The first—and potentially only—presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump garnered an impressive viewership, significantly surpassing the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. According to final Nielsen ratings, Tuesday’s debate attracted approximately 67.14 million viewers across major broadcast and cable networks, marking a substantial increase of nearly 16 million viewers, or a 31 percent jump, compared to the June 27 debate between Trump and Biden.
The debate, which was produced by ABC News and simulcast across various networks, saw preliminary Nielsen figures from eight outlets already surpassing the June total, with an initial count of 57.75 million viewers. This surge in viewership is noteworthy given that Biden’s underwhelming performance in the earlier debate led to his decision to withdraw from the re-election race and endorse Harris a month later.
ABC News led the broadcast with the highest viewership on Tuesday night, drawing 19.05 million viewers from 9 to 10:45 p.m. ET. NBC followed in second place with 10.08 million viewers, while Fox News came in third with 9.06 million viewers. MSNBC edged out CBS for fourth place, garnering 6.38 million viewers compared to CBS’s 6.19 million. The Fox broadcast network attracted 4.85 million viewers, CNN brought in 4.39 million, and other networks such as Telemundo and Univision added 1.16 million and 975,000 viewers, respectively. Fox Business trailed with 295,000 viewers, and the remaining 4.7 million viewers tuned in through other outlets.
These numbers reflect TV viewership only and do not account for streaming figures. However, ABC reports that an additional 7.4 million people streamed the debate on ABC News Live via Hulu, Disney+, and ABC-owned stations’ apps, further expanding the debate’s reach.
The substantial viewership for Tuesday’s debate exceeded the average for past presidential debates. Historically, the average audience for the 35 televised debates since 1960 (excluding those in 1964, 1968, and 1972) has been around 59.2 million viewers. The highest viewership on record remains the first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016, which drew 84 million viewers. The two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 averaged 68.05 million viewers, underscoring the significant interest in Tuesday’s event.
This debate’s strong performance underscores the ongoing public interest in presidential debates, even as media consumption continues to evolve. The significant viewership not only highlights the unique dynamics of the Harris-Trump matchup but also emphasizes the changing landscape of political discourse and media engagement.
