CNN Says 47.9 Million Watched Presidential Debate; TV Viewership Is Down From First Event Of 2020

CNN said that 47.9 million watched the presidential debate across TV platforms on Thursday night, according to Nielsen Fast National data.

A more complete picture of the debate audience is expected later this afternoon.

As of now, the debate audience was down considerably from 2020, when 73.1 million tuned into the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The debate was seen not just on CNN, but across rival cable, broadcast and streaming networks that picked up its simulcast. Of the total audience, CNN said that 11.4 million watched on CNN, CNN.com, CNN Max, CNNE and HLN.

More to come.