The second Republican primary debate of the 2024 election cycle on Wednesday saw a decline in viewership, reaching its lowest point since the debates began in 2015, according to reports from multiple outlets. The Nielsen ratings service provided the data.
News organizations like The New York Times and NBC News suggested that the drop in viewership indicates a lack of interest in learning about the other Republican candidates, as former President Donald Trump continues to lead in the polls. Interestingly, Trump appeared in two of the three least-viewed debates.
Trump’s participation in the third-least-viewed debate on March 10, 2016, hosted by CNN, garnered nearly 12 million views. The second-least-viewed debate, which aired on Jan. 14, 2016, on Fox Business, received just over 11 million views. These figures were reported by NBC News.
The most recent debate on Wednesday attracted approximately 9.3 million viewers, with 6.7 million watching on Fox News, 1.8 million tuning in to Fox Business, and 813,000 watching Univision. These numbers reflect a 27% drop compared to the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 cycle, which aired on Aug. 23, 2023, on Fox.
The first GOP primary debate of the 2024 cycle achieved around 12.8 million viewers across various platforms, including Fox News, Fox Business Network, and its streaming platforms. Fox News alone attracted around 11 million viewers. However, even these numbers signify a significant decline in viewership compared to debates in previous election cycles.
The very first GOP debate, which aired on Fox News on Aug. 6, 2015, had 24 million viewers. The second debate, which aired on CNN on Sept. 16, 2015, reached approximately 23 million viewers.
In a press release issued by Fox News on Thursday, the network highlighted the achievements in digital and livestream engagement.
“Across all FOX News Digital properties, there were 22.8 million minutes watched between 9-11 PM/ET, marking the platform’s third-highest day of engagement on the FOX News livestream this year,” the press release stated. It also mentioned that livestream minutes increased by 83%, video starts were up by 65%, and unique viewers saw a 29% rise compared to the average weekday in 2023. Overall, video starts were up 22%, page views increased by 5%, and total minutes watched rose by 9% compared to the average weekday in 2023 for FOX News Digital.
“On social media, FOX News remained the leader in total social engagement among the news competitive set, which includes Facebook, X, and Instagram,” the press release added.
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