Last night's Democratic primary debate drew about 6.7 million viewers, or roughly a third of what the Republican debate drew on Wednesday.
A debate held on the Saturday before Christmas seemed almost designed to repel, not attract, viewers.
And sure enough, ABC's Democratic debate in New Hampshire drew a far smaller audience thanCNN's Republican debate in Nevada earlier this week, according to very early Nielsen ratings data.
But the ratings are about in line with the Democratic debate that CBS televised, also on a Saturday night, last month.
The CBS debate averaged a 6.1 household rating in Nielsen's "metered markets," metropolitan areas where early ratings comes from.
The ABC debate averaged a 6.0 household rating.
I find it odd that the DNC is scheduling debates on nights that typically nobody watches television--their last debate was also on a Saturday. Debates are a good way to show viewers who the candidates are, and it's strange to me that the DNC is apparently trying to do the opposite.