CNN hosted the first 2024 presidential debate Thursday evening, and the network has reason to celebrate.
Nearly 48 million viewers tuned in to watch former President Trump (R) debate President Joe Biden (D) from the CNN Atlanta studios.
The event moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash was the highest-rated event in CNN history. Additionally, the 90-minute debate was the most-watched non-sports television program of 2024 thus far.
The 47.9 million viewers is a combination — according to Nielsen — of viewers watching on CNN, MSNBC, NewsNation, Newsmax, and Fox News, as well as ABC, PBS, FOX, Scripps News, and Spectrum News.
According to Nielsen, just over 9.5 million watched between CNN, HLN, and CNN Espanol. an additional 9.2 million watched on Fox News, with 3.6 million watching on the FOX broadcast network and an additional 397,000 viewing the debate on Fox Business Network. 8.7 million viewed the event on ABC. Meanwhile, MSNBC saw an average audience of 3.97 million.
An additional 30 million views were seen as CNN simulcast the debate on YouTube. The event was also the largest audience on record for CNN Max, the network’s streaming home inside the Max streaming platform.
According to a post on social media from FOX President for Insights & Analytics Michael Mulvihill, West Palm Beach — the current home of President Donald Trump — was the highest-rated market Thursday.
Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Orlando, Philadelphia, Hartford, Milwaukee, New York, and Detroit were the other top 10 markets.
