Republican presidential candidates, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, right, and Donald Trump both speak during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The election is 13 months away, there were too many people on the stage and the length — more than three hours! — felt like something of a dare. Yet Denver viewers watched the GOP debate on CNN Sept. 16 in droves.
The audience peaked at 7:30 p.m. locally with a 7.3 rating and 23.3 share (or 23 percent of the viewing audience) among viewers age 25-54 (the standard news demo). That translates to roughly 115,000 households.
Nationally CNN reported it drew 22.6 million viewers to the GOP smackdown.
The cable news networks normally fight for tenths of a rating point.
