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The figures, based on Nielsen data, fell shy of the 24
million who tuned in last month when Republican candidates took
part in a debate on Fox News Channel, the biggest audience for a
non-sports telecast in cable TV history.
CNN's debate lasted three hours, one hour longer than the one on
Fox News. The ratings for the CNN telecast covered the period
from 8:15 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. ET, the network said.
Billionaire Donald Trump's blunt speaking style has boosted
interest in the contest to pick a Republican presidential
nominee for the November 2016 election. He shared the debate
stage with 10 other candidates. Four other Republicans, who rank
lower in opinion polls, took part in an earlier debate.
CNN charged up to $200,000 for a 30-second commercial during the
three-hour event, according to people familiar with the matter.
Before the debate, Trump called on CNN to donate $10 million of
advertising revenue from the debate to charity.
On Thursday, he made a simpler request: "Just announced that in
the history of @CNN, last night’s debate was its highest rated
ever. Will they send me flowers & a thank you note?" he wrote on
Twitter.
Audiences for cable TV programs traditionally rank below the
most-watched events on broadcast television. The Super Bowl U.S.
football championship in January attracted 114 million viewers,
while February's Academy Awards pulled in 37.3 million.
The debate also was streamed live on CNN's website for anyone to
watch, even without a cable subscription. Viewership on the
website and mobile apps peaked around 9:45 p.m. ET with 921,000
simultaneous streams, CNN said, a far higher Internet audience
than previous primary debates.
By comparison, this year's Super Bowl peaked at 1.3 million
viewers, CNN said.
CNN was founded in 1980.
Fox News Channel is owned by 21st Century Fox.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Mohammad
Zargham, Andrew Hay and Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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