Vice-Presidential Debate Draws More Than 50 Million Viewers

The debate between Vice President Joseph Biden Jr. and Rep Paul Ryan(R-WI) attracted well over 50 million people — a significant chunk of the public, but a smaller total than the first debate between the presidential candidates. Nielsen estimated that 51.4 million viewers watched at home on one of the 12 rated networks that showed the debate. Nielsen’s total did not include television viewers in offices, restaurants, bars, or other areas, nor did it include any Web viewers. The Oct. 3 debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney garnered about 67.2 million viewers at home, according to Nielsen, and untold millions more via the Web.