The day after Univision aired the Democratic Presidential Candidate Forum, the Spanish-language network announced the event had gotten much better ratings than any other network on previous presidential debates. The press release, dated September 10, states 4.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen Fast National Ratings, watched the debate on Univision, “versus an average reach of 4.3 million viewers set by this year’s English-language debates on ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. “
But wait! That claim is now disputed… Michael Learmonth, from Variety, reports that Univision “overstated its case” in that press release:
“The trouble is that Univision’s assertion was only half true. The 4.6 million was derived from an analysis of viewers who had tuned in for at least six minutes of the 90-minute forum.
The total average viewers for the debate came in at just 2.1 million, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the sixth highest-rated debate behind two held by FNC, two by CNN and one by ABC.”