33.5 Million Viewers Watched Obama’s Infomercial

admin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:23:03 +0000

Senator Barack Obama’s infomercial drew 33.5 million U.S. viewers Wednesday night, according to Nielsen.

The simulcast — the first of its kind since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996 — aired on CBS, FOX, NBC, Univision, BET, MSNBC, and TV One between 8pm and 8:30pm EDT.

Perot’s 1996 telecast drew almost 22.7 million viewers.

On an average Wednesday night, the networks that aired Obama’s telecast draw a combined average of 30.3 million average viewers during that half-hour daypart.

In comparison, the final debate between the two presidential candidates drew 56.5 million U.S. viewers on October 15. The candidates’ first debate on September 26 drew 52.4 million viewers; their second debate, on October 7, drew 63.2 million viewers.

View the full media alert.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings by Reuters and the Associated Press, as well as in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Ad Age, Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable, Media Life, and Media Post.

Obama’s Oct. 29 Simulcast Follows In Perot’s Footsteps

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:45:23 +0000

Sen. Barack Obama will reportedly run a half-hour paid political simulcast on CBS and NBC, just days before the U.S. presidential election.

Obama’s simulcast would be the first to be aired by a presidential candidate since Ross Perot ran a series of 15 political telecasts during the 1992 presidential election.

Perot’s 1992 telecasts drew an average audience of 11.6 million viewers — 4.6% of all viewers nationwide. His one simulcast, carried on ABC and CBS on November 2, 1992 between 8pm and 8:30pm, attracted 26 million viewers.

Paid Political Telecasts By Ross Perot	Network	Start Time	Viewers (P2+)	P2+ Rating
PEROT PAID POLITICAL – 10/06/1992	CBS	8:00 PM	16,160,712	6.7
PEROT PAID POLITICAL – SAT-10/24/1992	CBS	8:00 PM	14,530,588	6.0
PEROT FOR PRESIDENT – 11/02/1992	CBS	8:00 PM	14,015,947	5.8
PEROT ‘92 – 10/09/1992	ABC	9:30 PM	13,892,800	5.8
ROSS PEROT – SUN-11/01/1992	NBC	7:00 PM	13,874,729	5.8
PEROT ‘92 – THUR-10/22/1992	ABC	8:30 PM	13,318,749	5.5
ROSS PEROT – 10/16/1992	NBC	10:30 PM	12,855,896	5.3
PEROT ‘92 – MON-10/26/1992	ABC	8:00 PM	12,109,311	5.0
PEROT ‘92 – MONDAY-11/02/1992	ABC	8:00 PM	12,012,162	5.0
PEROT ‘92 – SAT-10/17/1992	ABC	8:00 PM	11,081,828	4.6
ROSS PEROT SPL – 10/23/1992	NBC	8:00 PM	10,575,782	4.4
ROSS PEROT – MON-11/02/1992	NBC	10:00 PM	10,517,112	4.4
PEROT ‘92 – SUN-11/01/1992	ABC	7:00 PM	10,244,811	4.3
PEROT PAID POLITICAL – WED-10/28/1992	CBS	11:30 PM	4,891,537	2.0
PEROT PAID POLITICAL – TUE-10/27/1992	CBS	11:30 PM	3,480,826	1.4
Source: The Nielsen Company (October 9, 1992 – November 2, 1992).

Obama’s October 29 simulcast would also air between 8pm and 8:30pm. During the last four weeks, that daypart has drawn an average of 6.3 million viewers on CBS and 9.3 million viewers on NBC.

Political TV broadcasts have drawn unusually large audiences this year. The October 7 debate between Senators McCain and Obama drew 63.2 million viewers less than a week after Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin set a new V.P. debate TV audience record: 69.9 million viewers.

In August and September, nearly two-thirds of all U.S. households (64.5%) — 120.1 million people age two or older — watched at least one of the political conventions.

Nielsen Wire » Ross Perot

33.5 Million Viewers Watched Obama’s Infomercial

Obama’s Oct. 29 Simulcast Follows In Perot’s Footsteps