'해리스·트럼프' TV토론 5750만명 시청…바이든 때보다 많아

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to preliminary estimates by Nielsen, a ratings research company, approximately 57.5 million people watched the first TV debate between former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, on the 11th (local time).

This figure surpasses the 51 million viewers who watched the TV debate between then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and former President Trump in June. Nielsen provisionally counted the viewers who watched the debate through seven TV networks. Final viewer data, including those who watched the debate in bars or restaurants, will be updated later.

While TV viewership is declining, Nielsen's count does not include viewers who watched the debate on online platforms, so the number of Americans who watched the presidential candidates' TV debate the previous day is estimated to be much higher, according to foreign media reports.

Since the first televised presidential debate in 1960 (Democrat John F. Kennedy vs. Republican Richard Nixon), the presidential candidate TV debate with the highest viewership over 60 years until 2020 was the 2016 debate between former President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. According to Nielsen, 84 million people watched it at that time.