Politics | Election 2016 Second Debate Loses Viewers 18% drop from the 84M people who watched the first one By Daniel Kay Posted Oct 10, 2016 3:11 PM CDT Copied Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listens to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Despite a dramatic lead-up, the second presidential debate saw a significant drop-off in viewers from the first, record-breaking contest. Across all 10 TV networks that carried the debate, the Hollywood Reporter counts a grand total of 68.8 million people who tuned in. That number is comparable to the 65.6 million people who watched the second debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012. Every major network except NBC showed the debate; CNN scored the most viewers with 11.23 million on average. NBC opted to show a Sunday Night Football game instead of carrying the debate. Read These Next He was an Olympian. Now he's the FBI's most wanted. Disturbing turn of events in case of a teen found dead on a cruise. Driver kills 3, then asks, 'Why should I apologize?' Earhart experts not exactly excited about the latest document dump. Report an error