Networks Cover the First Presidential Debate

PRESS RELEASE from ABC News

October 1, 2012
By David Ford

YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE: ABC News Announces Coverage of the 2012 Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates

Diane Sawyer & George Stephanopoulos to Anchor Special “Your Voice, Your Vote” Debate Coverage From ABC News Election Headquarters 

ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz to Moderate the Vice Presidential Debate in Kentucky on Thursday, October 11

The debates are pivotal moments in the race for the White House, and ABC News will provide comprehensive coverage of the three Presidential debates as well as the Vice Presidential debate, which will be moderated by ABC’s Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz.

Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos will anchor special coverage of the debates from ABC News Election Headquarters in New York from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET on the following nights:

To get the whole picture on how the debate will likely impact the final weeks of the campaign, Sawyer and Stephanopoulos will be joined by members of ABC’s powerhouse political team including:

On “Nightline” at 11:35pm/ET, Terry Moran will bring viewers all the pivotal moments from each debate.

ABC News Digital will provide live debate coverage anchored by ABC News Political Director Amy Walter and “GMA” Weekend Anchor Dan Harris on each night of the debates from 8:00-11:30 p.m., ET. The coverage will be live-streamed across several platforms including ABCNews.com, Yahoo!, Yahoo! News, GoodMorningAmerica.com, ABC News’ iPad & iPhone apps, as well as on ABC News affiliate websites. ABC News Digital coverage will also serve as the official provider of the debates on YouTube’s Elections Hub. ABC News Digital will have a one-hour pre-show at 8:00 p.m., ET and a one hour post-show each night of the debates, as well as a 30 minute noon show. Live-streamed debate coverage will be.

ABC News Radio will provide live coverage of each debate from 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET including 30 minutes of post-debate analysis. ABC News Radio Correspondent Aaron Katersky will anchor ABC News Radio’s coverage from each debate site. For the Presidential Debates, ABC News Radio White House Correspondent Ann Compton will travel with the President and ABC News Radio Correspondent Vic Ratner will travel with Gov. Mitt Romney. For the Vice Presidential Debate, ABC News Radio Correspondent Steven Portnoy will travel with Vice President Joe Biden and ABC News Radio Correspondent Alex Stone will travel with Senator Paul Ryan. In addition, Katersky will anchor a one-hour preview before each debate from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET; he will be joined by ABC News Radio political analysts and contributors Sam Donaldson, Steve Roberts and Trey Hardin.

ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will be providing live and taped reports to its domestic and international clients from the site of each debate with correspondents Karen Travers, Brandi Hitt, and TJ Winick reporting. In addition, ABC News Political Commentator Cokie Roberts will be providing analysis to ABC stations after the debates.

Marc Burstein is the senior executive producer of ABC News Special Events.

PRESS RELEASE from CBS News

October 2, 2012

SCOTT PELLEY LEADS CBS NEWS’ LIVE PRIMETIME COVERAGE OF THE POLITICAL DEBATES FROM 9:00-11:00 PM

THE “CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY” WILL BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE THREE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE CITIES

“FACE THE NATION WITH BOB SCHIEFFER” WILL BROADCAST LIVE FROM

BOCA RATON, FLA., ON SUNDAY, OCT. 21, THE EVE OF THE FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, WHICH WILL BE MODERATED BY SCHIEFFER

“CBS THIS MORNING” WILL BROADCAST LIVE FROM BOCA RATON ON MONDAY, OCT. 22

CBS EVENING NEWS Anchor and Managing Editor Scott Pelley will lead the network’s coverage of the upcoming political debates.  Pelley will be joined by CBS News’ team of experienced correspondents, who will provide original reporting for live broadcasts of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY (6:30 PM, ET), as well as the network’s primetime coverage (9:00-11:00 PM, ET) of the presidential debates from the University of Denver on Wednesday, Oct. 3, Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., on Tuesday, Oct. 16 and Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday, Oct. 22.  Pelley will also anchor the network’s primetime coverage of the vice presidential debate on Thursday, Oct. 11.

