Fox News’ first Republican primary debate got a terrible response from American television viewers, with the broadcast losing about half the audience Fox’s kickoff debate had during the 2016 election.
According to Nielsen, an estimated 12.8 million people watched Wednesday’s Republican debate.
But that’s a decline of almost 50% from the more than 24 million people who tuned in when Donald Trump appeared in his first presidential debate in August 2015, Nielsen reported.
Support from Fox’s audience has dropped since the network fired Tucker Carlson, its No. 1 prime-time host, last April.
The move appears to have led to a significant ratings decline for Fox, dropping 23% in total audience across total day, year-over-year, according to Nielsen.
Meanwhile, Newsmax has seen a 50% increase in total audience across the day during the same time period.
