CNN said Friday that 47.9 million people watched the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump across broadcast and cable TV as well as streaming.
While still a sizable TV audience, it represents an approximately 34% drop in viewership from the first Biden-Trump debate in 2020, which drew 73 million viewers.
Still, the debate was the highest-rated program in the network’s history, CNN said, as well as its most livestreamed. It’s also the most-watched nonsports program of the year so far, the network said.
In addition to CNN, the debate was simulcast across all major news networks including NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox; PBS and C-SPAN; and many of the broadcast groups’ sister networks like MSNBC and Fox Business. It was also available for streaming on a host of digital platforms.
The debate has sparked a wave of discussion about whether Biden could step aside as the Democratic candidate for president, though replacing him would be challenging.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.