Democratic debate viewership drops 43 percent from June's opening round


Viewership for Tuesday's opening night of the second round of Democratic debates wasn't nearly as impressive as June's first round, though it was far from a disaster for CNN.
About 8.6 million people tuned in for Tuesday's debate, which featured Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) but not former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), per The Hollywood Reporter. This represents a 43 percent drop from the 15.2 million people who tuned into the first night of Democratic debates last month, but then again, that debate aired across three different networks — NBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo — while Tuesday's debate only aired on CNN.
Despite the drop-off, the debate was still CNN's second highest-rated Democratic primary debate. The record is the October 2015 debate that kicked off that year's primary and drew 15.4 million people; the Reporter notes that the following debate after that drew 8.5 million viewers on CBS, so this week's decline is about on par with that.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Given that Biden and Harris will participate in Wednesday night's debate, and their confrontation is highly anticipated after a tense stand-off last month, viewership is likely to rise as it did for the second night of debates in June. Still, don't expect it to come anywhere close to the record-breaking 18.1 million people who tuned in to the second night of last month's debates.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants