The ratings for the first Democratic debate are in, and NBC posted big numbers despite its technical difficulties.
Roughly 10 million viewers tuned in for the debate, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The numbers easily surpassed previous debate ratings from the 2008 Democratic primary, but fell short of the first Republican debate in 2015. The first Republican debate in the 2016 election cycle brought in a record 24 million viewers on Fox News Channel. (RELATED: Fox News Prime Time Ratings Beat MSNBC And CNN Combined)
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Senator Amy Klobuchar pose before the start of the first U.S. 2020 presidential election Democratic candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri.
NBC and MSNBC were widely panned for the technical difficulties that occurred during the debate. The network was forced to cut to commercial after microphone issues disrupted the broadcast. President Donald Trump even chimed in to mock the network (and his former employer) for its issues. (RELATED: Trump Steals Show On Twitter During First Democrtic Debate)
“.@NBCNews and @MSNBC should be ashamed of themselves for having such a horrible technical breakdown in the middle of the debate. Truly unprofessional and only worthy of a FAKE NEWS Organization, which they are!” Trump tweeted.
The second Democratic debate will take place Thursday night, and will also be broadcast by NBC. The Democratic National Committee was forced to split their first debate into two nights due to the large amount of candidates that entered the race.