84 million Americans in 2016 is only about a quarter of the total population. As a function of total population, using that figure, the debate was the 12th most watched. Just shy of half of American households watched the debate, far fewer than the 60 percent of homes that tuned in regularly in 1960. Nielsen reports that 2.7 million Americans "interacted" with the debate on social media, which doesn't really tell us a whole lot more. A heavily watched debate that featured a lopsided performance would be expected to move the polls to some extent, as the first debate in 2012 did.

Source: Washington Post September 28, 2016 13:07 UTC