The first Republican primary debate was on at the same time as Jon Stewart’s last episode of the Daily Show and the ratings weren’t even close.
CNN reports that the GOP debate made TV history:
Fox’s GOP debate had record 24 million viewers
Fox’s GOP debate was watched by 24 million viewers on Thursday night, according to Nielsen data, making it the highest-rated primary debate in television history.
The event, which featured Donald Trump in his first debate, was also the highest rated telecast in the nearly 20 year history of the Fox News Channel, a spokeswoman said.
Of the 24 million viewers, 7.9 million were in the key advertising demographic of 25 to 54 year olds.
The ratings, which were delivered by Nielsen on Friday afternoon, shattered even the rosiest expectations for the beginning of debate season.The numbers from Thursday night’s two hour debate tripled the largest audience for any previous debate.
In contrast, Jon Stewart’s last show got only 3.5 million viewers:
Jon Stewart Finale: 3.5 million
Fox GOP debate: 24 million
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 7, 2015
@FoxNews debate drew 7 times more viewers than Jon Stewart's final @TheDailyShow. https://t.co/70mOVer8cF
— Contender (@Contendment) August 7, 2015
That’s a huge difference.
Too bad for Jon Stewart.
