CNN said that 47.9 million watched the presidential debate across TV platforms on Thursday night, according to Nielsen Fast National data.
A more complete picture of the debate audience is expected later this afternoon, when Nielsen itself will release final numbers.
As of now, the debate audience was down considerably from 2020, when 73.1 million tuned into the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
The audience also was way below the first Trump-Clinton debate in 2016, when 84 million tuned in. Previous general election debates have taken place in the fall, when viewership is traditionally higher.
Read more on deadline.com