Debate watched by fewer than expected

[JonLP24]

Source: boston.com

About 55 million people watched the first presidential debate, but that audience does not crack the top 10 all-time.

Nielsen Media Research said tonight that about 52.4 million people watched Barack Obama and John McCain debate Friday night on the major broadcast and cable networks. PBS reported separately that about 2.6 million watched its coverage.

The audience was not as large as some predicted given the record viewership for the party conventions, though it included one third of households in the top 55 markets and though ABC's post-debate analysis was the top-rated prime-time program with about 8.3 million viewers and NBC's analysis ranked third with 7.1 million.

The figure "was well below the 62.5 million who watched the first Bush/Kerry debate four years ago. This may be because Friday is the traditionally the second-lowest night of the week for watching television," Nielsen said.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/debate_watched.html

[LeftyMom]

1. But that doesn't factor in group viewing, TiVo, the internet

In other words, young people.

I went to a viewing party at a local college, and there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-500 people watching. All the seats in the largest hall were taken, and people sat packed tightly on all the stairwells, stood in the rear of the room (for two hours!) etc.

[Turn CO Blue]

3. Yes. It also doesn't factor in CSPAN. Which is where many people

prefer to go so there's no chance of interruption by blatherers.

[LeftyMom]

4. Do they omit the annoying graphics on the bottom of the screen?

We watched the CNN broadcast and it was highly annoying.

I'm hosting a smaller debate party at my house, so I'm all for sticking with a cleaner feed.

[yardwork]

8. I watched it on CBS and the coverage was surprisingly good.

I rarely watch TV and hate to mess with it. I was late turning it on and it was tuned to CBS so I sat down and watched it. No interruptions, and the post-debate commentary was surprisingly good.

[deadmessengers]

6. I was on a plane at the time

I was on a Delta flight from San Francisco to Atlanta when the debate came on. On some Delta flights they have seatback entertainment systems which includes live TV - including CNN. This flight was one of those with seatback TV, and at 9PM Eastern, every single TV I could see from my seat in cattle class was tuned to the debate. You should have heard the groans that went up in the cabin when the flight attendant came on the PA, which temporarily blanks and mutes the TVs.

[DJ13]

2. The more people who already know who they want

the less need to watch a debate.

One of the greatest injustices of this campaign season that will be investigated in the future is how the MSM were manipulating polling results to sell a blowout as a close election.

[blm]

12. We already know they do that...waiting for the definitive research from a REPUTABLE firm

may take a few years....heh.

[tritsofme]

5. The only people arrogant enough to expect that people would spend their Friday night watching the

media is well...the media.

I don't know how anyone could seriously even compare ratings for a political event happening on a week night compared to a Friday evening.

If the same thing happens after the next debate compared to 2004, then we might have something interesting to talk about.

[OhioChick]

7. Fewer watched due to

being at work at their 2nd and 3rd jobs.

[skyounkin]

11. LMAO

Actaully I was working OT on my main job.......

BUT I listened to the debate on the radio.

[blm]

9. It's called Friday Night High School Football - always has and always will....

the more average American family viewers a campaign WANTS to see them debate, the harder they negotiate for a day OTHER than Friday or Saturday.

[Auggie]

10. Makes perfect sense

[rainydaywomyn69]

13. And it was the most entertaining one, too!

Oh well, thank Jah there's YouTube...