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Obama And McCain’s First Debate Drew More Than One-Third Of Households In Top Local TV Markets

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September 27, 2008 3 Comments

The combined overall household rating for Friday night’s presidential debate, in 55 of the 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 34.7.

One rating point equals 1% of the total TV audience in a given market.

Coverage of the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, CNN, Telemundo, TeleFutura, BBCA, Fox News, MSNBC, and C-Span.

Previously, Nielsen reported that the combined overall household rating for the top 55 local markets was 33.2. That rating excluded households that viewed the debate on Fox News, MSNBC, and C-Span.

National ratings for Friday night’s debate will be available from Nielsen on Monday.

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3 Comments »

  • Diane D said:

    Why do the totals include CNN, but not Fox News or MSNBC?

    (this is from the explanation on the detailed pdf)

  • The Doc Is In» Blog Archive » The Debate (cartoon) said:

    [...] with a household rating of 52.1, while the Phoenix/Prescott market had the lowest rating, 24.8 (top markets here). The first 1980 bout between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter still holds the record as the [...]

  • sai said:

    Academy Award winning Actor Louis Gossett Jr.and his “Eracism” foundation gives a tribute to Barack Obama and introduces the Singing Duo “UMAD”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIkMi9LcTds

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