7.6M Watch Penultimate Obama-Clinton Debate on CNN
Second-Most-Watched Debate in Cable News History Behind CNN’s Clinton-Obama Debate from Los Angeles in January
By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/22/2008 4:24:00 PM
Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate on CNN was the second-most-watched debate in cable news history, as 7.6 million viewers watched Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) in an often-testy exchange at the University of Texas at Austin.
The debate was the penultimate face-off between Clinton and Obama, who are in a tight race leading up to critical primaries March 4 in Texas and Ohio. If Clinton cannot carry both states by at least 10 percentage points, her advisors have said her hopes of becoming the Democratic presidential nominee will fold.
The top-rated debate was CNN's January meeting between Clinton and Obama in Los Angeles, the first mano-a-mano contest for the contenders. A total of 8.3 million viewers watched that debate, according to Nielsen Media Research.
