
Last night, 12 Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in Ohio for the fourth debate, hosted by CNN and the New York Times: Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang, Cory Booker, Beto O'Rourke, Amy Klobuchar, Juli n Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Steyer.
First, a look at advertising insights from iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. In total, there were 81.4 million TV ad impressions over the three-hour debate.
Five brands accounted for nearly half of all spend over the course of the evening: Freedom from Religion Foundation, NumbersUSA, The Washington Post, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros.
Not counting CNN promos, Warner Bros. was the only brand to run two separate spots: one for Motherless Brooklyn and the other for The Good Liar. Freedom from Religion Foundation, NumbersUSA and The Washington Post each aired one ad twice. Here are the three most-seen ads from last night:
1. NumbersUSA TV Spot, E-Verify Works - 2 airings, 9.37 million impressions
2. Freedom from Religion Foundation TV Spot, Church and State Featuring Ron Reagan - 2 airings, 9.29 million impressions
3. Amazon Prime Video TV Spot, Tom Clancys Jack Ryan: Season One - 1 airing, 6.03 million impressions
We can also see viewership trends from Inscape, the TV data company with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 11 million smart TVs. Here's a look at where viewers were tuning in from across U.S. DMAs:
Via Inscape
In general, the East and West Coasts had slightly higher tune-in than middle America. Other hot spots included Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dubuque, IA; Columbus, OH; Topeka, KS; Flint-Saginaw-Day City, MI; and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL DMAs.
Inscape also tracked minute-by-minute viewership for the three-hour debate:
Via Inscape
Tune-in rose steadily in the first hour, plateaued a bit, then started a slow decline as the night wore on. There were two main peaks in viewership: First, around 9:25 p.m. ET, when candidates were discussing checking Trump and Russia/Putin, and election security/hacking threats. Then a little later viewership peaked around 9:57 p.m. ET, when Bernie Sanders discussed his health and candidates talked about whether age is an issue.
North America Stories
03/10/2026
Nielsen is evolving its cross-platform content measurement solutions to give every corner of the media industry studios, distributors, content creators, right...
03/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/10/2026
Bantaray Mobile Sports Production Delivers Niche Sports to Growing Audiences wit...
02/10/2026
Design reflects feedback on graphics introduced for MLB Red Sox and Pirates games
Boston Bruins games on NESN and Pittsburgh Penguins games on SportsNet Pittsb...
02/10/2026
NEP SS7/ST7 anchors Big Ten Saturday Night; nine Peacock games are produced from...
02/10/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/10/2026
GameTime Productions provided national broadcast production services for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) 2026 season, with coverage distributed ac...
02/10/2026
Audio-Technica has introduced the HP-HBM50x, a genuine replacement headband for the ATH-M50x professional studio monitor headphones. The HP-HBM50x is compatible...
02/10/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has helped audio professional Steve Schatz design and build Black Lava Studios, a 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos mixing and mastering facility i...
02/10/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Best of Show awards from TV Tech and TVB Europe at IBC2026 for solutions from its PACIFIC compression line.
TV Tech recognized the ...
02/10/2026
ESPN and TMRW Sports have announced a multi-year extension of their U.S. media rights agreement for TGL presented by SoFi. The 2027 TGL season will open Sunday,...
02/10/2026
Devlin Design Group (DDG) and Clickspring Design (CSD) have announced a strategic alliance combining their design capabilities for broadcast, media, workplace, ...
02/10/2026
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference has announced a partnership with CSMG (Collegiate Sports Management Group) making the firm the exclusive representativ...
02/10/2026
Mediaproxy will exhibit at NAB Show New York (Booth 561, Javits Center, October 21-22), demonstrating new AI capabilities in its LogServer compliance platform a...
02/10/2026
Mesh Broadcast Services has installed a Calrec Argo M console in the production area of its Eclipse 40-foot mobile unit, recently moved onto a 2025 Freightliner...
02/10/2026
Vizrt has announced that Richmond AFL has signed on to use Viz Libero Teams for coaching analysis and content creation. The platform provides 3D match analysis ...
02/10/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner. Thro...
02/10/2026
Clear-Com has announced that the Audiovisual Training Centre in d , Poland, has installed an Arcadia Central Station as the communications hub for its broadca...
02/10/2026
A major figure in international football, three-time French champion and three-time Ligue 1 top scorer, Sonny Anderson will chair the SPORTEL Awards 2026 Jury. ...
02/10/2026
California-based Bantaray Mobile Sports Production has built its mobile producti...
02/10/2026
Overtime has announced a new strategic investment led by Eldridge Capital Management. Eldridge has investments across sports and media including the Los Angeles...
02/10/2026
The Milwaukee Bucks have launched Bucks , a direct-to-consumer streaming service that expands access to Bucks games during the 2026-27 season for fans statewide...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Haymaker VFX acquires SWISS
Brie Clayton October 2, 2026
0 Comments
Stockholm-based, globally recognized creative team becomes part of Haymaker VFX in...
02/10/2026
Treasure & Dirt Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton October 2, 2026
0 Comments
DP Edward Goldner, ACS, relied on 65mm sensor to capture vast deser...
02/10/2026
Sonnet Announces Industry's Only Bus-Powered 10 Gigabit Ethernet Thunderbolt...
02/10/2026
Mediaproxy brings AI driven monitoring and browser based multiviewing to NAB Sho...
02/10/2026
Cobalt Digital's Pacific Line Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at IBC
Brie Clayton October 1, 2026
0 Comments
Manufacturer receives honors from...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/10/2026
Cinematographer Andres Arochi was on his way back from filming in Spain when he got the call that Tim Burton would be directing a music video for Lady Gaga and ...
02/10/2026
Cobalt Digital's Pacific Line Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at IBC
Manufacturer receives honors from both TV Tech and TVB Europe for advancements in...
02/10/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, today ann...
02/10/2026
The strengthened TriCaster portfolio increases accessibility to leading media technology, drives more creative experiences, and scales with every production wit...
02/10/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-To sense their environment and respond accordingly, cells enlist me...
02/10/2026
Local AI is becoming more useful by the token.
As AI agents move from experiments into everyday development, increasingly capable open models are shrinking to ...
01/10/2026
Big Blue Marble has announced the addition of live multiview channels to its Clo...
01/10/2026
The company CEO sees AI as a tool in speeding and enhancing product development
...
01/10/2026
Production, tech, crewing, and logistics teams draw on experience of a busy inau...
01/10/2026
The Partnership Will Support Filmmakers Worldwide Through Original Short Films I...
01/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/10/2026
For more than two decades, Disguise has powered some of the most ambitious live events and experiences in the world from Bad Bunny and Coachella to the Burj K...