CNN’s ratings rise to 10.7 million viewers for Round 2 of Democratic debate

A night of feisty exchanges with former Vice President Joe Biden helped lift the ratings of the second round of CNN’s Democratic primary debate Wednesday.

The two-hour event from Fox Theatre in Detroit averaged 10.7 million viewers on CNN and its sister channel CNN International, up 24% from round one on Tuesday, according to Nielsen.

The total was far below the 18.7 million viewers who watched the second round of the first Democratic debate on June 27, which aired on two broadcast networks — NBC and Telemundo — and cable channel MSNBC.

CNN did not disclose the average number of people watching the debate on its video stream, but said online viewing peaked at 9:35 p.m. Eastern with 796,000 viewers.

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Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, businessman Andrew Yang, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, from left, ready to debate Wednesday evening in Detroit.  (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Democratic presidential candidates during the national anthem.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls debated Wednesday, July 31, following the first 10 who met on Tuesday evening.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Julian Castro, Cory Booker, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Andrew Yang, from left.
  (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Democratic presidential hopefuls on the debate stage Wednesday evening.
  (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris of California, who clashed while debating in June, greet each other at the July debate.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand and Julián Castro, from left, before debating in Detroit.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Sens. Cory Booker, left, and Kamala Harris have both spoken harshly of former Vice President Joe Biden, center, in recent weeks.
  (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. Kamala Harris continued to directly challenge former Vice President Joe Biden on the issues Wednesday night.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Members of the media report from the press room on the second night of July’s debates.
  (Jeff Kowalsky / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey takes a turn at Wednesday’s debate.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Protesters call for the next president to immediately end deportations.
  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Former Vice President Joe Biden seen on a TV screen outside Wednesday’s debate.
  (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

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Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speak on debate night 2 in Detroit.
  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro gives his opening statement Wednesday evening.
  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York speaks Wednesday evening.  (Associated Press)

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii spoke of her time in the military after 9/11.  (Jim Watsom / AFP/Getty Images)

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Former tech executive Andrew Yang gives his opening statement at Wednesday’s debate.  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado speaks Wednesday evening.
  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Kamala Harris listens as Andrew Yang makes a point on Wednesday.
  (Scott Olson / Getty Images )

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Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Vice President Joe Biden talk during a break Wednesday evening.
  (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Carol Dunitz of Ann Arbor, Mich., demonstrates in Detroit before the second night of Democratic debating in July.
  (Jeff Kowalsky / AFP/Getty Images)

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Pro-immigration demonstrators march in Detroit before Wednesday night’s debate.
  (Jeff Kowalsky / AFP/Getty Images)

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Elvis impersonator Earl Grobbel shows his support for Joe Biden before Wednesday’s debate.  (Jeff Kowalsky / AFP/Getty Images)

While the audience number on Wednesday is slightly below CNN’s expectations, it’s still well above that of most primary debate events held in presidential cycles before the 2016 campaign. The only Democratic primary debate to perform better on CNN was on Oct. 13, 2015, when 15.5 million viewers watched Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former senator James Webb.

Public interest in the 2020 presidential campaign and who will challenge President Trump remains high, according to many surveys.

Still, the format of the two-night debate, which featured 10 candidates on the stage for each round, was less than ideal for TV viewers. Several candidates were likely to be unfamiliar to the portion of the audience that doesn’t watch political shows on cable every night.

Biden, who has a commanding lead in the polls, was the main target of the nine other candidates onstage, who picked at his record on immigration, criminal justice reform and climate change. Sen. Kamala Harris of California came under attack as well for her record as the state’s attorney general.

Their rivals on stage included Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The next Democratic primary debate is scheduled for Sept. 12 and 13 in Houston and will be carried on ABC and Spanish-language network Univision. The Democratic National Committee’s requirements for that event, based on fundraising and standings in the polls, are likely to winnow the field.