"The Voice" and the best ratings for the final presidential debate secured first place for NBC Monday, according to preliminary numbers.
NBC came in first in the advertiser-cherished 18-49 demographic with a 4.0 rating/10 share and second in total viewers with 11.2 million. "The Voice" at 8 p.m. drew a 4.2/11 — down 13 percent from last week an 12 million total viewers. The debate pulled a 4.2/10, a slight increase from the final debate in the 2008 election, and 11.5 million. NBC's debate analysis drew a 3.1/8 and 8.9 million total viewers.
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ABC took a distant second place in ratings with a 2.6/6 but grabbed the night's highest total viewership with 11.3 million, thanks largely to "Dancing With the Stars" at 8. It climbed 14 percent from last week for a 2.4/6 and was the most-watched show of the night with 13.2 million total viewers. ABC's debate coverage posted a 2.9/7, even with the last 2008 debate, and earned 11 million total viewers. The network's post-debate analysis scored a 2.2/5 and drew 8.1 million total viewers.
CBS came in third in ratings and total viewers with a 2.2/5 and 7.4 million. Following repeats of "The Big Bang Theory" and "2 Broke Girls," the network's debate coverage drew a 2.3/5, down 15 percent from 2008, and attracted 7.9 million total viewers. (CBS's Bob Schieffer was the moderator.) CBS's analysis earned a 1.8/4 and 6.2 million total viewers.
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Fox ran Game 7 of the NLCS baseball championship. Due to the nature of live sports, the game's early ratings are unreliable; Fox Sports will issue more reliable numbers later in the day.