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Getty CBS Democratic debate draws lowest ratings

The second Democratic debate hosted by CBS drew 8.5 million viewers, according to ratings from Nielsen.

It was the lowest-rated primary debate this campaign season from either party, though it was the most watched show on Saturday night for broadcast television. The first Democratic debate, hosted by CNN, brought in a record-breaking 15.3 million viewers. The previous record for a Democratic debate was in 2008, which saw 10.7 million viewers for a debate on ABC.

CBS also garnered 1.2 million live streams of the debate across several platforms.

Broadcast networks have a far wider reach than cable, since anyone with a television can usually access broadcast networks for free. But the Saturday night schedule, fewer candidates, declining interest, and some competing sports game caused many to expect lower ratings.

Many in the Democratic party, from officials to some candidates themselves, have questioned the Democratic National Committee's decision to host just six debates and schedule half of them with broadcast networks on weekends (one of them taking place on the Saturday before Christmas). The DNC has been defending questions about the schedule for months, and the critiques will likely intensify as the ratings continue to decline.

Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network and a former ABC News producer and DNC official, has warned that by the end of the debates season, there will be a large gap between the number of potential voters Republicans reach versus Democrats. The first two Republican debates on Fox News and CNN drew in more than 23 million viewers each. The second two Republican debates, on much smaller cable networks CNBC and Fox Business, drew in more than 13 million viewers each.

"If averages hold, and given next two debates on weekends, six Dem debates will reach between 60-70 million viewers, or less than GOP has already reached in its first four debates. Gap will be between 130 to 140 million viewers — a number equal to the total number of people who are likely to vote next year," Rosenberg wrote in an email.

CBS also did not aggressively market the debate as much as CNN did, and the terrorist attacks in Paris overshadowed all other coverage. In the hours preceding the debate, a college football game and, for some viewers, an infomercial for a Wolfgang Puck oven were on before the official pre-show, which due to the attacks, became a special "48 Hours" episode on the situation in Paris.