New Zealand is in the thick of election campaigning and it was never more obvious than during last night’s first live leaders’ debate between Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon on TVNZ 1.

Moderated by the broadcaster’s political editor Jessica Mutch McKay, it was the first time the leaders went head-to-head in a primetime TV debate and proved to be engaging for not only the strong in-studio audience, but also the impressive viewership of more than one million Kiwis.

Running from 7pm to 8.30pm, Aotearoa wasn’t shy in tuning into the debate, with TVNZ revealing in a statement issued to the Herald that 1.09 million viewers tuned in across the 90-minute programme.

Chris Hipkins (left) and Christopher Luxon drew a big audience. Photo / TVNZ

Quoting data compiled by analytics firm Nielsen, the broadcaster added that the average audience number came in at 682,600 via the state broadcaster’s TV network, with a further 71,779 Kiwis tunning in through their streaming service, TVNZ+ - which features both livestreaming and on-demand viewing. Overall, the debate saw 1.14 million viewers.

So how does this compare to previous elections?

From an overall reach perspective, this is on par with the overall 1.16 million viewers who also tuned in for the first debate between then National leader Judith Collins and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2020.

The level of engagement in the 2023 debate did, however, come in slightly higher. The average audience over the course of the programme was higher compared to the 2020 debate, when the average viewership came in at 657,800 viewers.

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However, both election rounds’ average audience is lower than the 2017 election debate between then-National leader Bill English and then-Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, which tallied 784,000 viewers over the course of the programme.

With the first debate out of the way, the attention will now turn to round two, which is set to air on TV3 next Wednesday, with the politicians facing off under the moderation of Paddy Gower and a post-debate analysis led by Newshub political editor Jenna Lynch.

The debate followed a couple of weeks of intense campaigning, with Hipkins and Luxon travelling the country trying to persuade people to vote for their respective parties.