(CTN News) – During the first presidential debate in 2024 on CNN, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump sparred. According to TV ratings, millions watched the two candidates discuss issues, including the U.S. border, the Russia-Ukrainian War, and their golf swings.
CNN reports that 51.27 million people watched the 90-minute discussion between Biden and Trump last night. CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash co-moderated the discussion, which aired live at 9 p.m. ET.
CNN, CNN International, CNN en Espanol, CNN Max, and CNN.com streamed the CNN Presidential Debate live without requiring a cable login. According to CNN, the event was carried on 22 networks…
- With 9.53 million viewers, CNN scored #1 among broadcast and cable TV networks.
- A Fox News Media representative informed USA TODAY that 13.4 million people watched Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Broadcast, FOXNews.com, and streaming. There were 9.276 million viewers of the Fox News channel.
- With 9.21 million views, ABC News
- CNN reported that 4.122 million people watched MSNBC.
- According to Nielsen Fast Nationals, the combined total viewers on linear for the NBCUniversal News Group (NBC News, MSNBC, and Telemundo) averaged 9.934 million.
According to the network, 12.3 million people watched TV plus digital streaming content for CNN, CNNE, CNN MAX, and HLN combined. “With 2.3 million concurrent live views at 9:47 p.m., the debate was CNN’s biggest debate ever across all of our digital platforms and tied with our biggest live stream event ever,” the network stated.
How did Trump-Biden 2024 compare to prior presidential debates?
According to Nielsen Media, 73.1 million people watched Donald Trump and Joe Biden’s first presidential debate in 2020. According to CNN, Thursday night’s debate numbers show a 35% dip from 2020.
The 2020 debate occurred on September 29, 2020, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2020 debate was broadcast on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TEL, UNI, PBS, CNN, CNN, Fox Business Network, FOXNC, MSNBC, Newsmax, Newsy, VICE, and WGNA.
According to Nielsen Media, Trump and Biden’s controversial first debate had fewer views than the Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan debate in 1980 and the Hillary Clinton and Trump debate in 2016.
When is the next presidential debate taking place?
The moderators of the second presidential debate, David Muir and Linsey Davis, are set for September 10 on ABC.
The structure of the second debate has not yet been revealed, but candidates must fulfill certain requirements to take part, such as scoring at least 15% in four different national polls, appearing on enough state ballots to garner the necessary 270 electoral votes, and consenting to abide by the event’s regulations.
The vice presidential debate is set for the summer.
Although Trump has not yet chosen a vice presidential running mate, a debate between incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump’s potential VP is slated for later this summer on CBS News. According to CNN, the exact date has not been revealed, but Harris’ team has verified that it will take place on either July 23 or August 13.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Marco Rubio of Florida are probable front-runners for Trump’s vice presidential nomination.