Corbyn-Johnson TV debate watched by 6.7 million people

The first televised leaders’ debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn attracted an average audience of 6.7 million viewers to ITV, suggesting the public is taking an increasing interest in a general election campaign that has so far struggled to draw a significant TV or online audience.

With little over three weeks until polling day, the debate attracted a third of the British television audience on Tuesday night. A snap YouGov poll found the public thought there was no clear winner, with Boris Johnson polling at 51% and Jeremy Corbyn at 49%.

The programme attracted a healthy audience in the 16 to 34 age bracket, with about 1 million younger viewers – who have largely abandoned traditional television news – tuning in to watch the Conservative and Labour leaders go head to head.

Tuesday night’s viewing figures are a substantial increase on the 2017 general election, when Theresa May boycotted most of the televised debates, resulting in much of the public choosing not to watch.

It also bodes well for public interest in the BBC’s head-to-head debate on 6 December, while emphasising the damage done to the Liberal Democrats and the SNP by the decision of broadcasters – in conjunction with Labour and the Conservatives – to give a platform only to the leaders of the two major parties.

Although online attention has focused on the Conservatives’ factchecking pretence, other popular topics on Twitter and Facebook include Johnson’s defence of the royal family, Jeremy Corbyn’s attempts to explain his policy on Brexit, and the Labour leader’s apparently wonky glasses.

However, few clips from the debate went viral immediately, suggesting there was no single moment that could dramatically change the direction of campaign.

Political parties are now aware that a much bigger audience can often be reached with short pithy viral moments clipped from the main programme, reaching millions more viewers online who never saw the original broadcast.