TV audience for final Trump-Clinton debate below record 84 million

(Reuters) - The final debate between White House contenders Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Wednesday attracted a bigger TV audience than last week's face-off, but is expected to be well below the record setting 84 million who watched their first encounter, according to early data. Hollywood trade publications Variety and The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday cited preliminary Nielsen estimates as showing that the debate got a 39.7 overnight household rating in the nation's biggest cities. The first Clinton-Trump face off in September scored a 46.2 overnight rating that translated into a total TV audience of 84 million - the largest in the history of U.S. presidential debates.