Over 15 Million Watch Democratic Debate on NBCU Nets

Fully 15.3 million people watched the Democratic debate on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo, according to Nielsen, which NBC News said beat every primary debate during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles. The June 26 debate also attracted more than 9 million live streams, with users spending an average of 40 minutes watching, according to Adobe Analytics.

Among the 15.3 million, there were 4.3 million adults 25-54 and 3.7 million 18-49.

The two-hour event went from 9 to 11 p.m. ET and featured Cory Booker, Bill de Blasio, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke and Elizabeth Warren, along with five others. Another ten Democratic hopefuls, including Pete Buttiegieg, Joe Biden, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders, will face off June 27.

The moderators were NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, Noticias Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart, NBC News political director Chuck Todd and The Rachel Maddow Show host Rachel Maddow. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.