Ratings for Third Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton Debate Up From Round 2
Update: Time zone-adjusted ratings are in for the broadcast networks for the final debate showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. From 9-10:30 p.m. ET — the debate lasted until 10:36 on the East Coast — the four broadcasters who televised the final Clinton-Trump showdown drew 34.61 million total viewers, and a 9.8 rating in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.
ABC was tops in total viewers within that 90 minutes, with an average audience of 9.84 million and a 2.8 18-49 rating. NBC averaged 9.18 million viewers and a 2.8 in the demo as well. CBS drew 9.29 million and a 2.2 demo rating. Fox came in with 6.3 million total viewers and a 2.0 demo.
Coverage of the debate on Spanish-language networks Univision (0.8 in the demo, 2.32 million viewers) and Telemundo (0.6 in the demo, 1.56 million viewers) added another 3.88 million viewers and an extra 1.4 ratings points in the demo.
We won’t get a clearer picture of the complete audience until ratings for the cable networks are in. For the last debate, just CNN, Fox News and MSNBC added 26.72 million viewers to the 66.5 million total. Comparisons to the second debate are difficult, because NBC was airing a “Sunday Night Football” game instead of the debate.
In Nielsen’s earlier, non-time zone-adjusted ratings, the third Clinton-Trump debate saw a viewership gain from the candidates’ second meeting, but the turnout didn’t top the blockbuster number delivered by the first debate last month.
According to preliminary Nielsen estimates, Wednesday’s debate delivered a 39.7 overnight household rating across seven networks, up from the 37.2 rating for the Oct. 9 debate, which went up against NFL competition on NBC, which siphoned off a chunk of the viewing populace. The Sept. 26 face-off that kicked off the three Clinton-Trump debates grabbed a 46.2 overnight rating, which translated to some 84 million viewers, once final viewership across 11 networks (including PBS) was tallied.
NBC, ABC and Fox News lead viewership in a tight contest for bragging rights. NBC and ABC both grabbed a 6.6 rating/10 share in Nielsen’s 56 overnight metered markets, which cover about 70% of U.S. TV households.
Fox News Channel was right behind with a 6.5/9. CBS was on the heels of its broadcast rivals with 6.1/9, followed by CNN (5.7/8), Fox broadcast network (4.6/7) and MSNBC (3.6/5).
Nielsen’s preliminary estimates for the commercial-free live telecast, which ran roughly 9 p.m.-10:40 p.m. ET, are subject to significant revision when final national ratings are released later today. These ratings are not time-zone adjusted.
The top five local markets for the debate were: Fort Myers, Fla. (52.3), West Palm Beach, Fla. (49.6), Pittsburgh (46.2), Atlanta (46) and New York City (45.5).
This story will be updated with more final numbers as they come in.
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