Cable networks may cash in on Republican debate ratings

More people watched Donald Trump's first GOP debate than 2014's premiere of "The Walking Dead" -- and that might mean big bucks for CNN and other networks set to host subsequent contests. Commercial ad prices for the upcoming presidential primary debates could increase after Fox News's bonanza ratings for the Aug. 6 debate. More than 24 million people tuned in earlier in August to watch Trump and the other nine GOP candidates on the prime-time stage. That shattered all previous debate records, and will have cable networks wondering what to expect for an encore.

"I have no idea what type of prices the networks will charge for the debates. A lot of it has to do with the number of eyeballs they expect to attract -- and I'm sure there will be a lot of them," said Rob Siltanen, who founded the advertising firm Siltanen & Partners. Ad prices already tend to go up with high-profile news events like a presidential debate, compared to traditional prime-time newscasts, said Tim Kay, the director of political strategy and NCC Media, an ad sales and marketing company. He said the Fox News ratings aren't going to cause networks to start gouging ad buyers ahead of upcoming debates but he noted it is a "supply and demand business."