Donovan Slack

USA TODAY

This post has been updated.

The Democratic debate Sunday night on NBC drew 10.2 million viewers, making it the most watched face-off since October for the Democratic presidential field.

That represents roughly 7% of American households with televisions, according to preliminary ratings reported by CNN. Democratic debates netted 8 million viewers in December and 8.5 million in November, according to Nielsen.

There has been criticism that Democrats scheduled their debates at times when people were less likely to watch — on Saturdays, for example, or as was the case this week, on a Sunday night during a holiday weekend. The October debate, which remains the top-rated one for the party, was held on a Tuesday night. That debate had 15.8 million viewers.

Six takeaways from the fourth Democratic debate

Republicans, who have held their debates on weeknights, have indeed trounced the Democrats in ratings, receiving between 6.9 and 13.7 household ratings compared to Democrats 4.9 to 9.3. Of course, the GOP also has had the bombastic celebrity power of Donald Trump.

Sunday’s Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley was the last before the caucuses in Iowa, set for Feb. 1.

Republicans will have one more before then, on Thurs., Jan. 28 in Des Moines.

Presidential debates, ranked by viewership