Early debate ratings show high interest in the Democratic primaries

Context: The third Democratic primary debate ahead of the 2016 election averaged only 8 million total viewers, but ABC held that debate on a Saturday night, a traditionally low-viewing night for networks.

• The first round of the debates in June averaged 16.7 million viewers over the 2 nights.
• The second round in July on CNN averaged 9.7 million viewers over the 2 nights.

Of note: With an unofficial 11.4 household rating, Thursday's debate ranked just behind the record-setting night 2 of the June debate, which had 18.1 million viewers.

Between the lines: ABC's status as a broadcast network, Univision's involvement and all 10 of the top-polling candidates sharing the debate stage for the first time may have helped boost the numbers.

Yes, but: ABC may have had more viewers if it had not scheduled the debate on the same night as the NFL's Thursday Night Football.

Go deeper: The viral moments from last night's debate