Sunday night’s Democratic debate had 8.72 million viewers, according to Nielsen. But 11.34 million people watched CBS’s Madam Secretary, which aired at the same time. Over 20 million watched CBS’s 60 Minutes. The NFL playoff game, which aired at 7pm E.S.T, had over 40 million viewers.
The debate was held on a holiday weekend, following NFL playoffs. The prior Democratic debate was held on the last Saturday night before Christmas, the day after Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released, while the Jets played the Cowboys.
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has claimed, “I did my best to make sure, along with my staff and along with our debate partners, to come up with a schedule that we felt was going … to maximize the opportunity for voters to see our candidates.”
Contra Nielsen, NBC claims it had 10.2 million live viewers for this most recent Democratic debate.
