ABC drew 7.85 million total viewers for the third Democratic debate of 2015, the smallest average of all debates this cycle. Moderated by David Muir and Martha Raddatz, the debate was the No. 1 show in total viewers Saturday night, up against the Jets-Cowboys game in several big markets, and Star Wars in theaters around the world.
ABC had the most-watched debate of the 2008 cycle, the last time there was an open Democratic primary. 10.69 million tuned in for that debate which occured much later, in April.
This is the final debate of 2015. The first of 2016 will be Jan. 14 among the Republican candidates on FBN. The next Democratic debate will be on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 17.
Here’s the 2016 debate ranker, which includes Nielsen viewership data, along with livestreaming information provided by the networks.
| Debate | Network | Total Viewers | A25-54 | Streams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 6 | GOP | Fox News | 24,000,000 | 7,900,000 | 2,400000** |
| Sept. 16 | GOP | CNN | 22,940,000 | 6,900,000 | 4,500,000 |
| Oct. 13 | Dem | CNN | 15,791,000 | 4,998,000 | 4,300,000 |
| Oct. 28 | GOP | CNBC | 14,000,000 | 3,900,000 | *** |
| Nov. 10 | GOP | FBN | 13,500,000 | 3,670,000 | 2,580,000 |
| Nov. 14 | Dem | CBS | 8,500,000 | 2,120,000 | 1,200,000 |
| Dec. 15 | GOP | CNN | 18,165,000 | 5,560,000 | 3,100,000 |
| Dec. 19 | Dem | ABC | 7,850,000 | 1,928,000 | TBD |
| Jan. 14 | GOP | FBN | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Jan. 17 | Dem | NBC | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Jan. 28 | GOP | Fox News | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Feb. 6 | GOP | ABC | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Feb. 11 | Dem | PBS | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Feb. 13 | GOP | CBS | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Feb. 25 | GOP | TBD (previously NBC) | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Mar. 9 | Dem | Univision | TBD | TBD | TBD |
**Users needed to be an authenticated viewer to watch the livestream.
***CNBC is not sharing their livestream data.