Still, the Obama-McCain face-off in Nashville didn’t match the Palin-Biden vice presidential debate. Nielsen pegs the overnight HH rating for the 2nd presidential debate at 42.1, based on data from 55 of 56 metered markets (Houston remains on Hurricane hiatus), up from 34.7 for the first debate. The VP debate scored a 45.0.
The Nashville market, where the debate was held, had the largest TV audience, with a household rating of 59.2, while the Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, California market had the lowest household rating: 31.8.
Here’s a look at the top 10 markets for debate ratings.
| Rank (by H.H. rating) |
Market | Market Rank (by population size) |
Household Rating (% of U.S. households that watched debate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville | 29 | 59.2 |
| 2 | Memphis | 48 | 55.7 |
| 3 | Baltimore | 26 | 55.6 |
| 4 | West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce | 38 | 51.4 |
| 5 | Richmond-Petersburg | 58 | 49.6 |
| 6 | Indianapolis | 25 | 49.5 |
| 7 | Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws | 43 | 49.4 |
| 8 | Kansas City | 31 | 49.2 |
| 9 | Columbus, OH | 32 | 48.9 |
| 10 | Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) | 27 | 48.2 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (October 7, 2008) | |||
To see all 55 markets, click here for the pdf from the Nielsen website.
The rating decline, however, once all national data was in. Nielsen now says 63 milion people watched the 2nd presidential debate, up from 52 million for the first. The HH rating increased to 38.8 from 31.6. The numbers below combine ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC.
2008 Presidential Debates
Sum of Networks Live + Same Day
|
|
September 26, 2008 |
October 7, 2008 |
||
|
|
Rating |
Number |
Rating |
Number |
|
All Households |
31.6 |
36,224,000 |
38.8 |
44,372,000 |
|
Persons 2+ |
18.1 |
52,418,000 |
21.9 |
63,233,000 |
|
African American P2+ * |
19.5 |
7,174,000 |
21.3 |
7,842,000 |
|
Hispanic P2+ * |
8.2 |
3,456,000 |
11.0 |
4,774,000 |
|
White P2+ * |
19.4 |
41,079,000 |
23.5 |
49,842,000 |
|
2004 –Debate |
September 30, 2004 |
October 8, 2004 |
||
|
Households |
39.4 |
43,000,000 |
29.6 |
32,500,000 |
|
Persons 2+ |
22.5 |
62,500,000 |
16.8 |
46,700,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company
* Persons ratings for African American, Hispanic are % of African American/ Hispanic persons age 2+ in TV homes watching the debate coverage.
2008 Networks Included:
Debate 1- ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telefutura, Telemundo, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Debate 2 – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
2004 Networks Included:
Debate 1 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
Debate 2 – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News, MSNBC
