Debate Drama: Trump-Harris Showdown Draws 60M Viewers, But Falls Short of Record

The highly anticipated Trump-Harris debate drew a massive 60 million viewers, but failed to break the record set by Trump's 2016 clash with Hillary Clinton. ABC's simulcast of the debate raked in an impressive 18 million viewers, with NBC coming in second with 9. 7 million. Fox News dominated cable news, with 8. 6 million viewers tuning in. But what's the real story behind these numbers? Did the debate's online streaming numbers, which are missing from the Nielsen report, change the game? What about the millions who watched clips on social media? The debate's timing couldn't be more crucial for ABC, which is struggling to adapt to the decline of linear TV and the rise of streaming platforms. But what if this assumption is wrong? What if the debate's real impact is yet to be seen? The debate's top moments were likely replayed and shared countless times online, but what did we really learn from this showdown? ABC's debate simulcast drew 18 million viewers, with NBC coming in second with 9. 7 million. Fox News dominated cable news, with 8. 6 million viewers tuning in. The debate's online streaming numbers are missing from the Nielsen report, but could have changed the game. The debate's timing couldn't be more crucial for ABC, which is struggling to adapt to the decline of linear TV and the rise of streaming platforms. The debate's top moments were likely replayed and shared countless times online, but what did we really learn from this showdown? The debate's true impact remains to be seen.