The showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday appears to have set a record for the most-watched presidential debate ever.
CNN reported Tuesday afternoon that more than 81 million people watched the face off, establishing a new record in the 60-year history of televised presidential debates.
- Previous most-watched debate was Carter vs. Reagan in 1980
- Next Trump vs. Clinton debate is Oct. 9
- 2015 Super Bowl was most watched event of all time
According to Nielsen, the debate averaged a total of 81.4 million viewers across 11 of the channels that carried it live. That doesn't count PBS or C-SPAN, according to CNN.
The figure also doesn't include people who watched outside of their home at parties or restaurants, CNN reported.
The previous record for presidential debate viewership was the 80.6 million people who saw the only debate in 1980 between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan.
No debate since then had exceeded 70 million viewers.
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Clinton has some bragging rights at home. When final results are in, the audience for her first presidential debate will more than double what her husband, former President Bill Clinton, received for his last presidential debate in 1996 (36.3 million viewers).
Only the Super Bowl annually commands a television audience of that size. The biggest audience in U.S. television history was the 114.4 million people who watched the 2015 Super Bowl between New England and Seattle.
The second of three scheduled debates will be Oct. 9. The "town hall"-style forum will be moderated by CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC News' Martha Raddatz.