Beats Every Primary Debate During the 2008 and 2012 Election Cycles
June 27, 2019 – NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo together drew a total of 15.3 million viewers for the first of the two-night Democratic presidential debate, beating every primary debate during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles, according to Nielsen Fast National Data. Last night’s debate also attracted more than 9 million live stream viewers and was the most-watched program on television yesterday.
Kicking off the 2020 election cycle, the two-hour DNC-sanctioned debate averaged 15.3 million television viewers, with 4.3 million in Adults 25-54 and 3.7 million in Adults 18-49 across NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET last night.
The debate live stream saw more than 9 million viewers and 14 million video views across all platforms, including NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, Telemundo.com, NBC News NOW on OTT devices, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Users spent an average of 40 minutes watching the debate via on-net platforms, according to Adobe Analytics.
The debate content for the day garnered more than 18 million total views across all platforms and devices. NBC Stay Tuned’s coverage of the debates attracted more than 2.1 million users, 75% under the age of 25.
The Democratic debate was moderated by Lester Holt, anchor of NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC, Savannah Guthrie, TODAY co-host and NBC News chief legal correspondent, Chuck Todd, moderator of Meet the Press and NBC News political director, Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and José Díaz-Balart, anchor of Noticias Telemundo and NBC Nightly News Saturday.
Wednesday’s debate featured the following ten candidates: Sen. Cory Booker (NJ), former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Rep. John Delaney (MD), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI), Gov. Jay Inslee (WA), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (TX), Rep. Tim Ryan (OH) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA).
The second of the two-night debate will air tonight across all three networks from 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET and will feature the following ten candidates: Sen. Michael Bennet (CA), former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (South Bend, IN), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Sen. Kamala Harris (CA), former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT), Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA), author Marianne Williamson and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
###
NBC NEWS AND MSNBC
More Americans watch NBC News and MSNBC than any news organization in the world. NBC News’ award-winning television news broadcasts include TODAY, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, Dateline NBC, TODAY with Hoda and Jenna and Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist, as well as primetime specials and breaking news reports. For the most recent 2017-2018 season, all four NBC News marquee broadcasts were #1 in the key news demo for the third year in a row. MSNBC is the premier cable destination for breaking and live news coverage, in-depth analysis, and influential voices – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The rapidly-growing NBC News Digital Group, including its streaming news service NBC News NOW, along with the SiriusXM TODAY Show and MSNBC radio channels and NBC News Radio on the iHeartMedia 24/7 News Network, provides continuous content to consumers wherever they are, whenever they want it.
NBC News and MSNBC are part of the NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast Corporation. For more information about NBCUniversal, please visit www.NBCUniversal.com.
NOTICIAS TELEMUNDO
Noticias Telemundo is a leading news provider for U.S. Hispanics. Its award-winning television news broadcasts, airing from the Telemundo Center, include the daily newscast “Noticias Telemundo” with José Díaz Balart, “Noticias Telemundo Fin de Semana” with Julio Vaqueiro, “Noticias Telemundo Mediodía” with Felicidad Aveleyra, the “Un Nuevo Día” news segment with Paulina Sodi, and the Sunday current affairs show “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart.” The “Noticias Telemundo Digital Team” provides continuous content to U.S. Hispanics via its growing online and mobile platforms. “Noticias Telemundo Investiga” produces investigative reports and in-depth documentaries. “Noticias Telemundo Planeta Tierra” offers environmental and climate change related information. In addition, “Noticias Telemundo” produces award-winning news specials, documentaries and news events such as political debates, forums and town halls.
###
NBC News contact:
Dana Klinghoffer/212-664-4088
MSNBC contact:
Lorie Acio/212-664-6733
Telemundo contact:
Camilo Pino/305-322-9584
