Most Watched Debate in History; 84 Million People Watched the Clinton-Trump Face-off

Reports indicate that over 84 million people watched the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the two main candidates for the U.S. presidential election, on Monday evening via television. This viewer count is a record in the 60-year history of televised presidential debates in the U.S. and is referred to as the most-watched debate in the history of elections in this country. According to CNN, the Nielsen Company announced that 84 million people viewed the first debate of the Democratic and Republican candidates through 13 American television networks. Nielsen, which has its office in the UK, is an international company in the field of information and measurement. According to the report, millions of others also watched the debate live via the internet. Nielsen also stated that 84 million people watched the debate at home through their televisions, and this number does not include those who viewed the debate at gatherings, restaurants, workplaces, and parties. CNN notes that since the reported statistics only include viewers watching the debate from home, the actual number of people who watched the debate live is much higher than 84 million. NBC, where Lester Holt was the moderator of the debate, had the highest viewership among television networks, with 18 million people watching the debate through NBC. 13.5 million people watched through CBS, 11.4 million through Fox News, 9.9 million through CNN, 5.5 million through Fox, and 4.9 million through MSNBC. The report adds that the debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump also set a record among Spanish-language networks in the U.S., with 4.3 million people watching through two networks. The debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012 had over 67 million viewers. It was previously predicted that this debate would attract 100 million viewers. This 90-minute debate was the first of three debates that Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton are set to hold. The U.S. presidential election will take place on November 8 of this year.