GOP debates, both interesting and important, score in TV ratings

The Republican primary debates have turned into one of the fall television season’s surprise hits.

A record 7.6 million people tuned in Dec 10, barely three weeks before the first caucus in Iowa. The five most popular debates in recent weeks have attracted an average of 5.6 million viewers, a figure that would rank them as the most popular series on cable after pro-football games, and just behind middle-ranked sitcoms such as “Parks and Recreation” on the broadcast networks. Surely, viewers of all political persuasions are drawn by the consequential nature of the discussion — taxes, the economic crisis, stances on foreign policy — and by a desire to learn who might be best qualified to challenge for the presidency next fall. But this year’s debate-a-thon, which will surely surpass the record of 21 held by Republicans during the 2007-08 cycle, has some bonus features as well. “There’s hype, there’s drama, there’s uncertainty,” said Mitchell McKinney, a communications professor at the University of Missouri who specializes in political debates. “The debates have become like a reality show, like the next version of ‘Survivor.’ ”