On the heels of its ratings dominance during the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., the Fox News Channel consistently trounced both its cable and broadcast competitors throughout Wednesday night’s presidential debate.
According to overnight numbers provided by Nielsen Media Research, FNC beat all broadcast and cable news networks yesterday evening. It averaged 10.4 million viewers from 9:00-10:30 p.m. EST, with nearly three million viewers in the key 25-54-year old demographic.
FNC nearly doubled CNN’s audience of 6 million viewers and more than doubled MSNBC’s viewership of 4.7 million. It also handily beat CBS, ABC and NBC during the actual debate.
It was a historic night for Fox News, giving the channel its highest-rated presidential debate ever. Also, FNC marked its third highest-rated prime time last night, with an average of 8.2 million viewers.
9:00-10:30PM (actual debate)
FNC: 10,421,380 in total viewers (2,932,907 in 25-54)
CNN: 6,045,109 in total viewers (2,368,589 in 25-54)
MSNBC: 4,710,511 in total viewers (1,852,629 in 25-54)
Broadcast Fast Nationals 9-10:30PM:
CBS 10,176,000
ABC 10,117,000
NBC 9,914,000
FOX 6,977,000
8:00-11:00PM (primetime coverage)
FNC: 8,181,448 in total viewers (2,159,809 in 25-54)
CNN: 4,763,003 in total viewers (1,851,207 in 25-54)
MSNBC: 3,913,759 in total viewers (1,481,901 in 25-54)