Second Debate Loses Viewers

18% drop from the 84M people who watched the first one
By Daniel Kay,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 10, 2016 3:11 PM CDT
Second Debate Loses Viewers
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016.   (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Despite a dramatic lead-up, the second presidential debate saw a significant drop-off in viewers from the first, record-breaking contest. Across all 10 TV networks that carried the debate, the Hollywood Reporter counts a grand total of 68.8 million people who tuned in. That number is comparable to the 65.6 million people who watched the second debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012. Every major network except NBC showed the debate; CNN scored the most viewers with 11.23 million on average. NBC opted to show a Sunday Night Football game instead of carrying the debate. (More Election 2016 stories.)

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