According to preliminary numbers, 26 million people watched Barack Obama’s infomercial last night:
Barack Obama’s prime-time infomercial drew 26.3 million viewers across three broadcast networks last night, according to early ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
That number includes data from the top 56 television markets Nielsen rates and only includes viewers who watched the 8 p.m. half-hour special on CBS, NBC and Fox. The number does not include viewers who watched on Univision, MSNBC, BET or TV One, which also aired the ad.
Nielsen will release more comprehensive data this afternoon, and the total audience measure likely will change.
Not bad, and better than Perot did:
In 1992, independent presidential candidate Ross Perot purchased 15 separate blocks of television air time. The highest-rated of those specials drew about 16 million viewers.
It will be interesting to see if the show had any impact on the polls.
