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More than 15 cable and network television channels simulcasted the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday evening. That led to over 40 million viewers tuning in.
According to early data from Nielsen Media Research, 43 million people watched Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) debate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, PBS, and Fox Business Network were among the channels to air it.
CBS News led coverage with 9.1 million viewers during the debate. Meanwhile, Fox News saw 7.7 million viewers, with ABC News taking third with 6.1 million. NBC (5.4 million), MSNBC (4.6 million), CNN (3.2 million), and the FOX broadcast network (2.4 million) each saw strong viewership. An additional 255,000 viewers watched the televised event on Fox Business Network.
In the Adults 25-54 demographic, CBS News saw 2.6 million viewers, while NBC News (1.8 million), and ABC News (1.6 million) each eclipsed 1.5 million viewers. 815,000 viewers from that demographic watched the event on the FOX broadcast network.
On cable news, Fox News led in the key demo with 1.5 million viewers. On CNN, just over 1 million from the demographic tuned in, while an additional 855,000 watched on MSNBC.
The event was also simulcast on other cable news outlets Newsmax and NewsNation. Ratings information from those two entities were not immediately made available to Barrett Media.
