Thursday’s GOP fight night was the highest-rated debate since December, according to overnight Nielsen ratings.
The debate averaged a 9.0 household rating on CNN and a 0.9 rating on the Spanish-language broadcast network Telemundo for a 9.9 rating overall.
For perspective’s sake, the most recent Democratic debate, on PBS and CNN, had a combined 6.3 rating.
Household ratings are an indication of how many American homes tuned in for the face-offs. Actual viewership numbers will be released later in the day on Friday.
But the household ratings show there was intense interest in Thursday’s GOP match-up. The debate handily beat another televised competition, “American Idol,” which had a 6.0 rating on Thursday night.
The combined 9.9 rating for CNN and Telemundo ranks as the highest-rated debate since CNN’s GOP forum in Las Vegas in mid-December, which had a 12.2 household rating. Both debates were moderated by Wolf Blitzer.
The 9.9 overall rating topped the CBS (9.3) and ABC (8.9) debates from earlier this month, as well as the Fox News (8.4) and Fox Business (7.4) debates from January.
The first two GOP debates of the cycle — when Donald Trump’s presence on stage was still a novelty — remain by far the highest rated of all. The inaugural Fox News debate in August had a 15.9 household rating, and CNN’s first debate in September had a 14.7.
The Nielsen ratings only count people who watched at home via TV. As in past debates, CNN made a live stream of the event freely available via the web as well.
