# Make sure the Biden Town Hall gets better ratings than Trump's **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 14, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962 "2020-10-14T20:09:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/1 "2020-10-14T20:09:53Z")
One of Mr Trump’s sore spots is his “ratings.” Since he’s announced his competing Town Hall to Biden’s (which used to be the debate before Mr T refused to participate), we have to make sure that the Biden event has WAY more viewers. It can be our own K-Pop TikTok protest. All three of my TVs will be on ABC. [Mods: I hope this doesn’t run afoul of the rules. I will be happy to move it if directed. Thanks.] > **[NBC Faces Blowback for Holding Trump’s Town Hall Opposite Biden’s (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/14/us/elections/trump-town-hall-nbc.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage)** > > Even journalists inside NBC and MSNBC were taken aback at the network’s decision to air the event opposite an already scheduled ABC forum with Joe Biden, meaning Americans can’t watch both candidates live. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/2 "2020-10-14T20:54:34Z")
Eh, I don’t plan to watch either. I’d love to needle Trump with Biden getting higher ratings, but more people may watch Trump’s just for the car-wreck quality. Can’t help but gawk at an accident, can we? ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/3 "2020-10-14T20:56:28Z")
I admit to being somewhat morbidly fascinated as to how this town-hall is going to possibly work with Trump. Biden has always been cited as a good retail politician for whom a town-hall format is a natural. In my dreams, I’d love for Trump to try to browbeat some allegedly undecided voter in the same way that he tried to do to Biden and Chris Wallace during the first debate. More evidence of what sort of person he really is wouldn’t be a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/4 "2020-10-14T21:16:01Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > {…} All three of my TVs will be on ABC. {…} You do understand that TV ratings don’t work that way, correct? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/5 "2020-10-14T21:20:41Z")
I get my TV through the air via a rabbit ear antenna that’s on the floor. I’ve always heard about those neilson boxes, but never actually knew anyone that had one. If I’m tuned in to the Biden show, will anybody but me know? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/6 "2020-10-14T21:22:53Z")
I agree with the above two Dopers. Neilsen has no way of knowing what I’m watching on my beloved boob tube. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/7 "2020-10-14T21:41:02Z")
I admit to incomplete knowledge. I know that the official ratings are generated by Nielsen. But I’m certain that the satellite and cable providers all know exactly what their customers are watching. Whether these statistics will be reported, I don’t know. Dang, it’s sort of like the electoral college vs the popular vote all over again. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/8 "2020-10-14T21:41:30Z")
There’s a ball game that night, right? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/9 "2020-10-14T21:48:53Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > I admit to incomplete knowledge. I know that the official ratings are generated by Nielsen. Yes, they are, and unless you’re a “Nielsen Family,” what you watch won’t be incorporated into those ratings. If you have a tuner / cable box, it’s likely that your cable company has data on what you watch, and when. But, AFAIK (and I work in advertising and research), that data from the cable providers isn’t used in the ratings. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/10 "2020-10-14T21:57:43Z")
Naw, I can just read the react on Twitter from those paid to watch Trump. No need to watch myself. Yes, I came here to ask: If I use my one spectrum connection to have multiple devices streaming ABC via various ways (their YouTube channel, FB etc), will these streams count as separate streams? (I don’t have ‘TV’ or cable, so don’t care about ‘ABC the channel’. But all streaming gets measured, so who cares about Nielsen?) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/11 "2020-10-14T22:13:42Z")
I know what both of them have to say, and I’ve already voted, so I really don’t feel like listening to both of them repeat what they’ve been saying all along. Also, what I view is not counted as part of any ratings data collection. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/12 "2020-10-14T23:20:08Z")
If Biden gets better ratings, Trump will just rationalize that Neilsen is in the tank for Biden. The collective voices of the entire nation could chant “loser” and Trump would hear something else. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/13 "2020-10-14T23:54:35Z")
I have an antenna. The signals are generally poor. But, I’m generally broke and can’t afford cable or streaming services. So nobody knows what I’m watching. Plus, due to interference from New Jersey channel 5, I don’t get 6- the ABC station. Praise the Lord for Comet! ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/14 "2020-10-15T03:43:33Z")
I won’t be watching either because I’ve donated to the _Hamilton_ original cast fundraiser for Biden, so I’ll be watching a Q&A with the cast plus a special performance of the play. I get to support the better candidate _and_ get terrific entertainment. I’m pretty psyched. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/15 "2020-10-16T14:03:45Z")
According to Newsweek, Biden won the ratings war, at least on YouTube: > NBC News YouTube channel showed 153,660 viewers were watching. ABC News’s YouTube channel showed 507,445 viewers at the end of Biden’s town hall. A bit surprising, because I would have thought a lot more people would have watched the trump Town Hall just to see the train wreck that it inevitably became. > **[Town Hall YouTube Views Suggest Trump Hit Biden Where It Hurts Most—Ratings](https://www.newsweek.com/youtube-views-suggest-biden-hit-trump-where-it-hurts-him-mostratings-1539635)** > > President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden held town hall meetings on two separate networks at the same time on Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/16 "2020-10-16T14:13:58Z")
WooHoo! ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/17 "2020-10-16T17:32:11Z")
[Biden wins the Nielsens too. And Loser Donald loses.](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/16/media/town-hall-ratings-biden-trump/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/18 "2020-10-16T17:49:21Z")
Those are surprising ratings results to me, in a good way. Perhaps the nation has tired of train wreck TV. That’s bad news for Donald with an election in 18 days. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/19 "2020-10-16T17:51:08Z")
Cue Donny’s twitter rage about the rigged ratings in 3,2,1… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962/20 "2020-10-16T17:51:24Z")
“Fake News! Rigged!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-sure-the-biden-town-hall-gets-better-ratings-than-trumps/922962.md?page=2)