This week's Biden-Trump debate watched by fewer Americans than four years ago

(Patria) - According to CNN, the first debate between US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump attracted 47.9 million viewers across all channels on Thursday evening, which is much less compared to 2020, AFP reported.

The program, produced by CNN and moderated by its two most famous journalists, lagged behind by 35 percent compared to the 73.1 million viewers who followed the debate on September 29, 2020, which pitted the same two candidates against each other for the first time.

The second debate in the 2020 presidential election attracted 63 million viewers. Despite this significant drop, viewership for Thursday's live broadcast was the highest this year in the US, excluding sporting events, CNN said in a statement on Friday.

The Nielsen ratings agency estimated the number of viewers at 51.3 million across American networks.

As the host of the debate, CNN offered to broadcast it on other channels, which all major American stations agreed to, including rival Fox News.

Slightly more than nine million viewers watched CNN, and Fox News 8.8 million, according to the channel's own data. CNN garnered 11.4 million viewers across all its networks, 27 percent more than the number who tuned in for the first debate in 2020.