CNBC is claiming record ratings for its Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday, but the number is far lower than the previous two GOP debates hosted by Fox News and CNN.
A release on Thursday from CNBC said the two-hour event got 14 million total viewers, “making it CNBC’s most-watched telecast in network history.”
By contrast, the debate Fox hosted in August got 24 million viewers, and CNN’s in September got 23 million.
One possible reason for the large drop in viewership is that CNBC’s programming is largely focused on finance, not politics, making it a less intuitive host for a political event.
