The vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance on Tuesday night garnered over 43 million viewers on television, as per Nielsen estimates. This viewership figure accounts for the audience across 15 television networks that simulcasted the CBS-produced debate. Additionally, an undisclosed number of viewers also watched the debate through online platforms like YouTube.
It is common for vice presidential debates to attract fewer viewers compared to presidential debates, and this trend continued this year. The recent debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump last month drew more than 67 million viewers across 17 networks, according to Nielsen data.
Looking back at previous election cycles, the viewership numbers for vice presidential debates have varied. In the 2020 election cycle, the debate between Harris and then-Vice President Mike Pence attracted 57 million viewers. The most-watched vice presidential debate in history occurred in 2008 when Joe Biden and Sarah Palin faced off, drawing a record 69.9 million viewers on television, as reported by Nielsen.
Despite not reaching the viewership levels of past debates, the Walz-Vance debate still managed to become one of the most-watched single telecasts of the year in the United States. The calmer and more civil tone of the debate may have contributed to maintaining viewer interest throughout the event.
