The vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine had fewer TV viewers than any VP debate since 2000. According to Nielsen, the four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) and the big three cable news channels (CNN, Fox News and MSNBC) averaged around 36 million viewers. For comparison, the 2012 VP debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan averaged over 51 million viewers and the 2008 debate between Biden and Sarah Palin set a high watermark for viewership with 70 million.