Ratings: Lester Holt's NBC Home Beats Rest of Big 4 on Debate Night

It’s good to have the moderator. NBC handily beat the rest of the Big 4 broadcast competition on debate night, when its Lester Holt presided over the 90-minute Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton argument.

ABC was better than CBS from 9 o’clock to 10:30 p.m. ET — the actual debate time slot — though “The Big Bang Theory” at 8 helped the latter top the former in the overall primetime key demo average, which counts 8-11 o’clock and audience members 18-49-years-old.

The Disney-owned network still took silver in total viewers across the three hours, however. All debate numbers should be considered preliminary and (very) subject to change at this point.

Also Read: Why Rudy Giuliani Thinks Donald Trump Should Skip Next Debate

For all of primetime, NBC was first in ratings with a 4.4 rating/12 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 14.4 million, according to preliminary numbers. “The Voice” at 8 p.m. ET earned a 3.3/10 and 12.1 million viewers. The two-hour debate coverage from 9 to 11 scored an average 5.0/13 and 15.6 million viewers.

CBS was second in ratings with a 2.8/8 and third in viewers with 11 million. “The Big Bang Theory” at 8 p.m. ET landed a 3.5/12 and 14.1 million viewers. At 8:30, “Kevin Can Wait” posted a 2.7/8 and 10.9 million viewers. Debate coverage for the next 120 minutes averaged a 2.6/7 and 10.2 million viewers.

ABC was third in ratings with a 2.5/7 and second in viewers with 11.3 million. “Dancing With the Stars” at 8 p.m. ET twirled to a 1.8/6 and 10.7 million viewers. Debate coverage averaged a 2.9/8 and 11.6 million viewers, from 9 to 11.

Also Read: Donald Trump Blames Debate Performance on 'Defective' Microphone

Fox was fourth in ratings with a 1.5/4 and in viewers with 4.6 million. “Gotham” at 8 p.m. ET received a 1.2/4 and 3.7 million viewers. The debate stuff nabbed a 1.7/5 and 5 million viewers. Fox ordinarily cuts its national primetime off at 10; last night, it went to 11.

Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.8/2 and in viewers with 2.1 million.

Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.6/2 and in viewers with 1.7 million. Both Spanish-language nets simulcast the debate.

Also Read: You'll Never Guess the Most-Watched Presidential Debate in History (Chart)

The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.3/1 and in viewers with 1 million, airing reruns.

15 Most Cringe-Worthy Gaffes From Presidential Debates

1960: During the first televised presidential debate, Richard Nixon refused to wear stage makeup, revealing his sweaty forehead under the hot TV lights. This made the younger John F. Kennedy look much more confident.
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
1976: Gerald Ford claimed that he didn't believe that Eastern Europe was under "Soviet domain," which proved to be an unpopular opinion, as the moderator repeated the question in bewilderment.
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1980: When the moderator tried to silence Ronald Reagan's microphone during a Republican primary debate, Reagan shouted: "I am paying for this microphone!" The line became a "political home run" for Reagan. It was also borrowed it from the 1948 film "State of the Union."
1980: In a general-election debate between incumbent president Jimmy Carter and Reagan, Carter said, “I had a discussion with my daughter Amy the other day before I came here to ask her what the most important issue was. She said she thought the control of nuclear weaponry.” Carter was mocked for taking policy advice from his 13-year-old daughter, helping Reagan to win the election.
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1988: Michael Dukakis may have lost the election when he said he would still oppose the death penalty even if the killer raped and murdered his wife, Kitty.
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1988: Vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle compared himself to Jack Kennedy and got hammered by Democratic rival Lloyd Bentsen: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
1992: George H.W. Bush checked his watch and tucked in his shirt during his debate with future president Bill Clinton, looking impatient when asked about the economy.
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2000: Al Gore sighed during a debate with George W. Bush, which was widely perceived as condescending. It was so bad, aides made him watch the "SNL" parody of the gaffe before the next debate.
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2008: Hillary Clinton attacked Barack Obama for allegedly lifting lines from the speeches of Massachusetts politician Duval Patrick. She had a good zinger... that didn't quite have the effect she was hoping for. "Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox," Clinton said -- but the audience booed.
CNN
2008: When a moderator asked Hillary Clinton if she had the personal appeal to overtake Barack Obama, the future president interjected that Clinton was "likable enough."
CBS
2008: While illustrating a point about a Bush/Cheney energy bill that Obama had signed, Arizona Senator John McCain referred to the future president as "that one."
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2011: Texas Gov. Rick Perry shifted his reputation from budget-slasher to bungler when he blanked on the names of all three federal agencies he proposed to eliminate as president: "I can’t, the third one. I can’t. Sorry. Oops."
CNBC
2012: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney claimed that Obama didn’t call Benghazi a terrorist attack. Obama confidently asked Candy Crowley to clear up the charge, which she does, pointing out Romney's mistake.
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2016: When asked during an interview in September what he would do about Aleppo, the epicenter of the Syrian refugee crisis, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson asked, "And what is Aleppo?" That line became a viral sensation, even earning some rather funny spoofs. Johnson then made things worse when later that month he couldn't name a single world leader -- dead or alive -- during a town hall with Chris Matthews. And just to be sure this second flub would get some traction, Johnson told Matthews he was having an "Aleppo moment." Talk about about a triple whammy.
MSNBC
2016: Green Party presidential candidate JillS Stein was hoping to be the answer to Bernie Sanders after he dropped out of the primary race. But answer she gave during an AMA reddit sesh put a damper on her plans. Stein, a Harvard Medical School graduate, raised some eyebrows when she took a decidedly anti-vaxxer stance: "As a medical doctor, there was a time where I looked very closely at those issues, and not all those issues were completely resolved. There were concerns among physicians about what the vaccination schedule meant, the toxic substances like mercury which used to be rampant in vaccines. There were real questions that needed to be addressed." Stein later clarified that she was not, in fact, an opponent of vaccines.
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From Richard Nixon’s flop sweat to Rick Perry’s ”Sorry oops,“ candidates have often stumbled at the podium

1960: During the first televised presidential debate, Richard Nixon refused to wear stage makeup, revealing his sweaty forehead under the hot TV lights. This made the younger John F. Kennedy look much more confident.

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15 Most Cringe-Worthy Gaffes From Presidential Debates

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