In addition, FACE THE NATION WITH BOB SCHIEFFER will broadcast live from Boca Raton on Sunday, Oct. 21 (10:30 AM, ET).  Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell will co-host CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00AM, ET) from Boca Raton on Monday, Oct. 22.  Gayle King will co-host the broadcast from New York.

Schieffer, CBS News’ Chief Washington Correspondent and Anchor of FACE THE NATION, will moderate the final presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Monday, Oct. 22 (9:00 PM, ET).

Contributing to CBS News’ coverage will be Major Garrett of National Journal; Julianna Goldman of Bloomberg; Rana Foroohar of Time magazine; Rajiv Chandrasekaran of the Washington Post; CBS News Senior National Security Analyst Juan Zarate; and Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal.

CBS Radio News’ coverage will include live anchored coverage and special reports for each debate, as well as other reports and features for CBS Radio News affiliates. CBS Radio News will also stream live each debate on its iPhone app.

CBSNews.com will provide comprehensive coverage of each political debate, including live streaming, blogging and special reports from the field. 

CBS News, with the help of GfK’s KnowledgePanel®, will have a scientifically representative poll of approximately 500 uncommitted voters around the nation reacting to the debates.

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Press Contact:             Kelli Halyard  
PRESS RELEASE from NBC News
NBC NEWS COVERAGE OF FIRST 2012 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

PRIMETIME BROADCAST ANCHORED BY BRIAN WILLIAMS WITH DAVID GREGORY, SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, TOM BROKAW, CHUCK TODD, AND ANDREA MITCHELL

WILL FEATURE LIVE INTERVIEWS WITH DAVID AXELROD AND SEN. KELLY AYOTTE

“TRUTH SQUAD” EDITORIAL TEAM WILL FACT-CHECK CANDIDATES IN REAL TIME


NEW YORK - October 2, 2012 -- NBC News will provide special network primetime coverage of the first 2012 presidential debate from 9:00pm-11:00pm ET/6:00pm-8:00pm PT on Wednesday, October 3, 2012. The debate will be held at the University of Denver in Denver, CO.

The two-hour broadcast will feature news and analysis from the trusted NBC News political team -- all current or former White House correspondents:

“NBC Nightly News” and “Rock Center” anchor and managing editor Brian Williams will anchor from New York, joined by “Meet the Press” moderator David Gregory and “TODAY” co-host Savannah Guthrie; political director and chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd and veteran journalist Tom Brokaw, who has covered every presidential election since 1968, will report from Denver; and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell will lead the “Truth Squad” fact-check team from Denver.

As part of Wednesday’s special coverage, Brian Williams will conduct the first post-debate interviews with two top campaign figures: David Axelrod, senior political strategist for President Obama’s re-election campaign, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), a leading supporter for Governor Romney.

Digital and Social Integration:

* NBC News will use Mass Relevance technology to integrate social media on air during network analysis of the event. Viewers can be a part of the experience on Twitter by using the hashtag #NBCPolitics.

* In addition to the on-air broadcast, NBCNews.com will provide in-depth coverage, including multimedia updates and reporting from teams on the ground in Denver and at NBC News headquarters. The “Truth Squad” editorial team will contribute across all platforms on air and online, fact-checking the candidates’ claims.

* The site’s political destination, NBCPolitics.com, will live stream the debate and provide the latest news and analysis from the First Read blog, and social media updates from NBC’s political team. The debate live stream and reporting will also be available through the NBCPolitics app.

* The NBC News Xbox application will also be live streaming the presidential and vice-presidential debates for the 2012 election season. Users with an Xbox Live Gold membership can watch the uninterrupted debates stream inside the application.

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PRESS RELEASE from PBS Newshour
Sept. 26, 2012

PBS NEWSHOUR LIVE coverage of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates

PBS NewsHour's special election broadcast coverage continues with live coverage and post-debate analysis of the 2012 Presidential Debates on Oct. 3, 11, 16 and 22, 2012 from 9:00 pm EDT - 11:00 pm EDT. Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill will anchor broadcast coverage and will be joined in the studio by the  NewsHour's regular political analysts, syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.  Political editor Christina Bellantoni will be on hand to provide perspective on social media reactions to the debates.

Special guests will include NPR correspondents Ari Shapiro and Scott Horsley, who will offer analysis and perspective from the site of the presidential debates, and Debbie Elliott and Brian Naylor, providing analysis of the vice presidential debate.

PBS's own Jim Lehrer will moderate the first debate on Oct. 3, 2012.  It will be the 12th presidential debate he has moderated.   

Wednesday, October 3 - The first Presidential Debate will focus on domestic policy and will be moderated by Jim Lehrer, Executive Editor of the PBS NewsHour at the University of Denver, Denver, CO.

Thursday, October 11 - In their only debate of the 2012 campaign, the Vice Presidential candidates will meet at  Centre College, Danville, KY for a debate moderated by Martha Raddatz, Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent for ABC News.

Tuesday, October 16 - The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues, Candy Crowley, Chief Political Correspondent for CNN and anchor of CNN's State of the Union will moderate the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.

Monday, October 22 - Foreign policy will be the focus of the third and final Presidential Debate moderated by Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News and moderator of Face the Nation at Lynn University at Boca Raton, FL.

In addition to broadcast coverage, PBS NewsHour will livestream the debates and other coverage throughout each night of the debates.  NewsHour reporters will also live blog analysis and added context on the NewsHour website and interview guests on an AfterHours livestream. 

For more information on PBS Election 2012, including programming from PBS NEWSHOUR, WASHINGTON WEEK, FRONTLINE and NEED TO KNOW, visit pbs.org/election2012 and follow #pbsElection on Twitter.

PBS NEWSHOUR is seen by over 5 million weekly viewers and is also available online, via public radio in select markets and via podcast. The program is produced in association with WETA Washington, D.C., and WNET in New York. Major funding for the PBS NEWSHOUR is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. www.pbs.org/newshour

Contact:
Anne Bell                               
PBS NEWSHOUR   
PRESS RELEASE from ABC News

October 4, 2012
By David Ford
More Americans Turned to ABC News for Coverage and Analysis of the First Presidential Debate Than Any Other Outlet

11.252 Million Viewers Watched the First Presidential Debate on the ABC Television Network

8.865 Million Americans Turned to Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, and the ABC News Powerhouse Political Team for Post-Debate Analysis

“Vote 2012: Presidential Debate-Wed” (9:00-10:32 p.m.)
On its first night of debate coverage, ABC News “Your Voice, Your Vote – 2012 Presidential Debate” drew an average audience of 11.3 million viewers, qualifying as Wednesday’s #1 program among Total Viewers. Airing from 9:00-10:32 p.m., ABC News delivered the most-watched coverage of the debate, outdrawing CBS by 7% (10.6 million) and NBC by 2% (11.1 million).

  • ABC’s debate coverage was up over the network’s coverage of the first Presidential debate 4 years ago by 2% in Total Viewers (11.0 million on 9/26/08). 

“Vote 2012: Analysis-Wed-10/3″ (10:32-11:00 p.m.)
ABC News’ analysis of the 2012 Presidential Debate on Wednesday night ranked as the #1 post-debate analysis in Total Viewers (8.9 million), topping NBC’s coverage by 2% (8.7 million) and CBS’ coverage by 27% (7.0 million).

  • ABC’s analysis of the 2012 Presidential Debate grew by 7% in Total Viewers from the Net’s analysis on the comparable night 4 years ago (8.3 million on 9/26/08).
  • The ABC News debate analysis delivered the Network’s best performance in the half-hour in nearly 1 year inTotal Viewers – since 11/9/11.

Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos anchored ABC’s special coverage of the first Presidential debate in Denver, Colorado on Wednesday, October 3. To give viewers the whole picture on how each candidate performed and what impact it could have on the campaign going forward, Sawyer and Stephanopoulos were joined by members of ABC’s powerhouse political team including – Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, “ABC World News” Weekend Anchor David Muir, Senior Political Correspondent Jonathan Karl – who reported from ABC’s Fact or Fiction Desk, as well as ABC News Political Contributors George Will, Matthew Dowd, Nicolle Wallace, Donna Brazile, and Austan Goolsbee.

Marc Burstein is the senior executive producer of ABC News Special Events.

FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE RATINGS (October 3 – 9:00-10:32pm)


 Total Viewers Adults 25-54
ABC    11,252,000   3.92; 4,651,000
NBC   11,069,000   4.34; 5,156,000
CBS   10,576,000   3.80; 4,507,000

ANALYSIS OF FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE RATINGS (10:32-11:00pm)


 Total Viewers Adults 25-54
ABC   8,865,000   2.97; 3,527,000
NBC   8,719,000   3.29; 3,899,000
CBS   7,010,000   2.48; 2,945,000

PRESS RELEASE from NBC News

October 4, 2012
OVER 11 MILLION AMERICANS TURN TO NBC NEWS FOR COVERAGE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

#1 AMONG ADULTS 25-54 ACROSS ALL BROADCAST AND CABLE NETWORKS

POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS: 8.7 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS; 3.9 MILLION A25-54

NEW YORK - October 4, 2012 -- 11.069 million total viewers turned to NBC News for coverage of the first 2012 presidential debate. Nearly half of that audience, 5.156 million viewers, were adults aged 25-54 -- making NBC News the most-watched broadcast or cable network among the key A25-54 demographic.

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE (9:00-10:33pm ET)

NBC News’ coverage of the first Presidential Debate averaged 11.069 million total viewers, +5% (+493,000) more than CBS (10.576 million) and +61% (+4,184,000) ahead of FOX (6.885 million).
In A18-49, NBC averaged a 3.8 rating, beating ABC by +12% (+4 tenths), CBS by +23% (+7 tenths) and FOX by +31% (+9 tenths).
In A25-54, NBC averaged a 4.3 rating, +10% (+4 tenths) ahead of ABC, +13% (+5 tenths) ahead of CBS and +43% (+1.3 rating points) more than FOX.


POST-DEBATE ANALYSIS (10:33-11:00pm ET)

NBC’s post-analysis coverage (10:33p-11p) averaged 8.719 million total viewers, +24% (+1,709,000) ahead of CBS’ 7.010 million.
In A18-49, NBC averaged a 2.8 rating, +12% (+3 tenths) more than ABC and +33% (+7 tenths) more than CBS.
In A25-54, NBC delivered a 3.3 rating, +10% (+3 tenths) ahead of ABC and +32% (+8 tenths) ahead of CBS. Note ABC’s coverage began at 10:32p.
Versus the rated analysis on the first night of the 2008 Presidential debate (Fri 9/26/08), NBC was up +22% (+1,594,000) in total viewers, +22% (+5 tenths) in rating A18-49 and +18% (+5 tenths) in rating A25-54.


ONLINE

NBCPolitics.com saw over 3,180,000 page views and 992,000 video streams, including nearly 250,000 live streams of the debate.
The #nbcpolitics hashtag on Twitter was used over 25,000 times according to Topsy, and trended nationally during the debate.

