Update, October 14, 12:47 p.m.: Tuesday’s Democratic debate averaged 15.3 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Democratic primary debate in history.
Previously:
Donald Trump and political pundits alike predicted that the first Democratic debate would tank with audiences, but the initial numbers show otherwise.
According to CNN, which live-streamed last night’s event as well as the second Republican showdown back in September, the Dems scored 980,000 concurrent live streams, while the Republican debate peaked at 921,000 streams.
You don’t need Trump to get ppl to watch: CNN livestream peaked at 980K concurrent streams; GOP debate peak was 921K http://t.co/ZJcmUmfFWU
— Taniel (@Taniel) October 14, 2015
Granted, the live-stream numbers reflect a particular, possibly younger and more Democratic-leaning audience than overall viewership. Still, while the Donald may fancy himself a ratings magnet—so much that he graciously offered to live-tweet the Democratic debate to keep viewers engaged—it appears he’s not the only one who can deliver audiences.
