Primetime Broadcast Ratings, October 15, 2008
NBC’s post-debate analysis of the final presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama edged past ABC’s post-debate coverage to claim the number one spot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Wednesday, October 15, 2008.
FOX, which aired live coverage of Game 5 of Major League Baseball’s National League Championship Series — instead of the debate, rounded out the top three.
CBS’s post-debate analysis also made the top ten.
| RANK | PROGRAM | NETWORK | VIEWERS (P2+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DECISION ’08:PRES ANALYS3(S)-10/15/2008 | NBC | 9,091,000 |
| 2 | VOTE2008:ANALYSIS-WED(S)-10/15/2008 | ABC | 8,864,000 |
| 3 | FOX MLB NLCS GAME 5(S)-10/15/2008 | FOX | 8,029,000 |
| 4 | OLD CHRISTINE | CBS | 7,613,000 |
| 5 | GARY UNMARRIED | CBS | 7,529,000 |
| 6 | KNIGHT RIDER | NBC | 7,470,000 |
| 7 | CAMPAIGN ’08-DEBATE ANL-3(S)-10/15/2008 | CBS | 7,189,000 |
| 8 | PUSHING DAISIES | ABC | 6,108,000 |
| 9 | FOX MLB NLCS GAME 5 PRE(S)-10/15/2008 | FOX | 5,113,000 |
| 10 | AMERICA’S TOP MODEL-5 | CW | 3,207,000 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company (October 15, 2008). |
Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of almost 8 million viewers, while FOX took second place with almost 7.8 million average viewers. CBS and ABC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 7.4 million and 7 million average viewers, respectively. Univision and the CW followed in fifth and sixth places with average audiences of roughly 2.8 million and 2.4 million viewers, respectively.
https://www.qa.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2008/primetime-broadcast-ratings-october-15-2008/
