"Trump is likely to declare victory for the lower Fox ratings on Thursday night, though the debate still won more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined as they showed Trump's rally."
Few watched CNN as it kept interrupting with its talking heads. Most of us went to CSPAN.
Have the numbers for CSPAN been calculated?
With Trump gone FOX attacked Cruz. FOX does not want either Cruz or Trump.
There were thousands watching online and MSNBC cut it off about 15 minutes in. Where are CSPAN’s numbers?
Personally, I was watching the fundraiser for the vets on both C-SPAN, and on CNN. I loathe CNN, but I kept flipping back to see what they had to say about the event. It is my understanding that OAN was also carrying the event, but I didn't feel like streaming to my PC.
I know the fundraiser had viewers spread out across at least these three sources, but I believe one or more local television stations were also broadcasting it live.
If you want to compare ratings honestly, you will have to accumulate numbers for all sources, not just Fox and CNN.