The first debate of the 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton dominated the most watched shows on cable Monday night.
Live debate coverage, along with pre and post-debate shows, secured nine of the top 10 most watched cable programs on Sept. 26 according to Nielsen, led by Fox News’ primetime coverage of the 90-minute debate.
Fox News delivered 11.4 million viewers to top CNN (9.9 million viewers) and MSNBC (4.9 million viewers), according to Nielsen. Fox Business Network also averaged 672,000 viewers while CNBC averaged 520,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
Only ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast between The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints scored a top 10 finish among cable shows during the day.
Overall, the debate drew a record 84 million viewers across 13 networks,according to Nielsen. The debate easily topped the 67.1 million viewers tuning into the first debate between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.
On the social media front, the debate generated 17.1 million Twitter interactions from 2.7 million people in the U.S., according to Nielsen.
Most Watched Cable Shows On Sept. 26
ShowNetworkTotal Viewers
Presidential Debate (9:03-10:40 pm) Fox News 11.4 million
Pres. Debate/Analysis (10:40 to 11 pm) Fox News 9.9 million
1st Presidential Debate (9:03-10:38 pm) CNN 9.9 million
NFL Monday Night Football (Atl-NO) ESPN 8.0 million
Debate Night In America (10:30-12 am) CNN 6.9 million
The Kelly File (11 -12 am) Fox News 5.3 million
Debate (9:03-10:40 pm) MSNBC 4.9 million
The O’Reilly Factor (8-9 pm) Fox News 4.3 million
MSNBC Debate Analysis (10:40-12 am) MSNBC 4.0 million
Anderson Cooper 360 (8-9:03 pm) CNN 3.7 million
Source: Nielsen
