Tuesday TV Ratings 10/1/24: Vice Presidential Debate Far Lower Than 2020 Debate, Excellent Start for WWE NXT on CW, Murder in a Small Town Slips [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: The first and only vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz occupied the airwaves on Tuesday night, but the ratings were generally lower than the Pence-Harris debate from 2020. Host network CBS (1.68) easily led the way in the Adults 18-49 demographic, while NBC (1.11) and ABC (1.00) placed second and third respectively. Fox (0.54) was last amongst the broadcast networks. The race was much closer in the 8 p.m. time slot as CBS's pre-debate broadcast (0.50) was only a few ticks above ABC's (0.48) and NBC's (0.44). On the CW, WWE NXT (0.26) got off to a strong start and bested Fox drama Murder in a Small Town (0.21, -0.01). 

Tuesday TV Ratings 9/10/24: Harris/Trump Debate Heavily Out-Rates June Biden/Trump Debate as ABC Leads Coverage [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: Tuesday night's debate between former president Donald Trump and vice-president Kamala Harris proved to be a much bigger draw than the Biden-Trump debate from June. ABC hosted the debate and led the way with a massive 4.22 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic, rising over 170% from the June debate (1.56). NBC (2.41) took second, while Fox (1.25) placed third. CBS (1.09) once more trailed the other networks in the key demo. After the debate, ABC (3.42) maintained its lead with debate analysis. NBC (1.53) remained in second, while CBS (0.77) was last again. In the 8 p.m. hour, ABC's "pre-game" show (1.39) topped its time slot. NBC (0.62) came in second, CBS (0.42) took third, and Fox (0.22) settled for a distant fourth. Counterprogramming was scarce, but the CW offered repeats of The Conners (0.04/0.05/0.05/0.05) for viewers uninterested in the debate. Key: (R) = repeat.

Thursday TV Ratings 6/27/24: Biden/Trump Debate Massively Down from First 2020 Debate as CNN Leads Overall Coverage, Olympic Track & Field Trials Top Non-Debate Programming [+ Analysis]

Ratings Analysis: Former president Donald Trump and current president Joe Biden were up against each other yet again for the first presidential debate of 2024, but the ratings were significantly lower than they were when the two faced off in 2020. 

Since CNN hosted the debate, their coverage led the way in the Adults 18-49 demographic (2.35) and in total viewership (9.53 million). ABC took second (1.56 rating/9.21 million viewers) and beat out the other broadcast networks in both metrics. Fox News (1.04 rating/9.28 million viewers) took third, while Fox (0.95 rating/3.68 million) came in fourth. NBC (0.94 rating/5.39 million) was slightly behind Fox in the key demo but eclipsed them in total viewers. CBS (0.85 rating/5.01 million) settled for sixth place in terms of rating, while MSNBC (0.41/4.12 million) took seventh. NewsMax (0.10 rating/1.28 million) and NewsNation (0.05 rating/0.35 million viewers) were a clear step behind the other networks. CBS (-39%), Fox (-41%), ABC (-51%), and NBC (-65%) were all down dramatically from their coverage of the first 2020 debate in the Adults 18-49 demographic, with NBC taking the most alarming hit of the four.

In terms of debate analysis, CNN (1.72 rating/7.74 million viewers) led the way in Adults 18-49 ratings, but Fox News (1.00/8.71 million viewers) had more total viewers. ABC (1.33 rating/7.24 million) was once more the highest-rated of the broadcast networks. CBS (0.57 rating/3.65 million) and NBC (0.56 rating/3.73 million) were in a virtual dead heat, while MSNBC (0.43 rating/4.72 million) was last in the ratings.

Non-debate programming was scarce. NBC aired the US Olympic Trials (0.53) at 8. ABC aired ABC News: Race for the White House (0.50) as a debate "pre-game" show. Fox took 3rd in the 8 p.m. hour with Copa Tonight (0.43) and followed that with Fox News Democracy '24 (0.33). CBS aired reruns of Young Sheldon (0.27) and Ghosts (0.23). Masters of Illusion (0.05, +0.01) and World's Funniest Animals (0.05, +0.02) were up on the CW.

Wednesday Cable Ratings 1/10/24: Haley/DeSantis Debate Beats Trump Town Hall in Demo but Not Viewers, College Basketball Leads Overall

Below are the top 50 programs on cable on Wednesday, 1/10/24. Items of note include the Republican Primary Debate on CNN, the Iowa Trump Town Hall on Fox News, and AEW: Dynamite on TBS.

(Click the names of the shows written in teal or blue to be taken to their pages in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Database.)

Wednesday Cable Ratings 12/6/23: Republican Debate Breaks Ratings Records for Fledgling NewsNation, NBA Leads, King Charles Declines

Below are the top 50 programs on cable on Wednesday, 12/6/23. Items of note include the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary Debate on NewsNation, AEW: Dynamite on TBS, and NBA on ESPN.

(Click the names of the shows written in teal or blue to be taken to their pages in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Database.)