More than 4 million people watched the fourth Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday evening on NewsNation and The CW.
A total of 1.6 million viewers watched the debate on NewsNation, marking the cable news channel’s largest audience in its history, including 350,000 viewers among adults aged 25 to 54.
Another 2.5 million viewers watched the event on The CW, which simulcast the debate, making it the channel’s most watched prime-time program since 2018.
The network said preliminary digital results indicate another 400,000 users livestreamed some portion of the debate via the NewsNation website or mobile app.
NewsNation was launched in 2021 by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
“NewsNation was incredibly honored to host last night’s debate, and we are very pleased that so many viewers tuned-in and watched,” Sean Compton, president of networks for Nexstar Media, said in a statement. “This debate represents a remarkable achievement for a cable news network that is just barely three years old. We’re very proud of the NewsNation team, the great job done by the moderators, and the overall production. In the end, the real winners last night were the nation’s voters.”
Ratings for GOP primary debates this year have been steadily tapering, with the first and second debates on Fox News and Fox Business bringing in 12.8 million and 9 million, respectively, and the third debate, hosted by NBC, netting 7 million viewers.
The fourth debate of the cycle featured four primary candidates: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy.
During the two-hour event, moderated by NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas, SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly and Washington Free Beacon editor Eliana Johnson, the candidates traded barbs on a number of issues ranging from immigration to foreign policy and former President Trump’s fitness for office.
All four candidates trail significantly in the polls behind Trump, the party’s front-runner for the nomination, who has been a major ratings driver for cable news outlets in recent years but has skipped each of the first four debates, citing his large lead.
Two more Republican primary debates are slated for January and will both be hosted by CNN.