# # #
CNN Tops MSNBC During Debate; Also Tops Fox News in Younger Viewers (18-34)
CABLE NEWS RATINGS FOR DENVER PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Wednesday, October 3/Nielsen Fast Nationals ratings data:
CNN tops MSNBC by wide margins in total viewers and key demos (25-54 and 18-34) throughout the night
CNN also tops Fox News in younger viewers (18-34) all evening

9:00-10:30 PM (Debate)

CNN

6.045 million total viewers

2.369 million among adults 25-54

1.461 million among adults 18-34

FNC

10.421 million total viewers

2.933 million A25-54

882k A18-34

MSNBC

4.711 million total viewers

1.853 million A25-54

772k A18-34

8:00 PM-11 PM PRIMETIME

CNN

4.763 million total viewers

1.851 million A25-54

1.062 million A18-34

FNC

8.181 million total viewers

2.160 million A25-54

662k A18-34

MSNBC

3.914 million total viewers

1.482 million A25-54

616k A18-34

7:00 PM-12 MIDNIGHT

CNN

3.721 million total viewers

1.443 million A25-54

776k A18-34

FNC

6.451 million total viewers

1.719 million A25-54

509k A18-34

MSNBC

3.104 million total viewers

1.159 million A25-54

496k A18-34

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PRESS RELEASE from Rentrak Corporation

Rentrak Reports Ratings For The 2012 Presidential Debate Across All Broadcast & Cable Networks

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rentrak Corporation (NASDAQ: RENT), the leader in multi-screen media measurement serving the advertising, television and entertainment industries, today announced "overnight" ratings information from Wednesday night's presidential debate, the first between President Obama and GOP candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

The first, 1-1/2-hour debate, included just six questions.  Moderated by Jim Lehrer, of PBS Newshour, his questions focused on the economy, health care, governing, and the role of government.  

According to Rentrak, 49,149,440 households, or a 31.28 rating, tuned in to the debate for at least one minute across broadcast and cable networks.  Overall, the average home tuned in and watched 66% percent of the debate or 73.0% of the total time.  Rentrak also looked at key markets in swing states.  Cleveland, Ohio led the pack with a 127 index to the average.  In terms of audience flow, the level of viewing was fairly constant throughout the debate, with a bump at 10 p.m. (which probably occurred due to switch over from other programs).  Results are based on one million set-top boxes reporting by 6:00 a.m. PDT on Oct. 4. 

Bruce Goerlich, Chief Research Officer at Rentrak said, "We are proud to be the only ratings service providing the country with a detailed snapshot of this major event."

The final presidential debate will be held on October 22 and will focus on foreign policy rather than domestic policy. CBS correspondent Bob Schieffer will moderate.

Below is a table of key markets and a second-by-second graph.

Selected Example Results from Key Swing States:

Market Index to
National Average Rating
Cleveland, OH 127
Orlando, FL 125
Raleigh, NC 122
Charlotte, NC 118
Roanoke, VA 115
Colorado Springs, CO 115
Denver, CO 114
Dayton, OH 113
Tallahassee, FL 111
Richmond, VA 110
Norfolk, VA 108
Cedar Rapids, IA 108
Ft. Myers, FL 104
Madison, WI 103
Greenville, NC 102
Washington DC 101
Miami, FL 101
Reno, NV 100

Second-by-Second Ratings Graph:
 

Rentrak's television ratings measurement service provides daily measurement of all TV networks nationally and at a granular level for TV stations in all 210 media markets nationwide. The service incorporates information from over 20 million televisions and is the only fully integrated system of detailed satellite, telco and cable TV viewing data commercially available.

About Rentrak Corporation
Rentrak (NASDAQ: RENT) is a global digital media measurement and research company, serving the most recognizable companies in the entertainment industry. With a reach across numerous platforms including box office, multi-screen television and home video, Rentrak has developed more efficient metrics to be used as census-based and census-like currencies for the evaluation and selling of media. Rentrak is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with additional U.S. and international offices. For more information on Rentrak, please visit www.rentrak.com.

RENTM

Contacts for Rentrak Corporation:
Sallie Olmsted / Jim Hughes