Fox News and CNN garnered stellar rating in televising the Republican Party's first two presidential debates. Based on social media criticism for moderators' inefficacy and NBC's decision to make the third primary exclusive to cable subscribers, CNBC won't be as happy with their results.
Wednesday night's GOP debate featured 10 White House hopefuls, three CNBC moderators, and a jam-packed arena at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The only thing louder than audience applause was how candidates spoke over timid attempts to stop them. The crowd of some 11,000 people who filled the Coors Event Center fully supported them throughout.
It began when moderator Carl Quintanilla asked Ben Carson about his involvement with a supplement company that claimed to cure autism and cancer. Carson denied having any involvement with them and said he never approved the use of his likeness on the company's homepage.
Quintanilla pressed further, prompting a loud chorus of boos.
John Harwood asked Marco Rubio about his tax plan, which the business network's chief Washington Correspondent said would give nearly twice as much back to one percenters than middle income families. Rubio corrected his math and replied, "You wrote the story on it, you have to go back and correct it."
Harwood quipped, "No. I do not," as Rubio defended his stance.
Co-moderator Becky Quick asked Donald Trump about calling Rubio the "personal senator" for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Trump denied ever saying so, to which Quick wondered aloud where she read the statement.
"I don't know. You people write this stuff," Trump replied.
Quick apologized for "bad fact checking," but later said she found the quote on his website.
Moderators' lack of control became apparent with overstepped time limits, ignored requests to stop, and Rand Paul's question of "What are the rules on who gets to follow up?"
Twitter users were just as frustrated. CNBC elected on making the debate exclusive to cable subscribers, many who watched on Periscope or begrudgingly signed up for the network's live stream service.
On a night that didn't have a clear winner, social media users overwhelmingly agree that CNBC was the biggest loser. Fox, who hosts the GOP's fourth debate, has about two weeks to learn from their rival's mistakes.