A Democratic presidential debate hosted this week by MSBNC was the lowest-rated of the entire election cycle, includes debates held by both parties, according to numbers released Friday by Nielsen.
MSNBC brought in only 4.5 million viewers, easily underperforming the previous low, which was the Democratic debate held in December by ABC News that attracted only 7.85 million.
Even the Republican Party’s so-called “undercard debates,” which featured the lowest polling candidates of the GOP primary, performed better than the showdown Thursday night between Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., on MSNBC.
There are a few reasons for the left-leaning cable news group’s dismal showing, Politico argued.
“MSNBC has less reach than broadcast networks and CNN, and the debate was quickly put together at the last minute. The network had little expectation for big ratings. Promotion did not begin airing until a few days before the debate, so viewers might have been less aware that it was scheduled. CNN’s town hall on Wednesday, also a last minute addition, brought in 2.7 million viewers,’ reporter Hadas Gold explained.
“But the lower ratings also might reflect an overall loss of interest in the debates this cycle. Debates on the Republican side also have begun to see a slide in ratings since the explosive highs of the first two debates, though overall, the average debate ratings this cycle remain much higher than in previous election cycles,” she added.
In comparison to the event hosted Thursday by MSNBC, a CNN debate in October drew 15.3 million viewers. CBS News hosted a debate in November that drew 8.5 million, ABC pulled in 7.8 million in December and NBC News attracted 10.2 million in January.
The GOP primary debates meanwhile have been a huge blessing to the networks that have been lucky enough to participate.
Fox News scored big in August with a debate that attracted 24 million viewers. CNN earned 23 million viewers in September. CNBC clocked in at 14 million in October. In November, the Fox Business Network hosted a debate that drew in 13.5 million viewers. CNN again scored big in December with a debate that brought in 18 million.
There was a sizable decline in numbers later in January when FBN hosted a debate that attracted only 11.1 million. That same month, Fox News hosted another debate that took in 12.5 million viewers, which is pretty respectable considering GOP front-runner and headline-maker Donald Trump declined to participate.
