Nielsen: Record 81.4 Million People Watched First Presidential Debate

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Monday's presidential debate set a record for ratings with 81.4 million people tuning in, Nielsen said in preliminary figures on Tuesday.

The 81.4 million viewers tops the previous record between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan on Oct. 28, 1980. That debate drew an estimated 81 million people.

The debate trails the ratings for Super Bowl 50, which drew 111.9 million viewers on CBS in February, but is a large jump from the 67.2 million viewers in the first debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.