Viewership plummets by 20 percent for second presidential debate

The second presidential debate saw a decrease in viewers nationwide.

(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

published 10 October 2016

The second presidential debate didn't measure up to the first in at least one way: audience size. Nielsen data released Monday revealed there was a roughly 20 percent drop in viewership from the first debate, which took place Sept. 26, to the second debate Sunday. While 84 million people tuned into the first presidential debate, marking what Politico reported was "the most-watched presidential debate ever," just 63 million tuned in for the second showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

CNN's Brian Stelter attributed the decline to Sunday night football and Hurricane Matthew, which left some families in the Southeast displaced or without power.

While not as many viewers were watching the actual event, people were certainly still plugged in: Both Twitter and Facebook reported that the debate was the most buzzed about ever. CNN reported Facebook had about 20 million U.S. users "commenting, liking, and sharing content about the debate," while Twitter reported about 17 million "debate-related tweets" were sent out on Sunday.