

Cable News
CNN: 9.2 million
Fox News: 8.8 million
MSNBC: 3.8 million

Public Television
PBS: 2.8 million

Comments

[Ohg]

There were subliminal messages in the debate - we filtered them and present the truth. .............
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/08/mccain-palin-is-great-because-i-was-a-pow/

[tywen]

I watched it on KQED (San Francisco PBS).... I like the NewsHour and PBS programming,
I'm surprised only 2.9 million watched the 2nd debat on a PBS affiliates..... oh well....

[amiblueyoubet]

As soon as I saw David Gregory I switched to CNN.

[uclafan]

I like the commentators on CNN, especially Carville and Begala. Top rate.

[amiblueyoubet]

I'm not a fan of CNN, but I agree Carville,Begala and Toobin are great.

[DamageControl]

2nd that

[Quilter]

Ditto

[MNinWI]

We did too-will not sit and listen to that self promoting bag of wind.

[amiblueyoubet]

After Tim Russert died, I was praying they wouldn't replace Tim with Gregory.

[Redrose]

I did the same thing..."Karl Rove's Dancing Partner!"

[shades3]

David Gregory lost me as well, Redrose, when I saw him participating in the skit at the correspondents' dinner at which KARL ROVE did his lame rap-artist imitation as "MC ROVE."
What some "journalists" will do for access to the White House is just barf-worthy.
THAT was the moment that David Gregory lost me. If he has to for all intents and purposes prostitute himself to the Bush Administration, as has John McCain, he's lost all credibility. WHEW!!

[Shell2Izzo]

Please keep in mind...MSNBC is not shown in all cable markets like CNN. I have several family members and friends in various parties of the US (with Comcast Cable) and it is not available to them. Also, the fact that MSNBC is not in HD also accounts for the lower numbers. But...their post-debate analysis has been GREAT! If they replace Gregory with Keith and/or Rachel...now, that's "must see TV"!

[uclafan]

But it's still not that good. When they find their identity, they'll do better.

[dajay]

Yeah, right. Keith lost his spot for election night. Talk about wind bags.

MSNBC is full of them.

Thank god for CNN.

[AlannD]

CNN cluttered its HD screen with ridiculous analyst meters and focus group reaction line, which had the effect of minimizing the striking physical differences between the cool Kennedy-esque Obama and the waddling, wheezing, Walter Brennan-esque McCain.

[uclafan]

Does CNN have HD on Charter Cable?

[FixTheBroken]

I like Rachel Maddow. I wish MSNBC did better.

[kissy kai]

I AGREE

[uclafan]

MSNBC is only good between the hours of Maddow and Olbermann.

Unfortunately Morning Joe has gone down the toilet, so mornings don't matter anymore

[yammit]

you are right , between those two , not during

[DamageControl]

i made the mistake of watching morning joe today, truly a waste of time. When you have every major poll telling us who won don't try and spin it to fit your personal preference (even the airhead Mika), it just sounds lame to my ears.

[classc 1]

Tell me about it...Joe is LAME...as for Mika...WHAT exactly is her purpose? Is she simply there to be Joe's punching-bag?

[kissy kai]

I TOTALLY AGREE

[nellie]

This presidential election has been the biggest soap opera drama I've ever seen in politics. What will we do when it's over???

CELEBRATE!

[arspar183]

msnbc needs to get into the hi def game. They look crappy on my direct tv!

[NickCatal]

MSNBC-HD will launch in Q4 2008 or early-early-early 2009.

Their new studios in 30 rock are HD-ready (olbermann actually broadcasts from the 2nd floor of the Today set)

CSPAN is also going HD in 2009. Talked to one of their cameramen/producers and they said it was budgeted.

I would expect MSNBC-HD and CNBC-HD to show up on cable lineups at the same time. Of the few places I have seen it rolled out Cable wise, Fox Business News HD has tagged along with Fox News HD.

[Cashous]

CSPAN!!!
&
PBS

you can watch the debate w/o all the crap...

you can see that McCains leave after the debate ended....

while the Obamas spent 20 to 30 minutes thanking and meeting the audience....

thoughts???

[freeus]

i watched it on PBS. They still had some talking heads on immediately following, but eh, I just flipped it off when they were done.
I got rid of cable after watching Hurricane Katrina coverage simultaneously online / Democracy Now, and on CNN. The difference disgusted me.

[nellie]

And you can watch online. I love C-SPAN.

[wildflowermaven]

PBS all the way. Did check out the repeat on C-Span, caught the end where McCain made a quick exit and the Obamas stayed. Can't speculate on why he beat a hasty retreat, but I thought it was cool that the Obamas stayed, doing the meet and greet, taking photos with regular folks. A gracious gesture, something I would have enjoyed if I'd had to sit there stone-faced for 1.5 hours.

[amiblueyoubet]

He was obviously tired. He was sitting down while answering one of his last questions. How on earth does he think he can keep up with the biggest job at one of the worst times in our history?

[kissy kai]

AND WHAT THE HELL WAS HE WRITING ALL NIGHT. HE DID THAT SO HE WOULD NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT OBAMA

[shelsay]

I think that was a total missed opportunity for J Mac...he's down in polls and then he beats it out of there like he's got the election in the bag. That was dumb. If not for just the publicity stunt alone. His handlers are slipping. His wife also seemed to be uncomfortable around "regular people". The Obamas were working the crowd very naturally and when they started taking group pictures, I figured McCain lost votes from everybody in that room. I'm surprised that the media didn't illuminate this as bad strategy for the McCain camp. If he's trying to appeal to the people who vote with their emotions and not the issues (cause he'll lose on the issues anyway), then he's missing blatant opportunities to appeal to people's senses.

[shades3]

When the McCains got the hell out of Dodge right after the debate, the impression given was that they didn't think it necessary, or potentially advantageous, to mingle with mere "little people" as part of their effort to garner votes.
WRONG. Those "little people" all vote and now they are less likely to vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, assuming they might have otherwise, since they were billed as Independants.
Mis-move and a potentially damaging one. OOPS.

[lochnessmonster]

I agree...I only watch C-SPAN. I love the call in sessions before and after...some of the people that call in are very entertaining. It is great to hear what the rest of the country thinks. Washington Journal in the mornings is a great show too.

[POINT84]

I think we all said once you take Chris and Keith off there isnt any real reason to watch that channel during the debates....apparently so.

[wayofpeace]

YES, i am, too, boycotting MSNBC
as long as DAVID GREGORY
is a part of the debate broadcast.

glad it is showing a drop in ratings.

[classc 1]

Exactly....David Gregory, Tom Brokaw and Chuck Todd are not worth watching!!! I want to see Chris, Keith and Rachel...period.

[saron123]

MSNBC has moved to a different channel ... somewhere in the 100's.

It used to be found between CNN and Fixed Noise.

The lower view #'s for MSNBC could be due to their channel #. Maybe they should fix that before judging them on the same scale.

[maryland24]

I can't believe how many people watch Fox News, that's crazy

[freeus]

if you haven't been so unfortunate as to find yourself listening to one in real life, count yourself lucky.
they are a dangerous and misinformed bunch

[dajay]

Yes, the Fox News bunch have been dangerous and misinformed for 8 years now, but now we have the MSNBC news bunch.

JUST AS SCARY

[whit4brains]

CNN beat Faux Noise...Yes!

[LittleSanityLeft]

MSNBC got clobbered.