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# TV Town Halls: What the Data Says About Trump vs. Biden’s Debate Replacements
- URL: https://tvrev2beta2.ghost.io/tv-town-halls-what-the-data-says-about-trump-vs-bidens-debate-replacements/
- Published: 2020-10-19T20:44:43.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-19T20:44:43.000Z
- Author: Eleanor Semeraro
- Tags: Data & Measurement, iSpot, NBC, ABC, Presidential Election, MSNBC, Inscape, #sqs, #Import 2026-09-03 20:26

*There was a lot of noise about how Biden won the ratings race, but beyond that there were also a few trends worth noting.*

**Bigger Together**

According to [Inscape](http://inscape.tv/?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io), VIZIO’s TV data division with insights from a panel of more than 16 million smart TVs, **overall about 12% of TVs tuned into the Trump/Biden town halls.** That’s significantly less than the 60% that tuned into the first debate.

**When Measured by Time Viewed That Day, Neither Town Hall Beat Baseball**

Of all the live, linear minutes watched on Oct. 15, 2.23% of the time was spent with ABC’s town hall with Joe Biden, *The Vice President and the People — A Special Edition of 20/20*, putting it in second place for percent share duration that day. MLB baseball was No. 1 with 4.17%, while NBC’s *Decision 2020: Trump Town Hall* captured 1.54% of watch-time.

**Lots of People Used Time-Shifting to Watch Both**

Lots of people watched Trump’s event live, while Biden’s event, which ran longer, drew more time-shifted viewing. As you can see below, NBC and ABC traded the lead over the course of the night, with commercial breaks creating a surge of audience for the other. You can also see there was a fair amount of time-delayed viewing, as Biden-watchers stretched past the broadcast window in big numbers and some folks (but less) did the same for Trump.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/lmSZM8I9WkQNP7faxQhSwzofQkhlVKDFFPEXoNpBQOdmo1hGXPT3GJraLmRSYxKPvLHA5r6ALkiHjRWbibAgm-uaFLLt707kwDYYQGrYy9xraYiczWvz2ZDYP4dN9lfm5qC-13u8)

Via Inscape.tv

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MXWWQRdCbpa8cLi5EejjI-5FGQjMoksD8EG0s9HZTTKqHMVh0xZTbcWuuOmC5gUTCfV0CGZUdqhgC2_Tux7p6W-wMADATrYSg0XdQjAVbOrvlK5h6Kuz6AzCRZIWRtfhaPEYXohA)

Via Inscape.tv

**NBCUniversal's Multicast Drove People Away**

[As written up Friday in Ad Age](https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/heres-what-happened-msnbcs-viewership-when-trumps-town-hall-came-datacenter-weekly/2288306?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io), viewership of **MSNBC took a nosedive during its broadcast of the Trump town hall**, returning to pre-town hall levels almost as soon as it was over — suggesting **these viewers actively tuned out when Trump came on.** 

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8Cq8LdFvTFkuou8ONNmy7rGLmKhfcH1bREccxPrfrLP6j1tEWM3o_4fXyIL8tGBi-PLh_FxaXXnXNGMeDL9ABX3TKkOQUHag8KRjOSzjc_jmuOJQ0Bip_RLozGLwMMOSjE19QO5u)

Via Inscape.tv

**Here are the Brands Not Afraid to Be in the Political Conversation**

Using data from [iSpot.tv](http://ispot.tv/?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io), the cross-platform ad measurement and attribution company, we got our hands on a complete list of brands that advertised during both events.

- Including network promos, 11 brands advertised during the Trump town hall across NBC/MSNBC/CNBC, while 34 brands advertised during Biden’s town hall (which was a two-hour broadcast vs. Trump’s one-hour show).
- SimpliSafe and Norton are the only brands that advertised on both specials.
- There was [one ad that aired during the Biden town hall from Donald J. Trump for President](https://www.ispot.tv/ad/t7xj/donald-j-trump-for-president-bidens-plan?ref=tvrev2beta2.ghost.io).

**Here is the complete list of brands that weren’t afraid to show up during this political moment:**

**Trump Town Hall**

- Norton
- NordicTrack
- SimpliSafe
- Universal Pictures
- T-Mobile
- Kajabi
- Credit Associates

**Biden Town Hall**

- WhiteHat Jr.
- Nature’s Bounty
- Pandora
- Progressive
- Chevrolet
- Kia
- Ford
- WeatherTech
- Norton
- 811
- UnitedHealthCare
- Boost Complete Nutritional Drink
- Talk About TD
- SimpliSafe
- Voya Financial
- Prudential
- Timeshare Termination Team
- Pacific Life
- Samsung Mobile
- Facebook
- Advil
- Milk-Bone
- Donald J. Trump for President
- Jersey Mike’s
- Jardiance
- HUMIRA
- Xeljanz
- Merck
- Gold Bond
- Garnier (skin care)
- Airborne
- AT&T Wireless
- Verizon