WEB
POSTING from The
Nielsen
Company
October 17, 2012
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.
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
PRESS RELEASE from Rentrak Corporation
October 17, 2012
65.6 million
Viewers Watched the Second Presidential Debate
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.
| October 3, 2012 | October 16, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| All Households |
|
|
|
|
| Persons 2+ |
|
|
|
|
| Persons 18-34 |
|
|
|
|
| Persons 35-54 |
|
|
|
|
| Persons 55+ |
|
|
|
|
| September 26, 2008 | October 2, 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | Number of Viewers | Rating | Number of Viewers | |
| Persons 2+ |
|
|
|
|
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
PRESS RELEASE from Rentrak Corporation
Rentrak
Reports Ratings for the Second 2012 Presidential Debate Across All
Broadcast & Cable Networks
PORTLAND,
Ore., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rentrak Corporation (NASDAQ: RENT),
the leader in multi-screen media measurement serving the advertising,
television and entertainment industries, today announced ratings
information from Tuesday night's presidential debate, the second
between President Obama and GOP candidate, former Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney.
Tuesday's town hall-style debate took place at Hofstra University and was moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. Questions covered a range of topics including foreign and domestic policy and were submitted by the audience.
Viewing habits varied slightly during the second debate with fewer people tuning in, but watching longer. The total viewing audience fell from 49.1 million households during the first debate to 48.0 million households during the second debate. People did watch more of the debate this time with 75.7% of the total minutes of the debate being watched by the average home, up from 73.0% during the first debate. In terms of the traditional average audience rating in the first debate, it was a 31.2 which grew slightly to 31.7 during the second debate.
Selected markets reported on by Rentrak during the first debate showed the biggest relative drop in viewing coming from Traverse City and Grand Rapids, Michigan, which both fell about 8% below the average in the U.S.
Bruce Goerlich, Chief Research Officer at Rentrak said, "With less than one month to go before Election Day, Rentrak's TV ratings illuminate how politics has its own intense followers."
The final debate, covering foreign policy, will be held on October 22 and will be moderated by CBS correspondent, Bob Schieffer.
Below is a table of key markets and a second-by-second TV viewing graph.
Second-by-Second Ratings Graph:
Tuesday's town hall-style debate took place at Hofstra University and was moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. Questions covered a range of topics including foreign and domestic policy and were submitted by the audience.
Viewing habits varied slightly during the second debate with fewer people tuning in, but watching longer. The total viewing audience fell from 49.1 million households during the first debate to 48.0 million households during the second debate. People did watch more of the debate this time with 75.7% of the total minutes of the debate being watched by the average home, up from 73.0% during the first debate. In terms of the traditional average audience rating in the first debate, it was a 31.2 which grew slightly to 31.7 during the second debate.
Selected markets reported on by Rentrak during the first debate showed the biggest relative drop in viewing coming from Traverse City and Grand Rapids, Michigan, which both fell about 8% below the average in the U.S.
Bruce Goerlich, Chief Research Officer at Rentrak said, "With less than one month to go before Election Day, Rentrak's TV ratings illuminate how politics has its own intense followers."
The final debate, covering foreign policy, will be held on October 22 and will be moderated by CBS correspondent, Bob Schieffer.
Below is a table of key markets and a second-by-second TV viewing graph.
|
Selected TV Market Viewing Results from Key Swing States: |
||
|
Numbers above 100 = higher than the U.S. Average |
||
|
Numbers below 100 = lower than the U.S. Average |
||
|
MARKET |
SECOND DEBATE |
FIRST DEBATE |
|
Topeka, KS |
109 |
101 |
|
Paducah, KY |
107 |
103 |
|
Baton Rouge, LA |
105 |
101 |
|
Portland, ME |
105 |
100 |
|
Corpus Christi, TX |
104 |
100 |
|
Greenville, NC |
103 |
102 |
|
Boston, MA |
103 |
100 |
|
Memphis, TN |
103 |
100 |
|
Wausau, WI |
102 |
102 |
|
Johnstown, PA |
102 |
101 |
|
Reno, NV |
102 |
100 |
|
Augusta, GA |
101 |
103 |
|
Tulsa, OK |
101 |
101 |
|
Sioux Falls, SD |
101 |
100 |
|
Washington DC |
100 |
101 |
|
Lincoln, NE |
99 |
102 |
|
Miami, FL |
99 |
101 |
|
Sacramento, CA |
99 |
100 |
|
Dallas, TX |
99 |
100 |
|
West Palm Beach, FL |
99 |
100 |
|
Terre Haute, IN |
98 |
102 |
|
Wilkes Barre, PA |
98 |
100 |
|
Lansing, MI |
96 |
101 |
|
Great Falls, MT |
95 |
100 |
|
Traverse City, MI |
92 |
100 |
|
Grand Rapids, MI |
91 |
100 |
Second-by-Second Ratings Graph: