CBSN Sets New Single-Day and Hourly Viewership Records for Coverage of First Presidential Debate
24/7 Digital Streaming News Service Draws Nearly 3 Million Streams and 1.5 Million Viewers on Monday
New York(27 Sep 2016)
CBSN, CBS News' 24/7 digital streaming news service featuring live, anchored coverage, set a new single-day viewership record on Monday, Sept. 26, for its coverage of the first presidential debate. CBSN drew a record 2.98 million streams and 1.4 million unique viewers for the day, beating prior records of 2.4 million streams and 1.3 million viewers set on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, for Democratic primary debate and breaking news coverage. CBSN also set a new hourly record for streams during the first hour of the debate (9:00-10:00 PM, ET). The average age of CBSN viewers is 38.
"The record demand for CBSN’s wall-to-wall coverage of the first presidential debate is particularly impressive on a day when viewers had a multitude of viewing and streaming options," said Christy Tanner, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBS News Digital.
“Our record viewership numbers prove that CBSN’s coverage during major political nights sets it apart, and we look forward to continuing to engage and grow our audience throughout the ongoing election season,” said Nancy Lane, Senior Executive Producer, CBS News Digital.
CBSN offered complete coverage before, during and after the debate, with primetime coverage beginning at 7:00 PM, ET. CBSN’s Josh Elliott, Vladimir Duthiers and Reena Ninan anchored the coverage, with Bob Schieffer joining CBSN as a special contributor and Nancy Cordes and Major Garrett contributing to the live coverage. In addition, CBSN featured a panel of experts and contributors including Jamelle Bouie, Peggy Noonan, Leslie Sanchez and Lynda Tran.
CBSN and Instagram have a partnership for the presidential and vice presidential debates to feature curated Instagram Stories in CBSN’s live streaming coverage, making CBSN the first network to feature Instagram Stories in live coverage. As part of the partnership, a collection of Instagram Stories created by CBSN anchors and CBS News correspondents and contributors, including Nancy Cordes, Vladimir Duthiers, Major Garrett, Reena Ninan, Will Rahn and Bob Schieffer, are integrated into CBSN’s anchored coverage before and after each debate, along with stories from political experts and voters across the country.
About CBSN:
CBSN is CBS News' 24/7 digital streaming news service featuring live, anchored coverage across platforms. CBSN launched on Nov. 6, 2014, and has grown significantly since its debut. CBSN is currently available onCBSNews.com, connected TV devices and gaming consoles including Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, PlayStation®4, PlayStation 3, Roku players, Roku TV models, Xbox One and Xbox 360, as well as the CBS News mobile apps for Android, iOS and Windows 8.1. Follow CBSN on Twitter @CBSNews and on Facebookand Instagram.