Giants vs Eagles Nailbiter Makes Fox Highest-Rated Network on Debate Night

NBC and ABC tied for second with their debate coverage, ABC had the night’s largest audience

New York Giants v Philadelphia Eagles
Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images

Fox scored a Thursday night win in TV ratings thanks to the New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles nailbiter it aired opposite its Big 4 competition’s coverage of the final 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, according to the earliest-available broadcast ratings. As with the first Trump vs. Biden debate, ABC topped the second one in total viewers. Thursday’s Trump-Biden head-to-head was viewed less on the over-the-air channels than the first — even if you back out Fox, which aired football last night. You can read more about the debate ratings here. Due to the nature of live television, the below numbers are subject to adjustment when final data comes in later Friday. Fox was first in ratings with a 2.1 rating/10 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and second in total viewers with an average of 7 million, according to preliminary numbers. That rating and audience tally was put up by the Giants-Eagles game, which aired throughout primetime. ABC and NBC tied for second in ratings, each with a 1.6/8. ABC was first in total viewers with 7.6 million, NBC was third with 6.8 million. For ABC, a 20/20 preview special of the debate at 8 p.m. earned a 0.8/5 and 5.2 million viewers. From 9-11 p.m., the debate itself scored a 1.9/9 and 8.8 million viewers. For NBC, at pre-debate show at 8/5 p.m. had a 0.8 and 4.2 million viewers. At 9 p.m., Trump and Biden’s faceoff took a 1.9/9 and 8.1 million viewers. CBS was fourth in ratings with a 1.0/5 and in viewers with 4.5 million. “Big Brother” at 8 p.m. had a 1.0/6 and 4.3 million viewers. At 9 p.m., the network’s Trump-Biden debate coverage landed a 1.0/5 and 4.5 million viewers. Univision was fifth in ratings with a 0.4/2 and in viewers with 1.2 million. Telemundo was sixth in ratings with a 0.3/2 and in viewers with 1.1 million viewers. The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.3/2 and in viewers with 694,000. At 8 p.m., “Supernatural” received a 0.3/1 and 925,000 viewers. “The Outpost” at 9 p.m. settled for a 0.1/0 and 464,000 viewers.

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