An estimated 65.6 million people tuned in to watch the second debate between incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday, October 16.
The town hall-style debate, hosted by Hofstra University in New York and moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley, was carried across 12 networks.
While coverage varied by network, 10 networks aired live coverage from approximately 9:00PM to 10:45PM while Univision and Telemundo aired coverage on tape delay. The chart below highlights the sum of the average audience for these networks.
The second presidential debate, and third overall, in this political season’s debate quartet netted 2.4 million more viewers than the second presidential debate between then Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain in 2008.
| Oct. 3, 2012 | Oct. 16, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| All Households |
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| Persons 2+ |
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| Persons 18-34 |
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| Persons 35-54 |
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| Persons 55+ |
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| Sept. 26, 2008 | Oct. 7, 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| Persons 2+ |
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2012 Networks Included:
Debate 1 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, PBS, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, CurrentTV and CNBC
Debate 2 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, TEL, UNI, PBS, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC, CurrentTV and CNBC
2008 Networks Included:
Debate 1– ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telefutura, Telemundo, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Debate 2 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC
