Mitt Romney-Rick Santorum debate ratings on CNN beat NBC lineup The Mitt 'n' Rick Show is so entertaining, maybe they should make a regular series out of it. It already has NBC beat. At least that was the case Wednesday night, when the GOP presidential debate featuring a showdown between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum delivered 4.7-million total viewers for CNN, according to Nielsen. Unfortunately for NBC, that was more than the audience for its entire struggling prime-time lineup between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.: the sitcoms "Whitney" (4.1 million) and "Are You There, Chelsea?" (3.4 million) and the newsmagazine "Rock Center With Brian Williams" (2.7 million). The CNN face-off was far from the most-watched debate. A December outing on ABC, when the GOP field had more active candidates (it's now down to four), scored 7.6 million viewers. Still, the Republican debates have proved to be a ratings draw the past few months. Too bad for TV executives that Wednesday's outing was supposedly the last of 20. What did you think of the debate? Jon Stewart mocks rowdy Republican debate ABC debate hits ratings highs GOP debate beats 'Biggest Loser' in the ratings Photo: Rick Santorum, left, and Mitt Romney squared off in Wednesday's GOP presidential debate on CNN. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press.