The latest GOP debate saw a slight uptick in ratings on Thursday night — especially if you factor in both of the networks tuning in.
Shared by CNN and Telemundo, the debate grossed an overnight rating of 9.9 among metered market households, with a 9.0 rating for CNN’s coverage and a 0.9 rating for Telemundo’s. With final numbers, the debate fetched 14.5 million viewers. That’s up 1 million from the most recent debate.
For a Republican debate, it’s also the strongest of 2016, just edging past the recent weekend affair on CBS, which had a 9.3 overnight rating that ultimately translated to 13.5 million viewers in final returns.
Breaking it down by network, 13.2 million viewers watched on CNN, and Telemundo drew 1.3 million.
An exceptionally heated showdown between the five remaining Republican presidential candidates, the debate was a more intimate affair than the ones seen when the field was more crowded. Frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz each enjoyed an abundance of screen time.
See below for a complete rundown of debate audiences to date.
RNC
Aug. 8 — 24 million (FNC)
Sept. 16 — 23 million (CNN)
Oct. 28 — 14 million (CNBC)
Nov. 10 — 13.5 million (FBN)
Dec. 15 — 18.2 million (CNN)
Jan. 14 — 11.1 million (FBN)
Jan. 28 — 12.5 million (FNC)
Feb. 6 — 13.2 million (ABC)
Feb. 13 — 13.5 million (CBS)
Feb. 26 — 14.5 million (CNN/Telemundo)
DNC
Oct. 13 — 15.8 million (CNN)
Nov. 14 — 8.6 million (CBS)
Dec. 19 — 8 million (ABC)
Jan. 17 — 10.2 million (NBC)
Feb. 4 — 4.5 million (MSNBC)
Feb. 11 — 8.0 million (PBS/CNN)
