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UPDATE: The CBS News vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance drew 43.15 million viewers, far short of the audience for the 2020 match up between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence.
The figures from Nielsen are across 15 networks.
The debate between Pence and Harris in 2020 drew 59 million, the second most-watched VP debate in history. The 2008 debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin has the record, drawing an estimated 69.9 million.
The Walz-Vance debate still beat the 37 million who tuned in to the debate between Pence and Tim Kaine.
PREVIOUSLY: The vice presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday averaged 38.88 million viewers across eight networks, according to early numbers, short of the initial viewership figures from the Kamala Harris-Mike Pence matchup in 2020.
The CBS News event, which ran from roughly 9-10:45 p.m. ET, was also simulcast by its rivals.
According to early figures from Nielsen, CBS averaged 9.14 million viewers, Fox News averaged 7.69 million, ABC News averaged 6.1 million, NBC averaged 5.44 million, MSNBC averaged 4.65 million, CNN posted 3.18 million, Fox Broadcasting averaged 2.42 million and Fox Business had 255,000. The figures come from Fox and MSNBC.
The 2020 debate averaged about 51 million in early numbers across those networks. The Harris-Pence event ultimately drew 59 million, the second most watched VP debate since they were started in 1976.
Nielsen is expected to release a more complete picture of the audience total later today.
ABC News’ Trump-Harris presidential debate last month drew 67.14 million across 17 networks last month.
Last night, in the adults 25-54 demo, CBS averaged 2.6 million, compared to NBC with 1.81 million, ABC with 1.6 million, Fox News with 1.48 million, CNN with 1.06 million, MSNBC with 855,000, Fox with 815,000 and Fox Business with 64,000.
