Obama Acceptance Speech Most-Watched Ever

Barack Obama's acceptance speech was watched by 38.4 million people, the most-watched presidential speech ever, according to Nielsen estimates. The speech beat out the U.S. audience for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, which drew about 34 million viewers.

The Obama speech attracted about 60 percent more audience than tuned into John Kerry's four years ago, reports Washington Post television writer Lisa de Moraes. Comparisons to some past speeches are harder to discern because the ratings company did not isolate individual hours and networks gave more time to the conventions in past years. But the huge number is pretty evident. "It appears (Obama's speech) is far and away the largest audience for an . . . acceptance speech since Nielsen instituted the People Meter, which was the first time we were able to have 'persons' data" a Nielsen representative tells the Post. Read more here.